It is believed by some that venture backed water technology start-ups are the main vehicle for water technology innovation. These nimble companies sail close to the wind and are by definition entrepreneurial and adaptable.
Many large water tech companies have difficulty in garnering support for the type of risk taking needed to build groundbreaking products and in stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit needed to develop these technologies. Innovators in large water tech companies are often separated from market realities, and internal R&D projects have historically suffered from lack of a clear return on investment strategy.
However, times are changing. The water tech start-up is no longer essential for water innovation. Large water tech companies, corporations and water utilities are changing their approach to R&D, innovation and intrapreneurship. Intrapreneurship refers to acting like an entrepreneur within a larger organization. New products and technologies are resulting from the process of applying hard-nosed business sense to internal projects, delivering the business case for technologies, and identifying internal champions to ensure development success.
This panel of innovators from leading international water technology firms and corporations will explore both the inherent advantages and disadvantages of working from within to create change and will present case studies of intrapreneurialism and in-house innovation.
Moderator: Fei Chen, Innovation Platform Director, Grundfos
Speakers:
- Jonathan Clement, CEO, PWN Technologies
- Ruediger Knauf, VP Global Research and Development, Siemens Water Technologies
- Jeff Montanye, VP Research and Development, Ecolab
- Tuija Pohjolainen-Hiltunen, SVP Global Marketing and Business Development, Kemira
