Johnson Innovation Speaker Series

DR. SIMONE AHUJA

Global innovation and strategy expert, bestselling author, and advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and Judge Business School, Cambridge University

“How Frugal Innovation Can Drive Sustainable Growth”

Dr. Simone Bhan Ahuja is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. She is co-author of the international bestseller Jugaad
Innovation, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” on frugal innovation by The Economist. Her most recent book, Disrupt-It-Yourself (HarperCollins Leadership, 2019), with a foreword by Stanley Black & Decker CEO Jim Loree, examines how large, established organizations can act more like fast and frugal startups. This practical innovation playbook makes clear how and why leaders must support the passionate and purpose-driven “intrapreneurs” inside their organizations in order to drive innovation and a path to sustainable growth.

Dr. Ahuja serves as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and has served as an advisor to the Centre for India & Global Business at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. She provides innovation and strategy advisory and consulting services to organizations including 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp., Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum. She is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online, a member of the board of trustees of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and a practitioner of improvisational comedy.