Runar is CEO at YunoJuno, one of the most impactful companies to come out of the UK in recent years. Runar was previously the CEO of Depop (sold to Etsy for $1.6bn), scaling the company through multiple funding rounds from early stage startup to market dominance in the UK and successful expansion into US with millions of users.

Prior to Depop, Runar was part of the founding team that built mobile social network ZYB and successfully sold it to Vodafone Group where he went on to hold several leadership positions including the group’s Global Head of Product. Runar enjoys building and expanding community-driven companies that drive positive change. At YunoJuno he is championing flexibility and empowerment as the future of work.

If you're inspired by the insights on innovation and scaling shared in this podcast, discover how Wazoku helps organizations turn ideas into action. Learn more about the importance of systems thinking in corporate innovation by visiting this resource, and see how Wazoku supports businesses in building vibrant innovation ecosystems.

Balaji is a Product, P&L and Innovation leader with extensive experience ideating, incubating, developing customer-centric products and operating innovative product businesses. Deep industry expertise in Life Sciences, Healthcare, Innovation, Future of Work and Contingent Workforce. Currently teach product innovation and intrapreneurship at Harvard and Stanford.

His work has been recognized in a series of Harvard Business School case studies focused on helping executives build non-traditional businesses within large companies. He frequently teach seasoned professionals to sophomores at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton among others on how to think about this process while maintaining personal identity and a sense of agency in the process.

Additionally, Balaji supports his wife, Meghna, as she starts her own company (Butterfly Voyage), tries to load the dishwasher properly (good luck wine glasses), and builds insanely awesome Legos with his daughter!

Balaji's expertise aligns with Wazoku's work in the healthcare and life sciences sector, where innovative thinking and customer-centric approaches are essential. Wazoku has supported organizations in this space by helping them leverage innovation to address complex challenges, enhance patient care, and streamline operations. To learn more about how Wazoku has helped drive innovation and growth in the health and life sciences sector, visit this page on Wazoku's website.

Steve Rader serves as the Program Manager of NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) and the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL), which are working to infuse challenge and crowdsourcing innovation approaches at NASA and across the federal government. CoECI focuses on the study and use of curated, crowdsourcing communities that utilize prize and challenge-based methods to deliver innovative solutions for NASA and the U.S. government.

In 2015, Steve was named as one of 20 Challenge Mentors for U.S. Government Services Administration’s (GSA) Prizes and Challenges government-wide community of practice. Steve has worked with various projects and organizations to develop and execute over 100 different challenges. He speaks regularly about NASA’s work in crowd-based challenges and the future of work both publicly and internally to the NASA workforce to promote the use of open innovation tools.

Steve has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rice University and has worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for 33 years. Prior to joining CoECI/NTL, Steve worked in mission control, flight software development for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, command and control systems development for the X-38, and led the Command, Control, Communications, & Information (C3I) architecture definition for the Constellation Program.

To see how organizations like NASA have successfully used Wazoku's platform to solve complex problems, check out their customer stories on forecasting solar events and improving the performance of Kevlar. If you’d like to speak with someone about starting a challenge of your own or learn more about how Wazoku can help you, request a demo here.

Nathalie Nahai’s background in human behaviour, web design and the arts offer a unique vantage point from which to examine the complex challenges we face with the rise of Generative AI today.

Described as “a rare polymath with deep expertise in tech, marketing and psychology”, Nathalie draws upon a rich background in human behaviour, web design and the arts, to offer a unique vantage point from which to examine the complex challenges we face today. Having studied psychology and worked as a web designer early in her career, her frustration at the lack of a comprehensive framework through which to understand online behaviour, led her to write what has since become an international best-seller, Webs Of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion (Pearson).

Adopted as the go-to manual by business leaders and universities alike, Webs Of Influence has been translated into 7 languages, and alongside her new book, Business Unusual: Values, Uncertainty and the Psychology of Brand Resilience, serves as the cornerstone for Nathalie’s work with clients including Google, Accenture, Unilever and Harvard Business Review, among others. A popular speaker, consultant and facilitator to Fortune 500 companies, Nathalie has lectured at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions (from Cambridge and UCL universities, to Lund and Hult business schools), and her experience as a skilled communicator has seen her present at SXSW, host the Guardian Changing Media Summit and hold main stage interviews at the Web Summit.

Welcome to our podcast, where we dive deep into the world of innovation with the help of expert Stephen Shapiro. Stephen is a renowned innovation advisor who has dedicated his career to helping leaders and teams tackle complex business challenges and improve their innovation models and cultures.

After publishing his groundbreaking first book, "24/7 Innovation" in 2001, Stephen left Accenture to become a full-time innovation speaker and advisor. Since then, he has published six books, including his latest, "Pivotal", released in 2024, and "Invisible Solutions" in 2020. Stephen has spoken in 50 countries and works with major companies like 3M, P&G, Marriott, Nike, and Microsoft to enhance their innovation practices through keynotes and advisory services.

In our first episode, we chat with Aiden McCullen about total innovation—what it is, why it matters, and how to achieve it. Check it out here.

For more resources and insights on innovation, be sure to explore related tools like the Wazoku platform, which supports the innovation processes Stephen champions.

Visit Stephen's website for more information, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Join Simon Hill, CEO of Wazoku, in an insightful conversation with Bea Schofield, an expert in Challenge Driven Innovation and co-author of the Corporate Explorer Fieldbook. Currently leading Corporate Exploration and Innovation at Lloyds Banking Group, Bea brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in driving innovation within large organizations.

In this episode, Bea shares her professional journey, starting with her academic achievements, including a strategic innovation degree from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and an MSc in African Studies from the same institution. Her career path, marked by various influential roles, has shaped her innovative approach in the corporate world.

The discussion delves into the concept of Challenge Driven Innovation (CDI), where Bea explains its significance and practical application in today’s business landscape. Learn about Bea’s role as an advisor on CDI and how she implements these principles at Lloyds Banking Group. For those interested in further reading, check out the Wazoku resource on CDI: Organizing for Innovation.

Discover the current innovation projects at Lloyds Banking Group, led by Bea, and the strategies she employs to overcome challenges and foster a culture of exploration and innovation. Bea’s insights from the Corporate Explorer Fieldbook provide valuable lessons for corporate innovators, emphasizing practical approaches and key takeaways from the book. For more details, explore the Corporate Explorer Fieldbook: Corporate Explorer Fieldbook.

Looking ahead, Bea shares her thoughts on the future of corporate innovation, emerging trends, and technologies that will shape the industry. Aspiring innovators and corporate leaders will find her advice on cultivating a culture of innovation particularly inspiring.

Tune in for a thought-provoking episode filled with actionable insights, practical examples, and strategic advice from one of the leading voices in corporate innovation. Don't miss the opportunity to connect with Bea Schofield on LinkedIn: Bea Schofield LinkedIn.

Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on social media to stay updated with the latest episodes and innovation insights.

This podcast, over two parts, digs into how Kyle designed, built, and now leads ExxonMobil's corporate-wide open innovation program. He built a high-impact capability from a standing start in less than eighteen months, helping teams across the company solve some of the most challenging problems and explore new opportunity generation strategies by leveraging external resources. In the second episode, we dig into lessons learned, scaling, and so much more.

For more insights on organizing for innovation and the benefits of crowdsourcing, check out this resource.




Connect with Simon and Kyle on LinkedIn:

Simon Hill, CEO & founder, Wazoku
Kyle Basler- Reeder, Open Innovation Leader, Exxon Mobil

This podcast over two parts digs into how Kyle designed, built, and now leads ExxonMobil's corporate wide open innovation program, building a high impact capability from a standing start in less than eighteen months, helping teams across the company to solve some of the most challenging problems and explore new opportunity generation strategies, leveraging external resources. This innovative approach is highlighted in Wazoku's article, showcasing the strategic implementation and success of the program. In the first episode, we dig into the background and foundations for success. In part two, we dig into lessons learned, scaling, and so much more.

Connect with Simon and Kyle on LinkedIn:

Simon Hill, CEO & founder, Wazoku
Kyle Basler- Reeder, Open Innovation Leader, Exxon Mobil