BTS Launches Global Innovation Leadership Program: a New, Top-Shelf Executive Experience Delivered in Milan, Italy

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - BTS GROUP AB (publ), - BTS, a leading global strategy implementation firm, has partnered with a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation to pilot a new global innovation leadership development program. The experience is particularly noteworthy in both design and scope, as it takes participants through every step of the innovation process in a very hands-on, detailed way over the course of five months and two program modules, held first in Milan and next in Tokyo. The journey includes visits to innovative companies, customer exploration materials, augmented reality exercises, presentations by external speakers, and more. The goal of the program is to develop the leadership skills needed to build a culture of innovation – which this organization recognizes as a key to its future.

“Leaders must not only understand the “why” behind the importance of innovation and the role they play in it, but also believe that it is the right direction and have the capabilities and customer-centricity needed to act on it. This is where BTS comes in,” says Peter Mulford, EVP and Head of Innovation at BTS. “Leaders must have the right knowledge, leadership skills and abilities to make the everyday decisions that will reinforce this and enable their company to gain market confidence and value as an innovation leader.”

This customer-focused innovation leadership experience fully immerses participants at every level: they have to listen and observe customers in order to understand their needs; they work side-by-side with industrial designers in an innovation studio, creating prototypes of their ideas, and they visit other world-class innovative companies, fostering open innovation. The overall experience is truly global, not only in terms of location and reach but also in terms of the involved team, as it is being designed and facilitated by members of BTS from Europe, Latin America, the United States and Asia.  

The program targets the following competencies:

• Creativity and design thinking
• Innovation management
• Perspective
• Strategic agility
• Motivating others
• Building effective teams
• Customer focus

The first module, held in Milan over four days, has recently been completed and involved a hands-on, action-oriented experience designed to provide the team with the essential frameworks, practices, and tools to do and lead innovation. The program took place in a variety of locales within the city, including the design studio at the recently acquired company Design Innovation, and involved consultants from the recently acquired Cesim Italia. 

The intermediary months between the first and second modules will allow participants to start carrying out innovation and leadership experiments, applying the tools and skills learned. When gathering in Tokyo for the second and final session of the program, participants will share their findings with the organization’s CEO and top executives, and learn how to multiply the confidence and capabilities they have gained.

For further information, please contact:

Rommin Adl
Executive Vice President

P: +1 (203) 391-5223
E: [email protected]

About BTS Group AB

BTS is a global professional services firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with some 500 professionals in 34 offices located on six continents. We focus on the people side of strategy, working with leaders at all levels to help them make better decisions, convert those decisions to actions and deliver results. At our core, we believe people learn best by doing. For 30 years, we've been designing fun, powerful experiences that have a profound and lasting impact on people and their careers. We inspire new ways of thinking, build critical capabilities and unleash business success. It’s strategy made personal.

We serve a wide range of client needs, including:

• Assessment centers for talent selection and development
• Strategy alignment and execution
• Business acumen, leadership and sales training programs
• On-the-job business simulations and application tools.

We partner with nearly 450 organizations, including over 30 of the world’s 100 largest global corporations. Our major clients are some of the most respected names in business: AT&T, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Ericsson, Google, GSK, HP, HSBC, Salesforce.com and Unilever.

BTS is a public company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm and trades under the symbol BTS B.

For more information, please visit www.bts.com

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