Design Thinking & Innovation

Soren Kaplan’s keynote speaking on disruptive innovation and innovation culture is grounded in his eclectic background in business innovation and design thinking. Soren takes his audience through a journey of exploration and insight into practical strategies and implications for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. His keynote speaking on design innovation reveals the linkages between “design” and disruptive products, services, and even business model innovation. Soren’s highly interactive keynote presentations reveal linkages between the field of design and business strategy and innovation.

Business Model Innovation Keynote Speaker

The Future of Design Thinking & Innovation

Soren outlines the three essential components of design:

  • Needs – How do you deeply understand your customers?
  • Solutions – How do you create solutions of real value?
  • Process – How do apply design thinking to drive innovation?

Having studied design at New York’s School of Visual Arts and at UCLA in Los Angeles, Soren draws upon his 20 years of business innovation experience, as well as a unique family heritage grounded in art and design that includes:

  • Jean Puiforcat, the French art deco silversmith whose name and designs are now owned by luxury brand, Hermes
  • Georgette Chadourne, one of the first female professional photographers who captured portraits of artists including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse
  • Jacques Kaplan, the 1960’s furrier who was the first designer to denounce using endangered species and who was recognized by the World Wildlife Fund for his boldness in challenging an entire industry
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Soren possesses deep knowledge and experience in business innovation and transformational change — and he uses storytelling, humor, and engaging case studies that apply concepts of design to innovation and leadership. He also describes the role of design and design thinking in driving new products, services, and business models. In addition to his hands-on experience, Soren leads executive development programs in innovation for senior leaders globally through USC’s Center for Effective Organizations, Copenhagen Business School, Melbourne Business School in Australia, Tias Nimbas Business School in The Netherlands, and for many others. He also advises and consults to companies including Cisco, Disney, Visa, Colgate-Palmolive, Red Bull, Medtronic, Roche, SK Telecom (South Korea), Kaiser Permanente, Medtronic, and many others.

Soren customizes every keynote to his specific audience – since he’s an adamant believer that it’s only possible to truly connect to others when one has an understanding of their needs, challenges and passions. For inquires about Soren’s speaking engagements, including his experience working across specific areas and industries such as disruptive technology, healthcare, design, financial services, consumer products, manufacturing, food and beverage, media and entertainment, and others, click here.

Some previous presentations include:

  • Chevron
  • Colgate-Palmolive
  • Frito-Lay
  • Kimberly-Clark
  • Wells Fargo
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Savannah College of Art & Design
  • American Association of Museums
  • Cisco Systems
  • Disney
  • JP Morgan Chase
  • PepsiCo
  • Copenhagen Business School
  • Harvard Business School
  • Credit Union Executives Society
  • American Society of Association Executives

What Clients Say

Teppo Paavola
Vice President & Head of Global Business Development, PayPal

Soren’s talk inspired our organization while providing both strategic and practical approaches for driving breakthroughs in the business and for our leadership.

Tatyana Kanzaveli
Organizer, TEDx Bay Area / Silicon Valley

Soren’s new spin on the popular topic of innovation kept the entire audience on the edge of their seats. His talk was amazing.

Paula Wallace
President, Savannah College of Art & Design

Thank you for your brilliant remarks during the winter faculty conferences in Savannah and Atlanta. The assembled faculty and staff will embark upon the academic quarter buoyed by your inspired and witty words on the nature of innovations, which are sure to favor those who embrace surprise and eschew predictability.

Meredith Anastasio
Managing Director, Lincoln Healthcare Group

As a professional conference organizer, we initially asked Soren to deliver a top level, executive education workshop to kickoff an event with over 300 C-Suite executives from the healthcare industry. The feedback was so outstanding we invited him back to lead a similar discussion at another event. Soren’s unique ability to tailor his message, facilitate collaboration, and push the thinking of senior executives, puts him in the top tier of speakers we work with.

Scott Munn
Vice President & Security Product Management, Cisco

Soren’s presentation was unique, timely and relevant to our business challenges without a re-hash of common platitudes. He especially engaged with our entire leadership team, whether present in the room or attending remotely.