Keynote and Featured Speaker Bios

Robert G. Cooper
Professor Emeritus, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University President
Product Development Institute, Inc.

Dr. Robert G. Cooper is a world expert in the field of new product and product innovation management. He has been labelled "the quintessential scholar" in the field of new products in the U.S. publication, Journal of Product Innovation Management. He has published 90 articles and six books on the topic, with a number of the articles winning awards.

Cooper is the father and developer of the Stage-GateTM process, now widely used by leading firms around the world to drive new products to market. He has helped dozens of leading corporations design and implement his Stage-Gate new products process. Cooper is also the developer of the NewProd system for screening and diagnosing new product projects, also used by a number of companies.

David Duncan, PhD
Partner
Innosight

David is a partner at Innosight and a leader of Innosight’s Healthcare Practice. He has led client engagements in a number of industries including healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals, basic chemicals, and wellness. He has a particular focus on helping clients to gain a deep understanding of customer needs as a means of driving breakthrough innovation, and is a leader of the firm’s knowledge development in this area. He has given numerous speeches and led workshops focused on educating audiences about the principles of disruptive innovation and how they apply to their industries. 

Prior to joining Innosight, David was a successful entrepreneur and spent over four years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he led teams to solve problems for senior executives in a variety of industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and high-tech. His experience at McKinsey included developing corporate strategies, growth strategies, and building functional excellence in areas such as marketing, corporate finance, and performance management.

David graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. He is the author of numerous scientific articles on physics published in peer-reviewed journals and has delivered numerous talks at scientific conferences.

Chris Giles
Vice President, Mail Finishing, Global Product Management
Pitney Bowes, Inc.

Chris Giles has 20 years in the mailing industry, 13 years with the market leader Pitney Bowes, and 7 with its closest competitor. Roles include Engineering and Product Development, through to National and Global Product Marketing, working with postal authorities around the world.

Erik Hauser
Founder and Executive Creative Director
Swivel Media

Erik Hauser founded Swivel Media (www.swivelmedia.com) in early 2000 with a goal to transform the way people experience brands. Eight years later, Swivel is among the world leaders in experiential marketing. The agency's expertise ranges from interactive and virtual media to brand development. Swivel also advises their clients on business strategy and is known for its unique work developing innovative marketing programs in both real and virtual worlds. As executive creative director, Hauser has overseen the development and deployment of uniquely engaging and effective programs for a host of prestigious clients, including Wells Fargo, EPSON, Careerbuilder.com, Oracle, Chevron/Texaco, kajeet, TiVo, CNET, YAHOO, Mervyn's, Samsung, Stanford University and AT&T Broadband.

Hauser has become an acknowledged thought leader because of his groundbreaking work with virtual world platforms in addition to all other forms of emerging media that create positive brand experiences for his clients. Erik was the first to step into the world of Second Life and similar metaverse platforms as early as 2004 on behalf of his clients. His work with Wells Fargo's Stagecoach Island, a virtual world to teach fiscal literacy to young adults, has been published in numerous international press outlets and major domestic media such as TIME, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, and National Public Radio.

Erik is the founder and director of the International Experiential Marketing Association (IXMA) (http://www.ixma.org). He is also creator and moderator of the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF) (http://www.experientialforum.com), an online discussion group of industry practitioners, clients, students and educators. Since its inception in 2004, the EMF has grown to a registered membership base of over 5,000 people in virtually all continents, countries and sovereign nations around the globe and is currently translated into 11 languages.

Hauser is a published columnist and contributing writer to several marketing and advertising industry publications and websites. He writes a regular marketing column for "Chief Marketer Report" called BrandAnimation®, is a contributing columnist for AdRants.com, and collaborates with colleagues from around the world through his EMF blog, The Burns/Hauser Report, co-authored by Prof. Neal M. Burns of the University of Texas. The blog dissects the most current and effective methodologies that inspire purchase and brand loyalty.