In this episode, Jeff talks with Bruno Carrasco, a Director General and Chief Compliance Officer with the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. Bruno explains how the ABD produced an oversized pandemic response, as it strives for economic stability in the Region. Jeff and Bruno also discuss innovation across climate change and sustainability, new ways to promote public-private partnerships, and the ADB’s provision of much needed ‘knowledge...

Jeff Wong, EY’s Global Chief Innovation Officer and technology enthusiast joins Better Innovation host Jeff Saviano for a fascinating and fluid conversation about the Metaverse.    Some predict the Metaverse could soon become a $1 trillion+ industry. Jeff Wong explains the importance of distinguishing between hype and value curves when assessing emerging technology trends. The pair of Jeffs explore helpful definitions of the Metaverse and discuss the current limitations of VR/AR, the...

How will innovative technologies influence the Citizen - State relationship? In this episode, Jeff is joined by Nick Davies, an innovation and technology leader within Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority. Jeff and Nick discuss the role of innovation and advanced tech in the changing economy, perhaps manifested in a new (digital) social contract. Technologies such as AI and blockchain are supercharging the State’s participation in the digital economy. Governments...

Jeff is joined by Jeremy Allaire - technologist, internet pioneer, and serial entrepreneur. Jeremy is the founder of Circle, a global financial technology firm enabling a multitude of organizations to harness the power of digital currencies for payments, e-commerce and a wide variety of financial applications. Jeff and Jeremy talk about the fast-moving digital currency revolution, the evolution of money itself, and Web 3.0 ideals to create an open internet of value.

This episode is about the friction we face as innovators. Jeff is joined by David Schonthal, Clinical Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and co-author of The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas. Jeff and David discuss the headwinds that stand in the way of innovation; the frictions that, unless overcome, will prevent new ideas from succeeding.

Jeff speaks with Rita McGrath, Professor of Management at the Columbia Business School, and author of Seeing Around Corners, How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. Rita has received the #1 achievement award for strategy from the prestigious Thinkers50, and has been consistently named one of the world’s Top 10 management thinkers. Rita shares her unique perspective on how to spot trends, what to do about them, and practical tips to align your organization to important...

Marcello Estevão, Global Director of Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment at The World Bank knows the importance and impact of public debt management. In this episode, Marcello takes Jeff through the process of debt intervention for national economies, the role of debt in tax policy making, and how emerging technology can materially enhance public finance (including tax) systems. Marcello also offers some insights on economic development as the pandemic recovery continues.

Susan Garfield, Chief Public Health Officer at EY, believes we’re at the precipice of a transformational moment in health equity, leveraging innovative technology to make a difference in the lives of millions. Jeff and Susan chat about the cascading effect of technology in healthcare, its impact on the democratization of high-quality care, and how the public sector can learn from the pandemic to improve resiliency and the overall quality of healthcare.

Check out part two of Jeff's interview with Dave Duncan, author of The Secret Lives of Customers: A Detective Story About Solving the Mystery of Customer Behavior. Through a very engaging parable, Dave dives into what motivates customers across the functional, social, and emotional spectrum, with an emphasis on the important questions you're asking about your customers.

Dave Duncan, author of The Secret Lives of Customers: A Detective Story About Solving the Mystery of Customer Behavior, investigates what customers truly care about most. Through a very engaging parable, Dave dives into what motivates customers across the functional, social, and emotional spectrum, with an emphasis on the important questions you're asking about your customers.

Are you incorporating “digital trust” into your digital transformation efforts? Hank Prybylski, Vice Chair of Transformation at EY, breaks down what it means to incorporate mission-critical trust elements into a successful digital transformation endeavor. Jeff and Hank cover a wide range of transformation and innovation topics, from digital governance and maximizing AI effectiveness, to mitigating biases within data.

Tendayi Vicki, PhD, and author of Pirates In The Navy: How Innovators Drive Transformation, joins the show to chat about how companies can harness innovation while still managing their core business. Jeff and Tendayi discuss how “intrapreneurs” are sometimes the innovation heroes within organizations. Tune in to hear how Tendayi thinks organizations can exercise their innovation muscle through a heavy emphasis on collaboration, and emerge from the pandemic with newfound innovation strength.

Lawrence Wintermeyer knows his stuff! Not only is Lawrence a globally recognized FinTech expert, but he’s also Co-Chair of Global Digital Finance, and now the principal of Elipses - an advisory firm focused on digital disruption in the finance sector. Jeff and Lawrence speak on how FinTech can become a driving force behind more resilient industries, how government can utilize digital currencies to help society, and why asking governments to solve big issues on their own might not work.

Sandra Ro, a bucket-list guest for Jeff and CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council, joins us to share how resilient innovators are expanding the capabilities of blockchain to positively contribute to pandemic reemergence. It’s hard to find someone better connected to the global development and proliferation of this powerful technology. If you have any interest in applying blockchain within your organization, then this is a must-listen!

Rumi Morales has seemingly done it all . . . she has worked at traditional financial institutions, advised blockchain startups, and at one point was even a lounge singer! She is a master of reinvention for growth. On this episode Jeff and Rumi talk about the power of reinvention; in financial systems, businesses, and frankly life in general. Tune in to learn how reinvention becomes particularly necessary following a crisis, as an important step on the path to recovery.

Emerging tech developers often assume that governance stifles innovation, according to Shelia Warren, Jeff’s guest for this episode. In Warren’s view, governance not only protects consumers, but also helps tech developers build more inclusive products with greater adoption. Learn how good tech governance can actually help proliferate young, powerful, tech.

From AI, to technological convergence and governance, to crisis innovation lessons, this season of Better Innovation was like no other. In this Season 3 finale episode, Jeff recaps his thought-provoking interviews and distills three key insights from a truly memorable group of guests.

This week, Jeff talks with Dr. David Bray, inaugural Director of the GeoTech Center with the Atlantic Council. Join us as Jeff and David talk about new data trusts / cooperative models that optimize information sharing without compromising privacy rights.

This week, former guest and the father of entrepreneurism, Steve Blank, rejoins the show to discuss how organizations can apply his lean startup theory to reset, rethink, and relaunch key growth imperatives. The next few months in particular will be critical to reposition initiatives in the new economy; Steve’s lean theory has tremendous applicability to our crisis reemergence.

This week, Jeff is joined by Pete Newell, retired U.S. Army Colonel and CEO of BMNT (a government consulting/innovation firm). Pete speaks on lessons learned during his Army innovation experience – especially focused on how to problem-solve through a crisis. Jeff and Pete explore how these crisis innovation techniques help organizations adapt to shifting challenges and expectations—before, during and beyond COVID-19.

In the second episode of our COVID-19 and crisis innovation miniseries, Jeff talks to Ramesh Raskar, MIT Associate Professor and founder of COVID Path Check, the MIT nonprofit spinout developing ‘Safe Paths,’ a contact tracing technology solution. Ramesh is a leading digital contact tracing thought leader in the world, fiercely committed to protecting personal data privacy. Jeff serves Path Check as an advisor and works closely with Ramesh supporting the important mission to slow the spread...

In the debut of our new series, Jeff sits with Sienna Leis from the Covid-19 Safe Paths initiative emanating from MIT. Along with a few hundred volunteers, this Safe Paths movement has created an innovative technology solution to help slow the spread of Covid-19.

We have decided to pause our Artificial Intelligence theme for Season 3, and spend the coming months focused on COVID-19 and Crisis Innovation. We’re talking to the people innovating for the next phase of this crisis and beyond; the people who are trying to make it a safer and prosperous world for all of us.

In this special throwback episode, we’re featuring Jeff’s 2016 TEDx talk that was the impetus for Better Innovation, focused on citizen activism and the impact of a carbon tax in British Columbia. The tax decreased fossil fuel consumption by 16%, earned public support. Jeff explains how we could adopt similar taxes across the globe to fight climate change.

Government agencies are bogged down by inefficiencies, while the private sector faces a rocky future ahead. That’s where “uncommon coalitions” between the two come in, according to Tomicah Tillemann and Dante Dispartae, Jeff’s two guests for this episode. Learn how these strategic partnerships can promote sustainability, diversity and stability.