Presenter Biographies

Deb Giampoli, Director of Promotions, Kraft Foods

Deb Giampoli is the Director of Promotions for Kraft Foods in Oakfield, IL. As a founding member of the Innovation Council, Deb has been leading a shift in the way things work at her division of Kraft. Her facilitation and guidance has saved the company millions of dollars and changed the way that they do business. Deb is enrolled as a Fellow in the Innovation University Program sponsored by the Innovation Network.



Jonathan Vehar, New & Improved

Jonathan Vehar is Sr. Partner at New & Improved, an international consulting company that creates organizations that work together effectively to make innovation happen. His clients include Kraft, Pfizer, DaimlerChrysler, Deloitte & Touche, and he was a lead consultant for Clorox’s innovation efforts leading to their winning the George Land World Class Innovation Award in 1997. Jonathan’s work has helped companies improve the way they work together in ways that generate new revenue and reduce costs. Jonathan has a Master’s Degree in Creativity and Innovation from the State University of New York.

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Roland Boose, Product Development Innovation and Process Coordinator, Nestle Frozen Foods

For the last 17 years, Roland Boose has been a member of the Nestle Frozen Food Product Development Team. As a Food Technologist and certified Six Thinking Hats® facilitator on the New Venture Team, Roland designs and creates new products and processes from the concept stage through commercialization. He is responsible for:

• Facilitating ideation sessions, where the next generation of successful Nestle frozen food products are created
  
  
• Being a champion of innovation
  
  
• Fostering an innovative environment through training and communication.

Lynda Curtin, The Opportunity Thinker

Lynda shares her dynamic merchandising experience which includes: understanding the customer, working with suppliers, brand management, marketing, advertising, quality, training, facilitating teams, growing a $100 million business, with a multitude of clients including Hewlett-Packard, Nestle, Southern California Edison, Sears, Raytheon, Scotia Capital Markets, Orange County Register.

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Diana Elliott, Manager, Dell Online, Business Systems Division Dell Computer Corporation

Diana Elliott manages external online communications in Dell's small business division. She is responsible for a customer webcast series called "Breakfast with Dell," the Dell Affiliates Program and the Dell Virtual Account Executive Program. Diana joined Dell in 1996 as a performance consultant in the company1s training and education department, Dell Learning. Diana was responsible for bringing classroom training online at Dell.

Prior to joining the company, Diana worked with the Texas Hospital Association (THA) whose Web site she created and managed. Previously Diana served as a human resource manager at Tellabs, Inc., where she was responsible for organizational development, compensation, staffing and recruitment, benefits and the human resource information technology system. Diana's first career was in elementary and special education.

Diana holds a master's degree from The University of Texas in Human Resources and Organizational Development, Option II Program (1990) and a bachelor of science degree in Special and Elementary Education from the University of Texas (1981).

As a graduate of the 1998 Innovation University Fellowship Program, Diana presented her research on Monty Roberts' Join-Up horse training process at Convergence 99.

Diana authored a chapter in the book, Sculpting the Learning Organization.

Geoff Helt, Co-Founder and President of blinq

As a co-founder and President of blinq and a Fellow in the Center for Customer Insight at the University of Texas, Geoff Helt is a thought leader, graduate instructor and a leading speaker in the areas of Business Design and Customer-Centered Innovation. Prior to starting blinq, Geoff led transformation efforts in several Fortune 500 companies. He served as a management consultant for ten years and helped start the change management practice at the Deloitte Consulting Group. In addition, Geoff has developed and taught courses in E-Commerce, Software Development, and Organizational Change. Having received his MBA from the University of Texas, Geoff has recently returned to the University to serve on the faculty in the Business School. Geoff's vision for blinq is to see it be a leader in the next evolution of business and provide people and companies with a space to explore their talents and realize their potential.

Joyce Wycoff, Founder, Innovation Network

Joyce is a writer, trainer and consultant in organizational innovation and development. In addition to ten years experience as a leader in this field, she has an extensive background in financial and marketing management and holds an MBA with an emphasis in finance. She is a life member of the National Registry of Who's Who.

Joyce's Books:

• Mindmapping: Your Personal Guide to Exploring Creativity and Problem-Solving (Berkley, 1991) Over 60,000 in print, translated into seven languages, 15 printings.
  
  
• Transformation Thinking: Tools and Techniques That Open the Door to Powerful New Thinking for Every Member of Your Organization (Berkeley, 1995)
  
  
• To Do...Doing...Done! A Creative Approach to Managing Projects & Effectively Finishing What Matters Most, with G. Lynne Snead (Simon & Schuster, 1997) Currently in its third printing.

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Michele Patry, ClearNet

Michele led the sales and client operations training that contributed to the most successful PCS network launch in North America. Her innovative training program contributed to Clearnet’s stunning success as this start up company captured over 50,000 clients in just two months.Michele has driven innovation in both large corporations and entrepreneurial start ups. In addition to her work with Clearnet, she has also created a guerilla sales training organization within the bureaucracy of an offshoot of a century old Canadian telecommunications monopoly.

Her M.A. and undergraduate work in psychology and physical education combined with over a decade of sales and training management experience provide Michele with the necessary perspective on how to organize and lead people to action. As Director of Continuous Learning at Clearnet Communications Inc., Canada’s fastest growing wireless phone company, Michele is driven by her passion to bring out the full potential of individuals and teams. Her focus is on cultivating an enduring positive culture within a very young, rapidly growing entrepreneurial organization. Leading a training organization outside of the core of HR, in a business focused on doubling it’s client base without adding headcount, Michele is the driving force behind developing innovative personal and organizational leadership programs to ensure Clearnet’s continued success.

Ruth Ann Hattori--Executive Director, Innovation Network and Innovation University Program Coordinator

From 1977 to 1996, Ruth Ann led Rocky Mountain Clothing Co (division of Miller International, Inc.) from zero to over $50 million with an unblemished record of profitability. As president of RMCC and VP of MII, she was known for her vision and innovation and received the Pioneer Award for innovation from the Western and English Retailers Assn.

Since the early 1990’s, Ruth Ann has been involved in training and the development of creative thinking techniques and models. She co-created the workshop Camp Innovation and later developed the CQ Kit for Creative Meetings as a spin-off product. As executive director of Innovation Network, Ruth Ann leads the marketing and "business" functions. She is a Founding Fellow of Innovation University and now the program director for IU and is a member of the Creative Education Foundation.

Ruth Ann is also a consultant and trainer specializing in creative thinking, creative problem solving and organizational innovation. Her firm, The Creativity Quotient, is based in Louisville, CO.

Alain Rostain, Creative Advantage

Alain Rostain is a founder and principal of Creative Advantage. Alain's Work has centered on innovation/creative thinking and the use of Improvisational theater techniques for organizational effectiveness.

As an undergraduate and graduate student at Yale, Alain Rostain studied Computer Science, and more specifically the field of Artificial Intelligence. His academic work focused on understanding how people think, using computers as a model for cognitive thought processes.

As a manager for Price Waterhouse's consulting practice, Alain gained valuable experience in client service, project and people management, and change management. This is where he began his transition away from a "computing model" of thinking, towards a broader, more humanistic understanding of people and motivation.

Alain was introduced to improvisational theater in 1990. He immediately saw the potential benefits of using improv techniques to develop and support creative thinking and group process. His Keys to Innovative Thinking workshop integrates improvisational theater techniques with the Innovation Styles, and is offered internally and regularly to Hewlett-Packard employees world-wide.

Alain is an associate of the Innovation Network, a director of the North American Simulations and Gaming Association (NASAGA), and a member of ASTD and the International Association of Facilitators. His presentations and workshops have earned rave reviews.
Alain is also fluent in Spanish and French.

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