Episode 84 / Eilat Cohen Basat / MD of Global Digital Innovation / Kimberly-Clark
More Innovation, Less Risk: Kimberly-Clark’s Eliat Cohen Basat On Changing Big Business
This article first appeared on MADInsight
Eilat Cohen Basat is the MD of Global Digital Innovation for Kimberly-Clark Corporation and spends her working hours focusing on developing innovation within the organisation, from products to mindset.
Having worked in technology, software, energy and telecommunications, Eilat’s innovative spirit has helped her take on challenge after challenge with the help of strong teams that she has happily mentored.
Talking about her Shiny New Object – innovating and changing big enterprises – Eilat told me that the idea that big companies cannot change is a misconception. It’s not about whether they can change, but how.
Eilat agrees that there are many obstacles in the way of changing a big organisation completely – from their brand reputation, to the supply chain and corporate relationships.
This is why she supports the approach of innovation pods or clusters within a big company. When it comes to innovation, “organisations, wherever they can, must try to reduce [the] barriers they’ve created for themselves,” says Eliat.
Starting up something like this can be difficult to run by the board, says Eilat. This is why she believes an innovation role in a big company is meant to both create new things and change the company mentality: “In order to be successful [in innovation] you have to have the right combination of top-down and bottom-up [support].”
With the right top-level support, incubators for innovation can achieve great things.
For more on Eilat’s experience with start-ups, her advice for making innovation part of your company strategy and her approach to learning and mentoring.
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