Innovation is the connection between choices, risk and trust :: Ahmad Thomas

What is Innovation?

Ahmad Thomas, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the region’s most dynamic business association. In this episode, he shares his view of innovation as paradigm-breaking ideas, and he discusses the impact of innovation on personal career growth.

More about our guest:
Ahmad Thomas, partners with the organization’s member companies to promote entrepreneurial solutions to strengthen Silicon Valley business competitiveness, bolster its innovation ecosystem, and create shared economic value throughout the greater Bay Area. A hallmark of his leadership is in catalyzing industry-leading initiatives to operationalize change around diversity, equity, and inclusion from the Boardroom to the C-suites and beyond. A former investment banker and senior Congressional aide, he brings nearly 20 years of experience working both in and on behalf of non-profit social enterprises, governments, and businesses, where he has honed a deep understanding of the essentiality of public-private partnerships and the intersection of equity, policy, and technology that drives Silicon Valley’s innovation infrastructure. Thomas holds a B.S. from Cornell University, Master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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Episode Guide:

0:00 - Intro

1:50 - What is innovation?

3:13 - Professional background

4:34 - What isn't innovation?

5:38 - Paradigm breaking

8:41 - 2023, the year of grace

12:44 - High burnout work

16:37 - Innovation impact to personal career

18:41 - Progress in lived experience

23:43 - Advice to innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.