Tech Tuesday: The Importance of Cross-Industry Innovation
Scarlett Sieber
Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, Money20/20. Contributor, Forbes. Author. International Speaker. Board Member.
Meet Omar Hatamleh: the former Executive Director at the International Space University, and the former Chief Innovation Officer of Engineering at NASA.
Prior to these positions, Omar was the Deputy Chief Scientist at NASA ARC. He was responsible for identifying new and promising areas of scientific research and supporting technologies that can be integrated into the center’s capabilities. Omar has twenty-three years of aerospace and industry experience and has published over 33 international journal articles.
As a Chief Innovation Officer myself, innovation and technology are always top of mind. I welcome the chance to talk to people outside of the financial services industry because no matter what the technology is that is being developed, people are people. How we interact with each other doesn’t change much, no matter what the industry is.
Omar and I have been friends for a long time and are both strong proponents of collaboration across industries. No matter how curious you are, it’s hard not to get siloed working within one industry. Cross-industry collaboration is a great way to prevent this and keep our thinking innovative and fresh.
During our talk, Omar discussed the concept of exaptation -- when something created for one use ends up being used for something completely different. He described a company that builds toll roads who were having difficulty anticipating the flow of traffic. They borrowed a pricing concept from the airline industry to raise prices as usage increases, to limit the number of cars entering the roadways.
I can already think of many examples of this concept in the world of banking and fintech!
Omar is also helping develop an event called Ecosystems 2030 -- June 3-5 in Granada, Spain -- that explores cross-industry collaboration and what experts in various technological fields who do not often have a chance to meet can teach each other.
#TechTuesday Highlight #55: Omar Hatamleh, former Chief Innovation Officer of Engineering at NASA
How/why did you get into your space?
My passion for innovation, particularly cross-industry innovation, brought me to my current role. As the former Chief Innovation Officer, I spearheaded the Cross-Industry Summit for the past 4 years, bringing together top executives from diverse fields to strategize ‘out-of-the-box’ innovative solutions to solve common problems across all sectors. This initiative has had ground-breaking results, expanding the innovative capacity and improving innovation strategies beyond the aerospace industry.
What do you believe is the most exciting tech trend for 2020 (as it relates to your industry)?
I believe driverless cars will cause a paradigm shift in traditional transportation systems in the near future and will impact society and business in numerous ways. For example, one of the goals of driverless cars is to achieve zero accidents by removing the weakest link in the driving process, i.e. human error, and increase productivity. It is also anticipated that there will be fewer cars on the road, less traffic, and less pollution.
The reduction in the demand for cars will have significant impacts on several industries, particularly the car manufacturing and insurance industries. There are other technologies expected to disrupt conventional mobility including ‘hyperloop’ technologies, mini mobility systems, and the trend to expand personal transportation from conventional 2-D to 3-D capability like flying vehicles.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into your space?
Entrepreneurs and engineers who want to contribute to the rapidly evolving tech industry must actively explore technologies and markets outside of their traditional sectors and beyond their geographical locations. To lead markets, entrepreneurs must anticipate what technologies will have a great impact in the future and spend time now to develop capability and resources in these technologies before they become mainstream.
The days when an industry-leading company could capitalize on the gains for years using the same business models, strategies and products are long gone. Entrepreneurs must continually reinvent themselves to remain competitive in the landscape of exponential technological evolution.
#NASA #tech #innovation #engineering #selfdrivingcars #aerospace
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Have thoughts on this week’s trends or questions for me or Omar? Post your thoughts in the comment section or share them on Twitter. Please include the hashtag #techtuesday and mention me @ScarlettSieber! Until next week. ??
You can connect with Omar on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Tech Tuesday is sponsored by CCG Catalyst Consulting Group, a leading management consulting firm connecting bank and fintech strategy to innovation, transformation, and disruption.
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Executive Producer/IndieFilms/ Top Full Length Features/Gaming
4 年??????
Business Development manager
4 年Good morning
Regional Director - Strategy & Consulting, NSW
4 年Thrilled to have you back next week Omar Hatamleh !!