The Innovation Brief

Innovation at the Frontlines of Global Hunger with Sandra Raad, UN WFP Innovation Accelerator

Sandra Raad has spent a decade building innovation capacity inside one of the world's most complex humanitarian organisations. Her verdict? Innovation is not a silver bullet - and in a world where 318 million people face acute hunger, that clarity matters. In this episode, Sandra (Head of Innovation Network at the United Nations World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator) joins Innovation Brief co-hosts Gabriella G. Hernandez and Stephanie Shaar to talk about what innovation actually means when lives are on the line - not the shiny tech version, but the unglamorous, human-centred, politically aware work of making new ideas stick inside large institutions under extreme pressure. Sandra explains what WFP Innovation has built over the past decade: an award-winning community of 600 internal champions, AI-enabled supply chain tools that generate millions in savings, and programmes designed from the ground up for people living in fragile, conflict-affected environments.  At WFP, innovation is fundamentally about doing more with less - stretching every dollar further, compressing delivery timelines from weeks to hours, and finding smarter pathways to reach more of the 318 million people facing acute hunger today. She also talks honestly about what innovation cannot do - replace political will, resolve structural inequality, or prevent crises. In a humanitarian context, innovation is a powerful enabler, but it works alongside structural change, not in place of it. We also go somewhere most innovation podcasts don't: the emotional weight carried by people doing this work, why protecting innovators' mental health is a leadership responsibility, and how Sandra herself navigates hope and resilience when the world feels relentlessly difficult. If you work in innovation, impact, or humanitarian response - or if you simply want a more honest conversation about what it takes to make ideas matter - this one is worth your time. Learn more and get involved: * UN WFP Innovation Accelerator:  https://innovation.wfp.org/ * Support WFP via the Share the Meal app - it costs less than $1 to feed one person for a day: https://sharethemeal.org/ * Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-raad/ The Innovation Brief podcast is for the people building, funding, and governing innovation - inside corporates, governments, and ecosystems across the globe. Bi-weekly conversations with the leaders shaping the future. Subscribe to The Innovation Brief on Substack [https://innovationbrief.substack.com/] for more insights.  Learn more about the Innovation Brief: https://www.innovationbrief.co The Innovation Brief is produced by Metta. Metta focuses on research into innovation & entrepreneurship, programme design and delivery, and ecosystem building for more sustainable and resilient futures. Learn more about Metta: https://www.metta.partners

Leaps of Faith: Entrepreneurship, Empathy and Ecosystems with Alejandro Ortega, StartLife

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, hosts Gabriella G. Hernandez and Gabriela  Matic sit down with Alejandro Ortega, Programme Manager at StartLife, co‑founder and Managing Partner at Deep Impact Venture Partners, and co‑creator of Inspira Diaspora.  Alejandro shares his journey from feeling like an outsider in Costa Rica to launching startups, moving to the Netherlands, and now shaping agritech, foodtech, and cleantech ecosystems across Europe and Latin America. Together, they explore what it really means to take a leap of faith as an entrepreneur, the cultural and structural barriers faced by founders from Latin America and the Caribbean, and why “founder mining” – backing people, not just polished startups – could unlock the region’s true innovation potential. They explore: * How personal history, family values, and a pivotal moment of loss pushed Alejandro to leave a comfortable tech job and commit to impact‑driven entrepreneurship * Why programmes like StartLife are critical in reducing the “valley of death” for early-stage founders, from validation and mentorship to infrastructure and long-term support * The limits of copying Silicon Valley in emerging markets, and what European ecosystems can learn from Latin American resilience and resourcefulness * The role of diaspora communities - from Latin America & the Caribbean to the Balkans - in opening doors, sharing networks, and building new models of capital and cross-border collaboration * The tension between chasing quick financial returns and building long-term, values‑driven impact, and why conviction matters more than hype Whether you’re a founder, ecosystem builder, investor, or part of a global diaspora looking to give back, this conversation offers a candid, hopeful look at how we can build more inclusive, human‑centred innovation ecosystems. Connect with Alejandro via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleortega/ Learn more about StartLife: https://startlife.nl/ Learn more about Deep Impact Venture Partners: https://deepimpact.earth/ The Innovation Brief podcast is for the people building, funding, and governing innovation - inside corporates, governments, and ecosystems across the globe. Bi-weekly conversations with the leaders shaping the future. Subscribe to The Innovation Brief on Substack [https://innovationbrief.substack.com/] for more insights.  Learn more about the Innovation Brief: https://www.innovationbrief.co The Innovation Brief is produced by Metta. Metta focuses on research into innovation & entrepreneurship, programme design and delivery, and ecosystem building for more sustainable and resilient futures. Learn more about Metta: https://www.metta.partners

Culture, Code, and Climate: AI, Industry, and the Future of Sustainability with Pina Schlombs, Siemens

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, co-hosts Gabriela Matic and Gabriella G. Hernandez sit down with Pina Schlombs, Sustainability Lead & Senior Thought Leader on Industrial AI at Siemens Digital Industries Software, to explore what it really takes to transform heavy industry in a world of tightening regulations, ambitious climate targets, and rapidly evolving AI.  Drawing on her experience across Siemens and Volkswagen, Pina explains why what most people consider “innovation” is actually optimisation - and why true transformation starts with rethinking operating models, not just adding new tools. This episode unpacks how digital backbones, data-driven decision-making, and AI-powered design are enabling Siemens and its customers to cut emissions, meet regulatory demands, and create new commercial opportunities. Pina shares concrete examples, from eco-design guidelines embedded directly into R&D workflows to AI systems that propose product design changes while balancing cost, manufacturability, and environmental impact. Throughout the conversation, we dig into the human side of change: culture, talent, and leadership. Pina contrasts organisations that “play not to lose” with those that “play to win,” and reflects on the role of networks like the Sustainability Circle in helping leaders navigate complex decisions, build new capabilities, and move faster - without losing sight of responsibility. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why digitalisation has become a critical lever for sustainability in heavy, high-impact industries * How to think about footprint vs. handprint when assessing the true impact of AI and digital infrastructure * What differentiates genuine innovation from incremental optimisation, and why that distinction matters now * How culture, talent, and cross-functional collaboration enable (or block) large-scale sustainability transformation Connect with Pina via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinaschlombs/ Follow Siemens Digital Industries Software: https://www.linkedin.com/company/siemenssoftware/ Learn more about the Sustainability Circle: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sustainability-circle/ The Innovation Brief podcast is for the people building, funding, and governing innovation - inside corporates, governments, and ecosystems across the globe. Bi-weekly conversations with the leaders shaping the future. Subscribe to The Innovation Brief on Substack [https://innovationbrief.substack.com/] for more insights.  Learn more about the Innovation Brief: https://www.innovationbrief.co The Innovation Brief is produced by Metta. Metta focuses on research into innovation & entrepreneurship, programme design and delivery, and ecosystem building for more sustainable and resilient futures. Learn more about Metta: https://www.metta.partners

Beyond Fast Fashion: Rethinking Industry and Rewiring the System with Fredrik Timour, Fashion Innovation Center

The fashion industry looks fast and innovative from the outside, but behind the surface, it’s one of the most conservative, fragmented, and unregulated systems we have developed. Producing 10% of global emissions and accounting for roughly 40% of waste, it is also one of the most unsustainable industries in the world.  In this episode of Innovation Brief, Fredrik Timour - an entrepreneur, lecturer, founder of the Fashion Innovation Center, the Open Connector Alliance, and Neue Labs AB, head of fashion innovation at the Swedish Fashion Council, and co-chair of the Culture and Creative Industries Taskforce at the United Nations Global Innovation Hub - pulls back the curtain on how fashion really works as an industrial system, not just a cultural one. We explore why most brands don’t have real R&D budgets, how opaque supply chains block change, and why new regulations are about to force a reckoning across the sector. Fredrik argues that focusing on new materials and recycling first is the wrong order of priorities - and that tackling overproduction, product lifetime, and the back-end systems could produce far greater impact. From digital product passports and data-driven supply chains to nearshoring, and localised production, this conversation offers a realistic but hopeful roadmap for transforming one of the world’s most polluting industries. The Innovation Brief podcast is for the people building, funding, and governing innovation - inside corporates, governments, and ecosystems across the globe. Bi-weekly conversations with the leaders shaping the future. Subscribe to The Innovation Brief on Substack [https://innovationbrief.substack.com/] for more insights.  Learn more about the Innovation Brief: https://www.innovationbrief.co The Innovation Brief is produced by Metta. Metta focuses on research into innovation & entrepreneurship, programme design and delivery, and ecosystem building for more sustainable and resilient futures. Learn more about Metta: https://www.metta.partners

Building the Future of UK Aerospace: Strategy, Startups, and Sustainability with Nour Eid, Aerospace Technology Institute

The future of UK aerospace is being shaped right now - in strategy documents, funding decisions, and collaborations that most people never see. In this episode of the Innovation Brief, Wil Benton and Matt Briggs speak with Nour Eid, Head of Strategy at the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and former Airbus engineer, about how the UK is building its next generation of aerospace capability – from ultra‑efficient aircraft to hydrogen, SAF, and startup collaboration. Nour shares candid insights from almost a decade at ATI on what it really takes to design a national technology roadmap, keep a 10% share of the global aerospace market, and still make meaningful progress on sustainability in a long‑cycle, highly regulated industry. In this episode: * How the ATI actually works – and how it turns public funding into real technology and industrial capability * What “credible” sustainable aviation looks like beyond the buzzwords (SAF, hydrogen, ultra‑efficient aircraft, operations) * The role of startups and SMEs in a sector dominated by OEMs and Tier 1s – and what ATI has learned from backing 300+ SMEs * How the UK is thinking about industrial competitiveness, supply chain resilience, and talent * Why inspiration from AI, digital, and quantum is already changing thinking inside aerospace * How Noor balances aerospace strategy with a parallel career as a DJ and producer – and why creative outlets matter for leaders 🔗 Connect with Nour on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nour-eid/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/nour.dj_/] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/track/7csXrzCRL21Ylh9DT8jFQP] Learn more about the ATI [https://www.ati.org.uk/] The Innovation Brief podcast is for the people building, funding, and governing innovation - inside corporates, governments, and ecosystems across the globe. Bi-weekly conversations with the leaders shaping the future. Subscribe to The Innovation Brief on Substack [https://innovationbrief.substack.com/] for more insights.  Learn more about the Innovation Brief: https://www.innovationbrief.co The Innovation Brief is produced by Metta. Metta focuses on research into innovation & entrepreneurship, programme design and delivery, and ecosystem building for more sustainable and resilient futures. Learn more about Metta: https://www.metta.partners