BOSTON, May 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sagentia (LSE:SGA) and other attendees and sponsors at the Front End of Innovation 2008 lauded Procter & Gamble's Chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley for his keynote address on innovation processes and their importance to the business community and consumers. The Front End of Innovation (FEI) conference is produced jointly by the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA) and the Institute for International Research (IIR).
Speaking on the third and closing day of the conference, Lafley addressed the rapid pace of innovation and the call to address market needs with developments that are relevant, revolutionary and responsive.
"Most companies just talk about innovation. Procter & Gamble lives and breathes innovation," said Scott Anthony, president, Innosight LLC. "I hope my conversation with A.G. Lafley on stage provided a window into some of the things that allow P&G's innovation engine to hum along."
"Sagentia is in full agreement with A.G. Lafley's keynote presentation and his perspectives on innovation, and we applaud P&G for their leadership in this area," said Simon Karger, Sagentia's head of innovation & technology management, USA. "We at Sagentia agree that innovation is not about coming up with new ideas, but the key is to ensure that there is a direction and a diverse team in place -- a team that understands the importance of the front end in yielding true breakthrough innovation."
"We believe P&G is correct in aligning the needs of the customer and retailers, while constantly testing and working quickly," said Karger. "Sagentia embraces Lafley's call for open innovation, and we support the difficult quest for breakthroughs."
In addition to Lafley's keynote, the conference featured presentations as varied as technology expert Dean Kamen of DEKA with his FIRST Robots to "Inspiration for Innovation: Learning from Nature," a co-presentation with Janine Benyus, co-founder, The Biomimicry Guild and Gunter Pauli, founder and director, Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI) to a rousing debate between Team Pasteur representing "Serendipity" and Team Newton forming their opinions around "Structure," moderated by Sagentia's Geoffe Waite and Anne Orban of Innovation Focus.
"FEI is one of the best conferences I've attended," said Jesse Barash, director, new products & business development group, North America, Nestle Purina PetCare. "The topics were great, and I value the time spent engaging with my peers. I will be sure to attend future events sponsored by IIR and PDMA."
Among those participating in this year's conference were representatives from leading innovation companies including Boeing, BuzzBack Market Research, BrainJuicer, Communispace, ConAgra Foods, Eaton, Hallmark, Hype Software, Ideas to Go, Invention Machine, Imaginatik, MindMatters, Product Genesis, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Waggener Edstrom and 3-2-1Launch!, a division of Maddock Douglas.
Blog posts and podcasts covering FEI are published and in production at the FEI Blog: www.frontendofinnovation.blogspot.com; Topaz Partners Tech PR Gems: www.topazpartners.blogspot.com; Utterz AdamZand: www.utterz.com; and Sagentia's corporate site: www.sagentia.com.
About Sagentia
Sagentia creates, develops and delivers business opportunities, products and services for its clients.
Established in 1986, Sagentia operates in six global market sectors -- medical, industrial products, consumer products, chemicals, materials & energy, telecoms & media and public sector -- developing new technologies, products and services that change the basis of competition. The company also assists business leaders to create strategies for technology, innovation and growth.
Sagentia's resources are situated in state-of-the-art facilities in Europe, the USA, and China.
Sagentia is listed on the London Stock Exchange (Sagentia Group, ticker: SGA) and has more than 200 employees.
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