PEP Educational Seminar

Employee Intrapreneurs:
Create a Culture of Internal Innovation to Stimulate Creativity, Efficiency and New Market Sales

AGENDA

Intrapreneurs are employees who work within the organized structure while using innovation and creativity to undertake something new and transforms ideas into a profitable venture or process. Corporate leadership often struggles with recognizing and supporting these creative intrapreneurs. Our speakers will share strategies on how to create that culture of innovation as well as tips, tools and potential pitfalls learned from their successful experiences.

9:00 Welcome and Introductions

Panel 1:  Create a Culture of Internal Innovation

Small Bets, the 20% Rule and Cannibalizing your Business Model: How can intrapreneurship transform your organization?
Dr. Todd Greer, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Mobile
Using experience and expertise earned from his entrepreneurial and academic background, Todd will share the benefits of an intrapreneurship culture within your company.

Collaboration between Employees and Customers
Scott Bishop, Technology Applications Center, Alabama Power
The Technology Applications Center (TAC) is the result of Alabama Power’s encouraging its employees and customers to experiment with new ideas. Scott will explain the history behind the TAC which started with a single employee’s idea and how Alabama Power uses it to solve problems for customers.

Manufacture Excellence
Andrew Bissot, Director, of Maintenance, Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC
Outokumpu has a demonstrated record of promoting operational improvements within a culture to organically create excellence.  Excellence improves safety and drives out waste (e.g. quality, cost, speed) with only a few key performance indicators in a generation of endless data points.  Andrew will share examples of systematically prescribing optimal strategies to realize more of what was not done, versus what was done, to continuously improve the production front line.

Short Break

Panel 2 Success Stories: Tips and Resources for Moving an Idea to the Marketplace

Corey James, Innovation PortAL will lead a panel discussion about local employee intrapreneurs’ successful ventures. They will share lessons learned, tools and strategies, and pitfalls to avoid.

Don Bates, Owner, Osprey Initiative LLC, and a VP at Thompson Engineering: Inventing the “Litter Gitter”– Don Bates turned a passion for eradicating litter from our waterways into a new product and company with a regional and potentially national market. He will discuss how he created the product and company with the support and engagement of Thompson Engineering where he is VP of Operations.

Beth Morrissette, CEO, M2 Solutions, a strategic expansion of Manufacturers Packaging. Manufacturers Packaging Services is a 30 year old company that provides industrial packaging, warehouse supplies, corrosion solutions, and strapping tool repair. In late 2017, Beth Morrissette and Andrea Moore expanded the existing corrosions solutions division creating M2 Solutions. M2 Solutions offers a more comprehensive variety of corrosion, biological, structural strengthening, coating, and repair solutions for construction, industrial applications, and manufacturing.

Eric Jackson, Professional Engineer/VP, Rowe Engineering
Eric Jackson and Zeke Hudson identified an opportunity to increase the services Rowe Engineering offers. They developed an Aerial Mapping service for their clients using drones for efficient and effective data gathering.

Gary Blake, VP of Industrial Development, SafetyPlus
SafetyPlusWeb^TMwas developed to solve an internal problem managing their client safety requirements. It has evolved from an internal tool to a cornerstone of SafetyPlus’ business, attracting hundreds of stand-alone clients.

Panel 3: Legal Issues and Protection Targeting Intrapreneurs and Intrapreneurs’ Stuff

Cole Davis, Esq., Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC, located in the Firm’s Panama City offices (temporarily relocated to Hurricane Michael offices in Panama City Beach). Cole advises local government agencies, the City of Panama City Beach, and the Bay County School Board, the City of Lynn Haven, the City of Mexico Beach, and others – practices before state and federal agencies (Department of Labor, EEOC, FCHR, etc.) and in local, state and federal courts, and is presently an Assistant City Attorney for Panama City Beach.