Innovators Summit
Where R&D and Innovation Leaders Come Together
May 19 – 21, 2027 | Cleveland, OH
Registration Now Open!
IRI’s Innovators Summit brings together R&D, innovation, technology and business leaders from across industries to exchange ideas, tackle shared challenges and explore what is shaping the future of innovation.
Designed around the issues that matter most to the IRI community, the Summit combines practical insights, peer-to-peer learning and collaborative discussion in a trusted, noncommercial environment. Attendees leave with new perspectives, stronger connections and ideas they can bring back to their organizations.
Innovation leaders are navigating rapid changes in technology, workforce, sustainability, global competitiveness and the way R&D organizations operate. The Innovators Summit creates a space to explore those challenges alongside peers who are facing them too.
Connect with Your Peers: Build relationships with R&D and innovation leaders from across industries through dedicated networking, collaborative sessions and informal conversations.
Collaborate: Find your next partner, big idea, or solution to a challenge during collaborative, interactive sessions.
Explore What’s Next: Hear from innovation leaders and subject matter experts about emerging technologies, new approaches and the forces changing how organizations innovate.
Learn Across Industries: IRI’s cross-industry community creates opportunities to see how organizations outside your sector are approaching familiar challenges and uncover ideas that may not emerge within your own industry.
Turn Insights into Action: Go beyond high-level trends through case studies, workshops, deep dives and interactive discussions focused on ideas and practices you can apply within your organization.
Tech Treks: Join a Tech Trek to get a window into other innovators’ work and see new technologies in action.
Wednesday, May 19
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Preconference Workshops
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CTO Forum (including lunch)
Agenda coming soon.
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Opening Keynote: Augmented Discovery: Accelerating Breakthroughs with AI
Discover how AI can accelerate breakthrough innovation and help you integrate emerging opportunities into strategic roadmaps faster to stay ahead of the competition. Gain practical insights for connecting AI-enabled discovery to business priorities, enabling teams to evaluate promising ideas and move them forward with greater confidence.
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. R&D as an Enterprise Innovation Engine
Explore how to position R&D as an enterprise-wide innovation engine by aligning investments and metrics with business strategy and market insight to improve efficiency, lower costs, and create measurable value.
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Networking Break
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Breakouts
- Building Trust Under Pressure
Explore how meaningful connection, transparent knowledge sharing, and long-term thinking can strengthen trust and alignment as business pressures intensify.
- Activating Your Innovation Network
Explore how to balance internal capabilities with external partnerships to mobilize your innovation ecosystem and bring new ideas to market faster.
- Accelerating R&D with Advanced Tools
Explore how to embed advanced technologies across R&D to accelerate problem-solving, integrate insights faster, and improve innovation outcomes.
4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Transition Break
4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Empowering the Next Generation of Innovators
Join past winners and this year’s finalists for the Early Career Innovation Professional of the Year Award for a candid conversation moderated by a past recipient of the IRI Innovation Leadership Award. Explore how organizations can engage early-career professionals, harness the value they bring, and create meaningful pathways for their long-term growth and development.
5:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. Networking Reception hosted by Narratize
7:00 p.m. Dinearounds (Optional – sign up when you register)
Thursday, May 20
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Keynote: From Early Signals to Strategic Advantage
Discover how to turn early signals identified by AI into enterprise-wide strategy before market shifts become competitive threats. Learn how to align teams, investments, and decision-making around emerging opportunities to move from insight to action with greater speed and confidence.
9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Building an Adaptive R&D Organization
Create a more responsive R&D organization by breaking down silos and concentrating resources where talent, expertise, and market insight can have the greatest impact. Learn how to preserve deep expertise while assembling agile project teams around high-stakes opportunities and emerging business needs.
10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Networking Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Breakouts
- Learning at the Speed of Change
Build a fast-learning culture that tests ideas, shares insights, and uses informed risk-taking and rapid feedback to adapt quickly, stay ahead of disruption, and turn experimentation into measurable progress.
- Turning Knowledge into Advantage
Capture institutional knowledge and embed it into everyday workflows so teams can make faster, smarter decisions while speed still creates a competitive edge.
- Strengthening Regulatory Readiness
Build the evidence, processes, and cross-functional alignment needed to anticipate regulatory requirements, defend product decisions, and bring innovations to market with greater confidence.
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Innovation Celebration Luncheon
Celebrate the people and organizations advancing innovation! During this special gathering, IRI will present our Innovation Excellence Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements, leadership, and impact across the innovation community. Join fellow attendees in honoring this year’s recipients and the ideas and accomplishments shaping the future of R&D.
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Breakouts
- Activating Your Innovation Ecosystem
Balance internal capabilities with external partnerships to strengthen ecosystem collaboration and move promising ideas forward faster.
- Accelerating R&D with Advanced Technology
Embed advanced tools across R&D to accelerate problem-solving, integrate insights faster, and improve innovation outcomes.
- Learning at the Speed of Change
Build a fast-learning culture that tests ideas, shares insights, and uses informed risk-taking to adapt quickly and stay ahead of disruption.
2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Networking Break
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Building Resilience through Dynamic Resources
Learn how to shift investment and talent quickly toward the highest-value opportunities as priorities and market conditions evolve. Explore how dynamic resource allocation can strengthen organizational resilience, sustain innovation momentum, and maintain continuity through disruption.
3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Interactive Session: Anticipating Innovation Challenges for the Future
Collaborate with fellow R&D leaders to identify the challenges your organization may face in the year ahead and define practical steps you can take now to prepare.
4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Holland Award Address
Hear from the winner of this year’s Holland Award, which recognizes the most outstanding article published in RTM in 2026. First presented in 1982, the award has honored influential work on topics ranging from selecting projects for commercial success and motivating R&D teams to managing technology globally, evaluating R&D programs, and building core competencies. Discover how this year’s winning research advances the conversation and offers practical insights for today’s innovation leaders.
5:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Networking Reception
Friday, May 21
7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Tech Treks – Select one:
Nestlé Development Center
Nestlé Development Center (NDC), Solon serves as Nestlé’s primary R&D center for frozen foods. Established in 2000 and operating from its current standalone facility since 2015, the center advances the science and technology behind frozen meals, pizza, and snacking products.
NDC Solon brings together a multidisciplinary team with expertise spanning consumer-led innovation, food science, culinary development, engineering, packaging, sensory science, project management, and design. This integrated approach enables the development and improvement of product that meet evolving consumer needs and preferences.
The facility includes analytical laboratories, culinary and benchtop development spaces, a pilot plant, and a packaging studio. These capabilities support product research, process development, testing, and scale-up, helping deliver high-quality, innovative frozen food solutions to market.
Attendees are asked to have their feet and ankles covered and remove all jewelry.
Schedule:
8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Travel to NDC Solon
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Tour of NDC Solon
12:00 p.m. Drop off at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
12:30 p.m. Return to Cleveland Hilton Downtown
Two more tours to be confirmed
Each Summit reflects the priorities and challenges facing the IRI community, creating a program that evolves alongside the innovation landscape.
The Innovators Summit is built to encourage participation, conversation and practical learning rather than passive conference attendance.
Programming may include:
- Keynotes and executive perspectives
- Interactive case studies
- Deep-dive sessions
- Workshops and collaborative discussions
- Peer-to-peer benchmarking
- Emerging technology and innovation topics
- Networking receptions
- Tech Treks and site visits
- Recognition of leaders and organizations through the IRI Innovation Excellence Awards
Each Summit reflects the priorities and challenges facing the IRI community, creating a program that evolves alongside the innovation landscape.
The Innovators Summit brings together professionals responsible for shaping and executing innovation across their organizations, including:
- Chief Technology Officers
- R&D and innovation executives
- Vice presidents and directors
- Scientists, engineers and technical leaders
- New product development leaders
- Technology and digital transformation leaders
- Innovation strategy and portfolio leaders
- Open innovation and external partnership leaders
Attendees represent organizations across industries, creating a unique environment for cross-industry learning and candid peer exchange.
See the topics, sessions and conversations that shaped the most recent Innovators Summit.
The Innovators Summit is also home to the IRI Innovation Excellence Awards, recognizing the individuals, teams and organizations advancing innovation across industries.
From leadership and scientific advancement to sustainability, digital innovation, open innovation and innovative culture, the awards celebrate the people and organizations helping move the practice of innovation forward.
