Pearson's Product Lifecycle (PLC) team was recognized as exemplary corporate intrapreneurs as more than 200 business leaders and innovators gathered at 7 World Trade Centre in New York City last night, to celebrate the best of large business innovation and entrepreneurship.

Startups get all the attention for innovation and cool new product launches, but the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards, hosted by Market Gravity, celebrate innovation within big businesses.

They recognize the new products, services and experiences disrupting traditional industries as well as the unsung heroes and teams spearheading these innovation efforts. The awards provide a much-deserved platform for celebrating the hard work required to deliver fundamental business and customer changes, often against all odds.

Now in its sixth year, the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards, recognized winners in six categories:

  • BEST INNOVATION PROGRAM - A program or new way of working that has transformed a company's approach to innovation
  • Social Impact - An innovation that has had a positive social or environmental impact
  • Best New Venture - An innovation that has taken a company into a new market or category
  • Best New Service - A service innovation that has redefined its industry or category
  • Best New Product - A product innovation that has redefined its industry or category
  • People's Choice Award - Voted for by attendees at the event

95 multinational organizations submitted nominations for the awards across all the categories. The winners in each category demonstrated innovative thinking in their approaches, along with the resilience and agility needed to make new things happen.

BEST INNOVATION PROGRAM

19 corporate innovations were nominated for the Best Innovation Program category from the likes of Transamerica, Starwood, Telus, The New York Times & Marriott. The judging panel, however, recognized ONE PEARSON PLC and ADOBE KICKBOX as joint winners.

Pearson's PLC is a global initiative for the consistent development of new products and services, using a scalable and repeatable product development and product investment governance framework, based on agile and lean startup processes. This six-step process focuses on searching for a viable business model, then on executing against established, in-market business models. The process has been tested through pilot projects and is now being ramped up through training of 1000 employees and 100 PLC coaches by the end of the year.

Corporate Entrepreneur Award judges said:
'A great example of creating an enabling environment for innovation within a complex, siloed organisation.'

Best Innovation Program Winners & Finalists
  • Adobe - Kickbox
  • Alaska Airlines - Customer Experience Labs
  • The New York Times - NYT R&D Lab
  • Starwood Hotels - Starlab
  • Marriott - Underground Lab
  • NBC News - NewsConnect
  • John Hancock - Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT)
  • American Family Insurance - Connected Home Lab
  • Pearson - One Pearson Global Product Lifecycle
For further information

Erin Farber, Pearson, erin.farber@pearson.com

Iain Montgomery, Market Gravity, iain.montgomery@marketgravity.com (646 643 7566) or events@marketgravity.com

About Market Gravity

Market Gravity is a specialist innovation, growth & proposition design consultancy. We work with the world's leading companies to design innovative new products, services and experiences together with our clients. Uniquely, we combine commercial consulting, market insight as well as creative design and prototyping skills under one roof.

For more information visit: www.marketgravity.com and www.corporateentrepreneursawards.com

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