GS04 Think Different
9:15 AM - 10:45 AM ET
Tuesday, November 8
In his over 25-year career at the world’s most innovative organization, The Walt Disney Company, keynote speaker Duncan Wardle learned many important things about building a profitable business and winning creative culture. The most important? If you want to be different, you have to think different.
As one of the most impactful creativity speakers, Duncan leans on his experiences as the head of innovation & creativity at Disney to take audiences on a journey. Throughout Think Different, listeners will be given a unique set of innovation tools and techniques, the same ones Duncan used with teams inside the Disney organization. These include the breakthrough “What If” creative thinking tool, made famous by Walt Disney himself, who used it to pivot his company from simply an animation house to an entertainment and theme park pioneer. You will leave this keynote with an actionable set of steps you can take to immediately start reshaping your company’s culture, creating a space where innovation thrives, and where teams are encouraged and rewarded when they think different.

Duncan Wardle
Former VP of Innovation & Creativity
Walt Disney Company
As head of innovation and creativity at Disney, Duncan Wardle and his team helped Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney Parks to innovate; creating magical new storylines and experiences for consumers around the globe. His unique approach to design thinking places the end user at the core of the creative thinking process, leading to fresh thinking and disruptive ideas He is a multiple Ted X speaker and contributor to Fast Company Magazine. He teaches Master Classes at Yale, the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the University of Florida.