Innovation Speaker Duncan Wardle

Duncan Wardle

Head of Innovation & Creativity at Disney (2011-2017). Creativity & Innovation Speaker

Who better to speak about innovation and creativity than the man who promoted those values at Disney as Head of Innovation & Creativity? Speaker Duncan Wardle now helps companies worldwide with a toolkit distilled from his Disney days. He is the perfect keynote speaker for any event devoted to innovation, creativity, and growth.

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    Duncan Wardle biography

    Innovation speaker Duncan Wardle is the founder of ID8 and the former Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company. Duncan is a world leading expert in developing innovative brands, engaging stories, and creative experiences that drive results. At Disney, he led a team that helped various divisions, such as Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and Disney Parks. Above all, he helped them to innovate and create new, magical experiences for consumers worldwide.

    As an accomplished global keynote speaker, Duncan Wardle delivers engaging in-person and virtual speeches. Additionally, he delivers masterclass workshops and consulting services to help teams develop the skills and tools they need to innovate. His unique Design Thinking process helps organizations create a culture of innovation ingrained in their DNA.

    Throughout his over 25-year career at The Walt Disney Company, Duncan has learned many important lessons about building a successful business and fostering a creative culture. The most important of these is that in order to be truly unique, one must think differently. With this in mind, he has developed his own Theory of Creativity™. That is a unique design thinking process that has produced innovative results for Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilms. And also, for other Fortune 100 companies such as Pepsi, NBA, NBCUniversal, Coca-Cola, IBM, Princess Cruises, and Apple.

    In his hands-on innovation masterclass workshops, Duncan turns teams into innovation powerhouses. He drives immediate, measurable impact for organizations across the globe. He is a multiple TED speaker and has been published in many prestigious outlets. For example, Fast Company, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. He also teaches innovation masterclasses at Yale, Harvard, and Edinburgh University. In 2008, he was awarded the American Citizen of Choice Award at the White House. In 2014, the Edinburgh University awarded him an honorary doctorate. Lastly, Queen Elizabeth herself awarded him the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

    Duncan Wardle Speaking Videos

    Duncan Wardle - Virtual Keynote Highlights
    Duncan Wardle - The Theory of Creativity

    Duncan Wardle Keynote Topics

    In his over 25-year career at the world’s most innovative organization – The Walt Disney Company – creativity 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, they’ll 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.

    After this immersive crash course from the acclaimed creativity speaker, your organization’s ability to mine for creativity and innovation will be drastically improved. In the end, your audience will leave with an actionable set of steps they can take to immediately start reshaping your company’s culture, creating a space where innovation thrives, and teams are encouraged and rewarded when they think different.

    Innovation is not something that happens by chance. It’s the result of building an environment in which it can thrive.

    As a Creativity Speaker, Duncan Wardle knows a thing or two about fostering an environment of innovation. During his time as the Head of Innovation for a company known for redefining pretty much every industry they touch – The Walt Disney Company – Duncan’s decades of success weren’t merely a matter of luck or chance. No, his results were a direct reflection of his ability to create an innovative culture, and ensure that everyone on his teams were put in a position to let their inner creativity run wild.

    In his Embedding Innovation Into Everyone’s DNA keynote, Duncan will share the exact steps and strategies used to create such an environment. Your team will learn how to create safe spaces for taking creative risks, ensure everyone on your team is empowered and thinking like an entrepreneur, and transition from the ideation stage into action. He’ll also share a creative problem-solving tool called “What Else,” which will prime your organization to discover innovative ideas each and every time you set out to tackle a challenge.

    In the end, your team will walk away from this keynote with a fresh outlook on their day to day tasks, and be ready to approach them with new levels of creative thinking, allowing innovation to flourish.

    The best brands in the world don’t thrive simply because of their great product or service. They thrive because of an unrelenting passion and focus on customer experience.

    Throughout Customer Experience Magic, creativity speaker Duncan Wardle will show your audience what can happen when your organization transitions from a product-centric focus to a customer-centric one, and the steps you’ll need to take to get there. He’ll share a famous real-world example from his time as the Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company, where they found themselves facing challenges brought on not by their direct competitors, but by retail behemoth Amazon, whose lightning-fast fulfillment and delivery systems drastically changed how long consumers were willing to wait to be served.

    As Duncan walks your audience through this example, he’ll share the exact steps they took to turn this problem into a massive opportunity, and how they used it to reshape the way Disney serves its theme park guests, creating a whole new echelon in customer experience. A new level of experience that’s frequently deemed to be “magic” by their guests.

    By the end of this interactive presentation, your audience will have developed a whole new understanding of customer experience, and will be able to reframe all the challenges facing your organization, finding those unique opportunities to create some customer experience magic.

    FAQs on Booking Duncan Wardle

    How to book Duncan Wardle as a keynote speaker?
    Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Duncan Wardle as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Duncan Wardle's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Duncan Wardle or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
    How much is Duncan Wardle speaking fee?
    Duncan Wardle speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Duncan Wardle to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Duncan Wardle.
    How can I contact Duncan Wardle?
    We only work with Duncan Wardle on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Duncan Wardle and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Duncan Wardle speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Duncan Wardle for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
    Can I book Duncan Wardle for a virtual keynote?
    Yes, Duncan Wardle is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Duncan Wardle for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.