Title:	“Innovative Research in the World of Innovation”
Presenters:	Ms. Gwen Smith Ishmael, Decision Analyst Dr. Michael Richarme

Abstract:
The topic of Innovation has received considerable attention over the past decade, as firms accelerate their innovation and product development programs to introduce new products to the market. But the stakes have increased, as the cost of failure can materially impact the corporate bottom line. New techniques are being developed and deployed, ranging from idea generation and creativity through the dichotomy of managing both a highly intuitive and highly structured product development process. This presentation examines these new developments, and provides participants with several new techniques that can be deployed in their companies.

Ms. Gwen Smith Ishmael is a Senior Vice President at Decision Analyst. Her team is responsible for all Innovation and Qualitative research initiatives for the company. Gwen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including ESOMAR, PDMA, IIR, and others. She also has written or contributed to a wide range of journal articles and books on topics ranging from innovation springboards to creativity assessment to new product development processes. Gwen holds an MBA from the University of Denver.

Dr. Michael Richarme is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Texas at Arlington. He joined the University on a full-time basis after retiring in 2011 from a 32 year corporate career in marketing. He has authored over 30 practitioner and academic journal articles and has spoken at numerous international conferences, including ESOMAR, IIR, AMA, and AMS. Michael holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from UTA, and concentrates his research in the areas of decision-making and behavioral influences and their impacts on innovation.