Fractional CINOInnovation management consultingAI incubation & FDE

Innovation leadership, on demand.

Q: What is Hackathon-as-a-Service?

A six-month innovation challenge program run end to end: challenge design, participant recruiting, mentoring, judging, pitch events and moving winning ideas into incubation. It works for corporations, startup ecosystems and universities, including entrepreneurship labs.

Q: Which industries do you work with?

Any industry, including global enterprises and the Fortune 1000, financial services and insurance, automotive and manufacturing, energy, technology and professional services, healthcare and consumer, mid-market companies, PE and VC portfolios, and academia.

1nnovation Global gives global enterprises, growth companies, PE/VC portfolios and academic institutions senior innovation leadership and a proven operating model, from the first idea to a scaled venture, without the cost of a full-time executive team.

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22+years leading enterprise innovation for Fortune 500 and Big 4 firms

$200M+revenue pipeline delivered through new products and AI solutions

4,300%+ROI from a global innovation organization

155markets reached by global innovation programs

1nnovation / one-novation /

Who we serve

Innovation is a capability, not a side project.

Most organizations know they need to innovate but lack the leadership, structure and time to do it well. We bring all three, in any industry, so your teams can stay focused on the core business.

Global enterprises & Fortune 1000Enterprise-wide innovation organizations, funds and labs across regions.
Financial services & insuranceBanks, insurers and asset managers building AI and new products.
Automotive, manufacturing & energyProduct planning, R&D and operations innovation.
Technology & professional servicesInnovation labs, incubators and client co-innovation offerings.
Healthcare, retail & consumerCustomer-led product, service and experience innovation.
Mid-market & growth companiesCINO-level leadership before you are ready to hire one.
PE & VC portfoliosValue creation and AI adoption across portfolio companies.
Academia, nonprofits & public sectorEntrepreneurship labs, campus hackathons and innovation programs.

What we do

Lead, build and run innovation that pays back.

We step in as your innovation leadership, build the capabilities you need to keep innovating, and guide every stage of the front end of innovation. You can augment an existing team, hand us the whole program, or ask us to tailor something new.

Innovation leadership

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Fractional CINO

A Chief Innovation Officer, without the full-time overhead

Senior innovation leadership embedded in your executive team on a fixed cadence. We set the agenda, direct your teams and partners, and own the results.

Innovation strategy and thesis tied to business goals
Operating model, governance and funding gates
Portfolio reviews, KPIs and board-ready reporting

Board & executive advisory

A trusted innovation voice in the room

Advisory support for boards, CEOs and PE/VC partners who need an independent view on innovation, emerging technology and AI bets.

AI and emerging-technology opportunity assessment
Investment and portfolio due diligence on innovation
Executive coaching for new innovation leaders

Capability builds

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AI incubator

Design, stand up and run your AI incubator

We build the incubator and operate it with your team until it runs on its own.

Intake, stage gates and funding model
Build, buy or partner decisions
Operate, then hand over to your team

Forward deployed engineering

Build your FDE team

Embed AI, engineering and product talent directly in business problems for AI rapid prototyping and accelerated bespoke builds for clients.

AI rapid prototyping in days, not months
Accelerated bespoke builds for clients
Roles, hiring, operating model and playbook

Hackathon-as-a-Service

Innovation challenges, end to end

Six-month challenge and hackathon programs for companies, ecosystems and academia, from challenge design to demo day.

Corporate, startup and university challenges
University entrepreneurship labs
Mentoring, judging, pitch events and incubation

Front end of innovation

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Trend radar visualizing emerging technology signals

Discover

Find where to play before you spend.

AI-powered signals and insights
Emerging tech and startup scouting
Customer and market needs

Hand placing pins on a map to choose opportunities

Ideate

Generate and select the best ideas.

Ideation sessions and challenges
Concept development
Evaluation and selection

Prototype product data sheet on a desk during testing

Incubate

Turn concepts into validated ventures.

Business case and stage-gate funding
Rapid prototyping
Testing and pilots with real users

Mobile app running a launched AI solution

Scale

Launch and hand over to the business.

Commercialization and launch
Handover to product and delivery teams
Adoption and ROI tracking

Across every stage: portfolio governance, KPIs and executive reporting.

Innovation strategy

A strategy and roadmap aligned to your business goals.

AI-driven innovation

Use AI to find opportunities and speed up decisions.

Product & service design

User-centered products, services and technologies.

Portfolio & metrics

Portfolio management and KPIs that show ROI.

Culture & academy

Innovation training for every role and level.

Software & tools

Vendor-neutral selection of innovation management platforms.

How we engage

Senior leadership at the cadence you need.

Choose an ongoing retainer, a defined program, a combination, or a custom engagement. Every engagement is scoped to your goals, team and budget.

Retainers

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Board

Board & executive advisory

Independent innovation and AI counsel for boards, CEOs and investment partners.

Board and leadership sessions
Opportunity and portfolio reviews
On-call strategic advice

Best for: boards, PE/VC partners, CEOs

Advisor

Fractional CINO · 1 day / week

A Fractional CINO who sets direction and guides your teams week to week.

Innovation strategy and roadmap
Governance and funding gates
Monthly executive reporting

Best for: mid-market firms and portfolio companies

Embedded

Fractional CINO · 2 days / week

Deeper leadership that runs your innovation program with your executive team.

Everything in Advisor
Program and portfolio leadership
Direction of partners, incubator and FDE teams

Best for: global enterprises and the Fortune 1000

Programs

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Hackathon-as-a-Service

6 months

Corporate, ecosystem and university challenges and entrepreneurship labs, from design to demo day.

Capability builds

Scoped per build

Stand up an AI incubator or an FDE team for rapid AI prototyping and bespoke builds, run it with you, then hand it over.

Workshops & keynotes

Half day to multi-day

Ideation sessions, leadership offsites and keynotes on innovation and AI.

Custom engagements

Don't see exactly what you need? We'll design it with you.

Mix retainers, programs and capability builds, change the cadence, or bring us a challenge that isn't listed here. We scope each custom engagement around your goals, team and timeline.

Interim CINO during a searchInnovation maturity assessmentVenture studio setupAI roadmap for a portfolioUniversity entrepreneurship lab

Design a custom engagement

Case studies

Proven at global scale.

Programs our leadership has built and run for Fortune 500 and Big 4 organizations, mapped to the services we offer today. Client names are withheld.

1 / 8

66%faster value delivery$180M+qualified pipeline

Forward deployed engineeringGlobal professional services firm

Launching a forward deployed engineering organization

Challenge: AI solutions took too long to move from concept to client value, and every region delivered differently.
Approach: Founded the first global FDE organization: squads of engineers and AI specialists embedded with clients for AI rapid prototyping and accelerated bespoke builds, under one operating model.
Impact: Value delivery timelines cut by 66% and an $180M+ qualified pipeline of repeatable AI solutions.

140M+data points analyzedAIsignal detection

AI-driven innovationGlobal professional services firm

Standing up an AI insights and intelligence hub

Challenge: Leaders needed earlier warning of technology shifts and market trends to decide where to invest.
Approach: Built the firm's first global insights hub, using AI to scout weak signals and evaluate emerging technologies.
Impact: 140M+ data points analyzed and market trends turned into new, profitable product lines.

1,044%ROI25+solutions commercialized

AI incubator & innovation fundGlobal professional services firm

Creating a global innovation fund and incubator

Challenge: Innovation investments had no clear intake, criteria or path from idea to market.
Approach: Created a global fund with intake tools, evaluation criteria and stage gates to incubate, prototype, test and commercialize AI and emerging-tech solutions.
Impact: 1,044% ROI, 25+ solutions brought to market and multiple emerging-technology patents.

4,300%+ROI155markets

Global innovation leaderGlobal professional services firm

Building a global innovation organization

Challenge: Innovation was scattered across countries and teams, with no shared strategy, funding or way to scale products.
Approach: Established the firm's first end-to-end global innovation organization, scaling AI-powered platforms and directing a matrixed team of senior leaders.
Impact: 4,300%+ ROI and multi-million revenue growth from a cross-industry product portfolio in 155 markets.

$100M+approved concept value500+challenges & hackathons

Hackathon-as-a-ServiceUS professional services firm

Crowdsourcing ideas at enterprise scale

Challenge: Good ideas from the front line rarely reached decision makers or funding.
Approach: Launched the firm's first crowdsourced ideation program and hackathon network with clients, alliances, students, suppliers and startups.
Impact: 19,000+ employees engaged in 500+ challenges and hackathons, generating $100M+ in approved concept value.

300Kpeople upskilled50+senior leaders aligned

Culture, academy & toolsGlobal professional services firm

Unifying innovation platforms and culture

Challenge: Regions used different tools and methods, and few employees had formal innovation skills.
Approach: Led 50+ senior leaders to select and roll out one global innovation platform, with KPI dashboards, certifications and change management.
Impact: 300,000 people reached by innovation learning programs and one view of portfolio health worldwide.

$20M+value unlocked1stfintech R&D lab

Ideation & prototypingTop US bank

Launching enterprise idea management in banking

Challenge: The bank had no enterprise-wide way to capture ideas and develop them into concepts.
Approach: Founded its first global idea management and concept development capability and led prototyping workshops for C-level executives.
Impact: $20M+ in value, plus the first R&D lab for fintech and product innovation in domestic Chinese banking.

$Mcost savingsFuturestate operating vision

Innovation strategyGlobal automaker

Reinventing product and portfolio planning

Challenge: Portfolio and product planning was slow and costly across a complex supplier network.
Approach: Designed an innovation assessment framework and a future-state operating vision for the product organization and its suppliers.
Impact: Multi-million cost savings and process efficiencies, with a clear path to high-impact growth opportunities.

FAQ

Questions leaders ask us.

Straight answers about fractional innovation leadership, AI incubators, forward deployed engineering and how we work.

What is a Fractional Chief Innovation Officer (CINO)?

A Fractional Chief Innovation Officer is a senior innovation executive who leads your innovation strategy, portfolio and teams part-time, typically one or two days a week, for a monthly retainer. You get C-level innovation leadership without the cost of a full-time hire.

How is 1nnovation Global different from a traditional consulting firm?

We lead rather than only advise. Our leaders have built and run innovation organizations, funds, incubators and FDE teams inside Fortune 500 and Big 4 firms. We stand up the capability, run it with your team, and hand it over or keep leading.

What does an AI incubator engagement include?

We design the incubator's intake, stage gates and funding model, decide what to build, buy or partner on, and operate it with your team through rapid prototyping, testing and pilots until it runs on its own.

What is forward deployed engineering (FDE)?

Forward deployed engineering embeds small squads of engineers, AI specialists and product leads directly inside business problems. FDE teams deliver AI rapid prototyping and accelerated bespoke builds for clients. We help you design, hire and launch your own FDE team.

What is Hackathon-as-a-Service?

A six-month innovation challenge program we run end to end: challenge design, participant recruiting, mentoring, judging, pitch events and moving winning ideas into incubation. It works for corporations, startup ecosystems and universities, including entrepreneurship labs.

Which industries do you work with?

Any industry. Our experience spans global enterprises and the Fortune 1000, financial services and insurance, automotive and manufacturing, energy, technology and professional services, healthcare and consumer, mid-market companies, PE and VC portfolios, and academia.

Can we customize an engagement?

Yes. Retainers, programs and capability builds can be combined or reshaped around your goals, team and timeline, from an interim CINO during an executive search to an innovation maturity assessment.

How do we get started?

Request a consultation through the contact form or email info@1nnovationglobal.com. We will map where you are today and recommend a starting point.

Ready to innovate?

Request a consultationTell us about your goals and we will map the right starting point, whether that is a Fractional CINO, an AI incubator, an FDE team, a challenge program or an engagement designed just for you. You can also email info@1nnovationglobal.com.

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