Aleš Ugovšek

Aleš is a Chief Strategy Officer at M Sora, Slovenian joint stock company with cooperative roots and values producing high end wooden windows for global market. Before returning to M Sora at the beginning of 2022 he worked several years as a head of innovation at Chamber of commerce and industry of Slovenia.

He is a moderator of public events, panel discussions and workshops, co-host of Hiša (House) podcast for everyone and about everything about the house and ex co-host of Gravitacija (Gravity) podcast about ideas, R&D, innovation and business models.

He is an innovator and project manager, member of the management board of Slovenian strategic research and innovation partnership – smart buildings and homes, including wood chain, recipient of the Puh Certificate of Recognition 2016 for significant achievements in the field of wood science and a member of the team which received the national Golden Innovation Award for passive wooden window in 2016 awarded by Chamber of commerce and industry of Slovenia.

He is wood engineer by profession and soul, and last but not least, married father of three, who finds his peace and inspiration in the lonely morning, evening or night runs in the valley, woods or mountains.

LECTURE BY ALEŠ UGOVŠEK

Moderator of the Session 4
Lecture: What have I learned about ideas and modern innovation?
Session 4, 18 June 2022

It is nice to have a dream … but idea is worthless until someone realise it.

Innovation is not just a new product or process. It is more, much more than that and the idea is only just the beginning of the long and well planed innovation process. At the end, innovation is something new wrapped in sustainable and scalable business model.

Aleš hosted Slovenian and foreign innovators, researchers, developers, CEOs and other people tightly related to innovation in his former podcast Gravitacija. In the speech he will share his and their experiences and knowledge about:

• the importance of people in the process of innovation,
• the role of customers and their feedback,
• the necessity of collaboration and community,
• type of modern leadership which encourages innovation,
• role of the organisation management and CEO,
• ways of modern innovation processes,
• different types of innovation,
• innovation strategy and innovation accounting,
• service design, sustainability, idea pitching and more.