In Part Two of our special Inside CVC series recapping the CVC Open Innovation Summit in Berlin, the conversation moves from diagnosis to execution. Episode One explored urgency. Episode Two focuses on alignment. As Europe faces accelerating technological change, geopolitical pressure, and widening capital gaps, the challenge is no longer awareness. It’s how leaders align capital, institutions, and organizational systems once the direction is clear. This episode brings together perspect...
Jan 2
32 min
In late November, leaders from across Europe gathered in Berlin for the first European edition of the CVC Open Innovation Summit. What emerged was not another debate about whether innovation matters, but a far more urgent question: is Europe actually set up to execute? In Part 1 of this special two-part Inside CVC series, host Steve Schmith takes listeners inside the Berlin summit to explore why this moment feels different. Corporate investors, policymakers, founders, and ecosystem leaders sp...
Dec 29, 2025
24 min
Europe once led the world in autonomous driving. Massive public investment. Breakthrough demonstrations. Real vehicles on real highways long before autonomy was mainstream. So what happened? In this episode of Inside CVC, we sit down with Christian to unpack the rise, stall, and potential resurgence of autonomy in Europe. Drawing from decades of experience across research labs, OEMs, and boardrooms, Christian explains why Europe’s challenge isn’t technology. It’s culture, regulation, and exec...
Dec 15, 2025
19 min
In this episode of Inside CVC, Steve and Philipp sit down with Jen Randle, co-founder of SGNL, a strategic advisory and content firm known for helping leaders communicate with clarity, coherence, and purpose. Jen has spent her career advising executives, founders, and institutions on how to build trust by aligning what they say with what they do. Her work at SGNL focuses on narrative clarity, strategic storytelling, and the deeper system dynamics that shape leadership and culture. Jen introdu...
Dec 8, 2025
19 min
Engineer, board director, and Shifting Gears author Kristin Slanina joins Inside CVC for a candid conversation on what it really takes to lead transformation in an industry that’s been “five years away” from disruption for more than a decade. Kristin shares how discomfort became one of her greatest teachers, what she learned building Ford’s original Blueprint for Mobility, and why electric and autonomous vehicles will only scale when leadership mindsets change as fast as the technology. She a...
Dec 1, 2025
47 min
Innovation inside large companies often runs on instinct, scattered pilots, and wishful thinking. Yaron Flint joins us to explain why so many corporates still lack a true playbook — and how a more structured approach can turn chaos into clarity. Listeners will hear Yaron discuss: Why he wrote Innovative Business Development and the gap he saw across global organizations.The four pathways for bringing innovation into a company — and why partnership remains the most underused.How competitor-to-...
Nov 17, 2025
33 min
In this episode, Philipp Mueller, Vice President, Public Sector at DriveLock and Co-Founder of the European Resilience Summit Series, joins Inside CVC to explore why resilience — not sovereignty — is becoming Europe’s defining strategy in an age of constant disruption. He shares how leaders can rethink governance, investment, and collaboration around adaptation and trust rather than borders and control. Philipp, Steve, and Philipp Willigmann discuss: How resilience shifts from a defensive pos...
Nov 10, 2025
29 min
In this episode of Inside CVC, hosts Steve Schmith and Philipp Willigmann speak with Andy Binns, co-founder and Managing Director of Change Logic, and co-author of Corporate Explorer and the forthcoming Corporate Explorer Fieldbook. Andy has spent his career helping CEOs, boards, and innovation leaders at companies like Analog Devices, RELX, and UNIQA Insurance build new growth businesses while sustaining the core. Listeners will hear: Why most corporations fail to scale innovation—the “sixte...
Nov 3, 2025
30 min
In this powerful episode of Inside CVC, Steve and Philipp are joined by Gerald Knaus, founding chairman of the European Stability Initiative and author of The European Miracle and Its Enemies. Knaus reflects on how post-war Europe built an unprecedented framework of peace, democracy, and economic cooperation—and why that “European miracle” is now under its greatest threat since 1949. From the war in Ukraine to the rise of populist movements and waning transatlantic trust, he explores what’s a...
Oct 27, 2025
34 min
Disability is often seen through the lens of charity — but what if it’s actually one of the greatest drivers of innovation? In this episode of Inside CVC, hosts Steve Schmith and Philipp Willigmann speak with Pete Horsley, founder of Remarkable, a global accelerator for disability technology startups. From Sydney, Pete shares why inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s the smart thing to do for corporations, investors, and innovators. Listeners will hear: Why disability tech represe...
Oct 20, 2025
44 min
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