Mervyn George: Innovation Strategist

Innovation leader who helps organisations break habits, reignite creativity, and design repeatable processes to turn ideas into market success.

Mervyn George - Speaker 2024

Quick Facts:

Highlights:
  • Over two decades of experience guiding organizations across fashion retail, financial services, and the public sector through digital transformation initiatives.
  • Known for his human-centered leadership style, Mervyn emphasizes the alignment of technology and human capital for sustainable business success.
  • Expertise in agile methodologies, ensuring that teams can efficiently navigate technological change and operational improvements.
  • Academic foundation combined with practical experience provides a deep understanding of both business strategy and technology implementation.

Formats Available: Keynote, Innovation Lab, Workshop, Virtual
Preferred Audience Sizes: Product and innovation teams (20–150); Conferences (150–1,200)
Outcomes:
  1. Rapid ideation methods to surface disruptive concepts.
  2. Prototype frameworks to test market potential quickly.
  3. Cultural tools to sustain continuous innovation.

Belongs to these categories

Travel & Fees

  • Travels from: Cape Town, Western Cape

Keynote Topics

Talk Abstract:

In a rapidly evolving landscape dominated by AI, automation, and digital transformation, it’s easy to feel that the future of work is about machines.

However, this keynote will argue the opposite: the human element is more critical than ever.

Mervyn George, a seasoned management consultant and expert in enterprise software, will explore the intersection of technology and human talent, demonstrating that empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking are irreplaceable in the digital age.

With a background in working with large multinationals and startups alike, Mervyn shares insights into how leaders can harness human potential to thrive in the future of work.

Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to enhance their own leadership capabilities, ensure meaningful human contributions within their organizations, and foster an adaptable and innovative culture.

Mervyn George is a seasoned technology executive, governance professional, corporate innovation strategist, exponential thinker and coach to scale-up businesses. Mervyn’s work experience spans 20+ years, clients in 54 countries and long-term projects in South Africa, the UK, US, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and China. He has served as a C-Suite advisor in many industry sectors, including […]

Mervyn George is a seasoned technology executive, governance professional, corporate innovation strategist, exponential thinker and coach to scale-up businesses.

Mervyn’s work experience spans 20+ years, clients in 54 countries and long-term projects in South Africa, the UK, US, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and China.

He has served as a C-Suite advisor in many industry sectors, including Energy, Public Sector, Automotive, FMCG, Retail, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services, Utilities and Mining.

Leveraging a wealth of experience with bootstrapped, hypergrowth and mature tech firms, Mervyn George currently runs a niche advisory business helping tech firms with strategic growth projects, serves on the governing body for South African state primary school, and serves as an independent investment committee member for a South African venture capital fund management firm.

One of Mervyn’s greatest strengths is his ability to understand and decode complex topics and to disseminate simplified and understandable concepts to audiences.

His research, while at the tech firm SAP, spanned corporate adoption of analytics, augmented reality, blockchain, big data, AI and Machine Learning as catalysts to building more intuitive, streamlined, predictive working models, and the opportunities and barriers to entry for large scale corporate digital innovation.

What fascinates Mervyn George most in this domain is the role of and the impact on people in the adoption of tech by companies in different stages of maturity.

Mervyn’s academic profile originates in Computer Science, Maths and Applied Maths. Through a Postgraduate Diploma touching on Industrial Psychology concepts, he shifted to a passion for Organisational Behavior and his Warwick Business School Executive MBA dissertation focused on Innovation Strategy in Large Corporate.

At SAP, Mervyn led the Africa component of multiple intrapreneurship and startup accelerator programs.

Mervyn George has graduated from McKinsey’s global Black Executive Leadership program, and has attained global ambassador, consultant and coaching certifications from the Exponential Organisations global community.

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Talent FAQ's

Q: Will sessions be practical?

A: Yes — hands-on methods and quick prototyping.

A: Short brief on current challenges speeds customization.

A: Idea decks and prototype templates.

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