Remember that time you won the gold metal for your Pine Wood Derby race in grade school? You were lauded with smiles and high fives and an iridescent memento that you planted on your parent’s mantle for all to see. It was a good day. No. It was a great day. So you do remember that? Awesome. Because nobody else does. It’s time to step up and claim your place in a new battleground. It’s time time to be excellent in trades that don’t involve plastic wheels and aluminum brads. It’s time to be a leader of men. It’s time to join the The 2012 – 2013 Executive Team of Innovation Fisher.

Innovation Fisher is looking for successors to the following positions:

• President
• VP of Marketing
• VP of External Relations
• VP of Corporate Development
• VP of Innovate Columbus
• VP of Event Planning

Not only would you be able to lead the next generation of Fisher Students into the glorious ecstasy of Innovation, but you would also join the hippest student group on the block. Directions can be found below. If you have questions regarding any specific position, please connect with the current Executive Team Member via this list.

We are excited to announce another innovation internship available exclusively for IF members!  We have been working with Alliance Data, a leading provider of loyalty marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, to offer our members the opportunity to apply for the Retail Marketing Innovation Internship.

This is an extremely exciting opportunity to gain experience on an established innovation team, at a company that is working on cutting-edge innovations in the retail environment.  This position will also afford the ability to directly support future business strategy by building a portfolio of ideas/opportunities.  On top of that, this position offers a very high level of visibility within the company, including the opportunity to work directly with Alliance’s newly appointed VP of Innovation.

To be considered for the opportunity, please submit your resume to FisherConnect job ID 19498 and also apply for the posting online under the “Careers” section at www.alliancedata.com (search keywords for “innovation” if you are unable to find the internship posting). The deadline to apply is noon Wednesday, April 4 (please note, this deadline has been extended from Friday, March 30).

If you have any questions about the position feel free to contact Walt Valo or Marcus Hitt.

Knowledge, Skills and Ability

Knowledge of marketing research, trending analysis, quantitative and qualitative measurements, and application to business solutions. Knowledge of directed and sustainable innovation models and application to drive business growth. Ability to accurately interpret market trends and consumer insights into actionable business ideas that drive growth. Strong analytical and quantitative skills. Strong Microsoft Office skills. Ability to meet established deadlines. Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Strong ability to communicate in both written and verbal form. Ability to identify and resolve problems. Ability to interact with all levels of management and various individuals across the company.

Minimum Qualifications:
Education: Undergraduate degree; actively pursuing MBA (Innovation program preferred)
Experience: Structural industry analysis
Desirable: Knowledge of Retail Credit Card Industry, including client and consumer driven needs; entrepreneurial and product development experience

Oftentimes we use Innovation as a metaphor. We use innovation as a way to forge pathways, connect circuits and peel back new horizons of progress that lead us to a better tomorrow. We use Innovation as a way to touch the sky of the future. Earlier this month we decided to get as literal as humanly possible and we simply touched the sky, as metaphorless as one can get.

For its 2012 Winter Social, Innovation Fisher ventured to the marvelous indoor trampoline park SkyZone, a giant chasm of anti-gravity bounding and leaping. Innovation Fisher Members (as well as friends from our AMP sister organization) engaged in all manner of vertical hijinks including trampoline dodge ball, foam-pit spelunking and good old fashioned jumping. Fitness and fun embraced in myriad ways.

IF Member Kaila Walker gushed “this is the most fun I’ve ever had. And I mean ever. That time I ate a gallon of Jeni’s Roxbury Road and discovered Game of Thrones doesn’t even hold a candle to the manic elation I felt this evening.”  Likewise, future IF Exec Member Holli Jacobs exclaimed “I jumped until I could jump no more! But I still wanted to! It was quite the quandary!” Not all members were quite as ecstatic, such as VP of Marketing Sean Edgar who required ten applications of Bengay to ease his aching ham strings. Then again, Sean Edgar is almost 30 and out of shape.

Check out pictures below for Innovation Fisher’s trip to SkyZone!

Innovation Fisher is proud to announce IF Summit 2012, a celebration of the progress and pioneering that has made the last year a landmark in forward thinking and, of course, innovation. We’re celebrating by hosting a full day speakers and thinkers explaining how they were able to elevate their respective industries and trades into tomorrow. We’re currently confirming a full lineup of the trade’s foremost experts, but thus far our itinerary contains such local luminaries as:

• Daniel Finkelman, Alliance Data
• Liz Geraghty, Wendy’s
• George Young, Kalypso
• David Billiter, Nationwide Children’s Hospital

We’ll have more exciting announcements shortly. Mark your calendars: April 20, 9 AM – 2 PM.

The night was punctuated with a Keynote from Kevin Malhame, the founder of such luminary dining destinations as Northstar Cafe and Third & Hollywood. With an emphasis on local, organic food and inspired management, Kevin delivered an intriguing look at how he combined social responsibility and culinary excellence into a Columbus institution. See his speech below.

A sampling of the entrees on hand at The 2012 Taste of Innovation

IF President Scott Gallaway lays the law on Zero Waste

Piada brought its savory Italian Street Food  a plenty

IF Professor Michael Bills with VP of Corporate Development Marcus Hitt and his lovely wife Becky

Piada Manager (and Fisher MBA Candidate) Kevin Crowley with Northstar Cafe Founder Kevin Malhame

IF & AMP are teaming up to bring you the highest flying social event of all time. *Of All Time!* [Kanye voice]
All are welcome to attend (yes, even non-IF/AMP members). You can sign up to attend on the hub and pay $8 to Scott or to Alisa in the GPO. Registration closes Thursday, March 1st at 1:30PM.
http://fisherrsvp.student-hub.com/Events/Event/Summary.aspx?EventID=602918

Remember to complete your waiver ahead of time to get the jumping started – SkyZone Waiver.

Taste of Innovation is Innovation Fisher’s second annual fundraiser to benefit its Spring Innovation Summit (4/20/2012). Last year’s pioneering event was a huge success, allowing winning bidders of the limited number of seats to socialize with Columbus’ innovative food minds while sampling various cuisines through the donations of our partner establishments.

We’ve made a number of improvements to this year’s event:

• Evening event instead of lunchtime so significant others can attend.
• No more complicated bidding process with a $20 minimum bid. This year’s flat price is $15.
• Goal for Zero Waste event.
• Partner restaurant gift cards will be raffled off, including a one-year VIP Membership (half off anything, all the time) to The Cheesy Truck food truck. Special thanks to Due Amici for also raffling gift cards and to Piada for being our only food and gift card donor.
• A keynote by Northstar Café and Third & Hollywood Owner Kevin Malhame. Northstar Café was recently named to Gourmet Live’s list of the 10 healthiest restaurants in the nation.

For the complete list of partner establishments, see the flyer below:
Buy your ticket(s) here – http://goo.gl/OwCB0

One highlight of the visit was IF member Zach Friedman trying out his driving chops on a simulator that measures what effects automotive control panel designs may have on distracted driving. This simulator is only one of many tools and methods Lextant uses to understand what drives customer behavior and how companies can use this data for meaningful design. All IF members left this visit with new ideas about design research and how that research can give insights into the experiences consumers desire.

A special thank you to Chris for generously hosting our group!