Mick Simonelli

Mick is an innovation troublemaker; and is the author of "Victory Disease®: How Great Organizations Die Without innovation" and "Riding a Donkey Backwards Through Afghanistan: Transforming the Afghanistan National Army." He also co-wrote "Innovation Alchemists: What Every CEO Needs To Know To Hire The Right Chief Innovation Officer."

He is an independent consultant and thought leader on innovation and transformation; and uses practical approaches to help large organizations achieve their strategic goals. Mick is currently the Chairman for the Union of Arab Banks' (UAB) Digital Transformation Partnership Board, and an Advisory Board Member for the Global Innovation Institute. He previously served as Chairman of the Board for the Learning Company Accelerator (Alamo Colleges),and Innovation Board Member for the University of Notre Dame.

For work history, Mick served as the innovation leader for USAA, where he built and led the innovation program to world class status. During his tenure, USAA received numerous awards and accolades including InfoWeek 500's most innovative, Businessweek's #1 customer service, and people’s choice awards. Before that, Mick served as an innovator in multiple positions within the Department of Defense where he helped digitize and transform the US Army. Mick is a certified management accountant and possesses advanced degrees in business and psychology. A natural change agent, Mick can usually be found swimming upstream in some innovation river, bumping into rocks, other fishes, and avoiding hooks.