What does real innovation look like, and how can leaders foster it across every part of their organisation? In this inspiring episode of Uspire Unlocked, Amanda Downs is joined by Tom Pullen: former Danone Innovation Director, CEO of Innovinco®, creator of the INNOVATOR Way®, and award-winning author.

With experience spanning over 30 major corporations, Tom Pullen shares the journey that led him from the Mars chocolate factory to global business transformation and why true innovation is more about enabling people than inventing products.

Learn how a simple home visit sparked a product breakthrough for Danone, how to build a culture where every team member feels empowered to innovate, and why asking better questions may be the most powerful leadership tool of all. Tom reveals practical steps from his ten-step Innovator Way, the toughest challenges of leading change, and how AI is reshaping the future of growth and human-centred leadership.

Essential listening for leaders who want to unlock growth, build confidence, and leave things better than they found them.

Here are the highlights:

00:00 Intro: Meet Tom Pullen, innovation leader, CEO, and author

01:29 From corporate career to innovation consultancy

02:51 The three criteria of real innovation: new, valuable, and real

05:10 Why innovation must be cross-functional

08:11 The bottled water breakthrough, listening to customers at home

10:36 The Innovator Way: why strategy must come first

13:17 Should innovation be everyone's job or just a dedicated team?

14:55 The toughest challenge: getting people to support change

16:41 Customer centricity and the power of sharing insights

19:50 Tom loves helping people and driving growth

22:20 The AI revolution in innovation and the human touch required

25:49 Tom Pullen's leadership values

30:30 The importance of real-world experience and mentorship

33:15 Top tip for leaders: ask better questions to unlock innovation.

​About The Uspire Partnership:

The Uspire Partnership: Building the future of business

The Uspire Partnership helps businesses evolve. From start-up, scale-up,

to corporate growth, we build ecosystems that empower your organisation,

elevate your leaders, and drive lasting transformation.

Their collective of specialist brands builds confidence, capability, capacity,

and connection for companies across the full business lifecycle. Their

family includes;

• Uspire – Leadership and commercial development designed to build capable leaders and high-performing teams
• Be Human – Empathy training helping organisations embed human connection into business
• Energise Partners – A growth and transformation partner for scaling businesses
• Business Doctors – Trusted advisors helping small businesses achieve their vision

Together, The Uspire Partnership builds human-led solutions that unlock

confidence, inspire growth and deliver lasting transformation.

Connect with The Uspire Partnership:

Website: www.theuspirepartnership.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/

About Tom Pullen:

Tom Pullen is the founder and CEO of Innovinco®, a company that helps large corporations grow faster through innovation. Tom spent the first 18 years of his career driving business growth inside major companies, including Boots, Mars, and Danone, where he became Global Innovation Director.

Since founding Innovinco® in 2017, he has helped over 30 of the world’s leading companies to accelerate innovation performance. These include Danone, Essilor, Estée Lauder, Givaudan, Henkel, L’Oréal, La Poste, LVMH, McCain, Michelin, Pernod Ricard, Quiksilver, Reckitt, Rexel, Schlumberger, The Coca-Cola Company, Toyota, Unilever and Veolia.

Tom is the creator of the INNOVATOR Way®, a practical 10-step system trusted by business leaders in more than 40 countries, and the author of the award-winning book INNOVATOR. He is also an award-winning speaker, and has recently delivered his second TEDx talk on innovation.