Debra M. Amidon: Founder, President and Chief Strategist
Debra M. Amidon was the Founder and Chief Strategist for ENTOVATION®INTERNATIONAL, Ltd. (Wilmington, Massachusetts) – a global innovation research and consulting network linking 70+ countries throughout the world. Her presentations have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, France, England, The Netherlands, Sweden, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Latvia, Mexico and Chile just to name a few! Her advice has been sought by diverse organizations such as the National Research Council, The Agility Forum, the European Knowledge Union, the BBC and the The World Bank.
Known among her peers as a management pioneer, philosopher, architect and visionary, she captured the imagination of academic, government and industrial leaders around the globe. With her seminal conference in 1987 on Managing the Knowledge Assets into the 21st Century, she set in motion what has evolved to an expansive ‘community of knowledge practice’ comprised of theorists and practitioners from diverse functions, sectors, industries and geographies. Her article “Momentum of Knowledge Management” was being translated into several languages.
A prolific writer, her progressive management concepts and methodologies are often cited in the research of others. Her thesis, Global Innovation Strategy: Creating Value Added Alliances (1989) was published by IC2 at the University of Texas where she is a Senior Research Fellow. In the past year, she has produced a trilogy of resources: (1) Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening (Butterworth-Heinemann 1997) captures the state-of-the art with the history, framework and vision; (2) Creating the Knowledge-Based Business (Business Intelligence 1997) defines the state-of-the practice with thirty-three leadership case studies; and (3) Collaborative Innovation: Toward the ‘World Trade of Ideas’ (Society of Management Accountants of Canada 1997) provides a prospectus for the state-of-the-future.
She served in a variety of leadership roles, delivered numerous presentations to diverse national and international audiences and published many articles which challenge traditional thinking. Articles have appeared in Research-Technology Management, Knowledge Inc., PRISM and the International Journal of Innovation Management to mention a few. She promotes value-systems (not value-chains), strategic business networks – SBN’S (not SBU’s), and customer success (not satisfaction). She is listed in over 30 biographical publications including Most Admired Woman of the Decade and the International Book of Honor.
Ms. Amidon passed away in 2016 but her legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of those lives she touched all over the globe! It is with gratitude that she asked me to keep the light burning in the world of Enterprise Innovation (Entovation®), Knowledge Innovation® and Knowledge “Cities”. So, let’s continue this work – and innovate together – have conversations, and acknowledge one another for our individual and collaborative leading- edge thinking.