Home2019-07-08T14:42:32+00:00
INNOVATION SPEAKER

DUNCAN
WARDLE

IGNITE A CULTURE OF INNOVATION AND
CREATIVITY WITHIN YOUR COMPANY

Book Duncan

ideate, innovate, elevate.

As Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, Duncan led the team that helped Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Disney Parks to innovate, creating magical new storylines and experiences for consumers around the globe. As founder of iD8 & innov8 he now brings his extensive Disney experience delivering keynotes, workshops and ideation forums, around the globe helping companies embed a culture of innovation into everyone’s DNA.

Keynotes

With 25+ years spent in leadership roles at Disney, Duncan’s talks are anything but ordinary. Sharing real world stories and lessons learned from the innovation battlefield, Duncan leaves audiences inspired, motivated, and ready to innovate for their own organizations.

Workshops

By sharing the tools and techniques needed to generate more frequent, consistent “a-ha!” moments for your business, Duncan’s hands-on workshops turn teams into innovation powerhouses, driving immediate, measurable impact for organizations across the globe.

Ideation Sessions

Forever change brainstorming: Let Duncan guide your team through a structured Ideation Session and make the sparks fly. Learn the format that’s been proven to elicit the most meaningful new ideas from every level of your company, and change the way your team innovates.

on a mission to eradicate the
status quo.

Duncan challenges everyone to claim their own creativity, thus creating a culture of innovation never possible before. The former Head of Innovation and Creativity for Disney, Duncan is now one of the world’s most highly regarded innovation speakers and consultants, teaching companies, brands and individuals across the globe to overcome their own expertise and get out of their own way. To think differently and creatively.

In an age where meetings and projects and presentations have your employees feeling like they are “too busy to think,” Duncan teaches how to create an innovation “light switch.” A way to turn on their creative brain and access the ideas that turn ordinary companies into industry leaders.

It takes time and money to find, hire, and build your teams. So why not leverage the full potential of their creativity and harness the full spectrum of their innovation? Through his pioneering consulting services, Duncan teaches organizations how to do just that, maximizing the ROI they receive on their most valuable resource: their people.

Based on his 25 years of innovations leadership at Disney, Duncan’s unique design thinking process will empower your entire organization to redefine how they think about
problems and solutions. Teams leave with the tools they need to start innovating
today and to immediately drive positive growth for your organization.

Are you ready to see the ideas that are unleashed by fostering a culture of innovation
and creativity within your organization?

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OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

As a world-renown innovation speaker, Duncan travels to dozens of countries each year, reaching thousands of individuals through his keynote speeches, ideation workshops and creative consulting.

Duncan believes that creativity has no borders. No matter where your organization is located, he can deliver an impactful message that’s tailored to your local environment, and built upon the lessons he learned as a global creative executive for The Walt Disney Company.

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Company Duncan Keeps

Duncan Wardle's interactive presentation breathed a new life of excitement into our Driven Brands Marketing teams. Immediately following his innovation seminar, we all created desktop screensavers with little tidbits or quotes from his lessons ensuring we would be reminded every day to "find the yes" or "get out of our river of thought"... and to "share early and often". We started having breakfast meetings where we idea shared. Ultimately Duncan's teachings continue to remind us that innovation is such a vital part of jobs and we can also have a lot of fun doing it.

-Hannah Ross, Sr. Marketing Manager, Carstar

Duncan’s power comes from his engaging exercises, energetic delivery and the memorability of his tools. When a 100 year old brand starts replacing stagnant approaches with expansive language like “how might we?” or “Yes, And,” - you know the culture is beginning to shift.

-Lori Geoffrey, Director of Digital Experience Pacific Gas and Electric

In one word I would explain Duncan’s creativity training as transformative. One day with Duncan created more than a year of conversation and fresh approaches to brainstorming throughout our agency.

-Tom Coyne, CEO of Coyne PR

While Duncan spoke to a large and packed room, people were inspired and hung on his every word. Many claimed it was one of the best presentations they'd ever experienced. If you're looking for an amazing speaker who can motivate others to innovate, then look no further than Duncan Wardle."

-Michael Stelzner, Founder Social Media Examiner and Social Media Marketing World

Duncan has amazed all of us and our audience during his visit to Colombia. Addressing to an audience of over 1,000 people he was able to land innovation and creativity in very simple and practical steps, and in a very fun way also! It is obvious that his over 20 years of experience with outstanding results in his back has given us also proven results of his proposed methodology. As a speaker, he comes across very simple, clear but with an incredible passion that is so contagious, you don’t realize how time goes by in his presentation!

-MARCELO CATALDO, CEO, Tigo Une

Duncan’s workshop sparked our creative minds and gave us tools that will pay dividends for years to come. My team was thoroughly captivated, fully engaged, energized and inspired. Look no further than Duncan for one of the best investments you will ever make in your business.

-Lisa Cotter, Vice President of Marketing, Orlando Magic

In true Disney fashion, Duncan’s teaching methods are educational and entertaining. He has successfully introduced new ways of thinking into our company, paving the way to invigorating and enhancing our culture of continued innovation and creativity.”

-George Scammell, Director of Interior Design, Princess Cruises

We've had the pleasure of having Duncan speak at three different events in 2017. Each time, he was the audience favorite, hands down. His presentations are work sessions designed to be fun, interactive, and fast-paced. Duncan is true wealth of creative knowledge and inspiration, and he helped our members stretch their out-of-the-box thinking.

-Mike McMahon, President & Executive Director, Path to Purchase Institute

Duncan was an inspiring part of TEDx. His knowledge and experience are matched by his enthusiasm for delighting the audience with his wit and charm. I look forward to working with Duncan again- learning & exploring, in-depth, through his design workshops!

-Cassaundra Melgar-C’de Baca, Executive Producer, TEDxLadyBirdLake

If your company is looking for ways to continuously improve, engage your employees to think differently and have fun along the way, you’ll find inspiration in Duncan’s Innovation Emporium., Not only have our teams returned from Duncan’s workshops with a newfound excitement and a belief that they have what it takes to be innovative, they’ve also generated tangible ideas that are moving into the implementation phase.

-Laurie Giammona, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer - Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Duncan has a unique way of connecting with an audience and challenging them to approach creativity in a radically different approach. Considering that many of the people in the audience are creative people by nature and job description, that is fairly remarkable. Duncan’s insights and sense of humor keep the audience engaged from start to finish.

-Paul Noland, President & CEO International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions

Duncan’s Musings

Man on the Moon

It was nearly 4am Monday morning when my mother woke us. Minutes earlier, I had been tucked in tight and fast asleep in our cosy English home. Now, along with my two sisters, I was being marched in my sleeping [...]

15 July, 2019|
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Contact Me

Is your organization ready to unleash
the power of your team’s creativity?

(407) 569-7050

ignite@duncanwardle.com

  • With the Lion King hitting theatres this weekend I’m reminded of the biggest stunts we did at @Disney. On April 22, 1997 in the middle of New York’s Central Park we launched Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Along with 1500 young performers through live human animation, we created a lion, dinosaur, and dragon who orchestrated movement together as separate animals and then came together to showcase the new logo for Animal Kingdom. Here’s one of my favourite images of the lion captured from a helicopter above Central Park. #Disney #AnimalKingdom #PR #TheLionKing #LionKing #TBT #CentralPark #NewYork
  • #TBT to my adventures with @Nasa In celebration of #Apollos50th I'm sharing some of my personal favourite photos of the time I met my childhood heroes, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Jim Lovell. I had the honour of working on audacious projects including sending Buzz Lightyear into space! Click the link in my bio at @DuncanJWardle to hear about the time that my mother woke me up at 4am, "Sit down, shut up, and pay attention,” my mother lovingly directed, “something important is about to happen.” and that life-changing day, how it inspired innovation and a no limit mindset within my life and how it forever changed mankind. #Apollo50th #ManOnTheMoon #50Years #Nasa #MoonLanding #Houston #LifeChanging #OneSmallStep #OnGiantLeap #Mankind #Moon #Moonlanding #History
  • "As Disney’s former head of innovation and creativity, what did a typical day look like and how do you translate that to the work you do now?" Thank you @smpsheadquarters for the feature article and asking so many wonderful questions! Click the link in bio at @DuncanJWardle #smpsbb19 This article was first published in the April 2019 issue of Marketer, a journal published by SMPS. For more information, visit www.smps.org. #Washington #BuildBusiness #InnovationSpeaker #InnovationKeynote #CreativitySpeaker #CreativityKeynote #Ideation #TimeToDisrupt #MarketDisruption #ThinkDifferent #DesignThinking
  • In keeping with the space theme, I wanted to share first hand the story about the time I send Buzz Lightyear into space! Read all the details from how we came up with the idea, to how to pitch it, to a photo of Buzz from the launch: https://duncanwardle.com/buzz-lightyear/ As for the true inspiration for big dreams and no limits: Link in bio. With @Nasa #Apollo50th #ManOnTheMoon #IfYouCanDreamIt #BuzzLightYear #Pixar #MoonLanding #Moon #ToInfinityAndBeyond
  • "It was nearly 4am Monday morning when my mother woke us... “Sit down, shut up, and pay attention,” my mother lovingly directed, “something important is about to happen.” That was almost 50 years ago today. And this week we're celebrating Man's first landing on the moon. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Here's a look back on that life-changing day, how it inspired innovation and a no limit mindset within my life and how it forever changed mankind: Link in bio at @DuncanJWardle #Apollo50th #ManOnTheMoon #50Years #Nasa #MoonLanding #Houston #LifeChanging #OneSmallStep #OnGiantLeap #Mankind #Moon #Moonlanding #History
  • Last week I stood on stage at Usher Hall in Edinburgh and received an Honorary Doctorate for my work around the globe helping people be more innovative and creative as well as my career in innovation with @Disney. ____ It's not very often that I find myself speechless however this was a truly special full circle moment were looking out on the graduates it brought me back to when I sat in those seats, wide-eyed and big dreams! ____ 30+ years later I'm on the other side of the podium being honoured for doing the work I loved. For following my passion... and for dreaming big. ____ Thank you to my fellow graduates for sharing the stage and for sharing this day with me. Thank you to my Alma Mater @edinburghnapier this distinguished honour, and thank you to my family for always supporting me every step of the way. It was truly special to have you there in the audience to celebrate. ____ If you're interested in seeing the presentation or my following speech I invite you to click the link below and tune into the 5:00 mark. Link in bio @duncanjwardle ___ #EdinburghNapier #Doctorate #Honoured #humbled