Novum
the professional home for corporate innovators leading what’s next.
for corporate innovators leading what's next.
Innovation leaders are among the most isolated executives in large organizations. Most colleagues support what you're aiming for, but very few understand what it actually takes.
Delivering innovation inside a large organization is challenging. The pace of change is relentless, priorities shift constantly, and yet we have ambitious goals to deliver against. Fundamentally, the operating model is shifting — innovation is moving out of dedicated central teams and into the business, often with more focus on the short term. At the same time, the practice itself is evolving — AI is reshaping how the work is done and decisions get made. When processes and workflows change because of that, it requires new ways of working and different skills from everyone involved. The truth is, even the best innovation teams can’t do this all in isolation. That's why we built Novum as 'the professional home' for those leading growth, innovation and transformation in large organizations.
● What Novum offers
Infrastructure for better decisions and results.
CEO forums have existed for decades because the most effective leaders know that external peer dialogue is not a luxury. It's how the hardest decisions get made, and made well. Novum brings that same logic to the people leading what's next inside large organizations. Innovation leaders operate in a state of permanent uncertainty and rapid change. That's precisely when having a trusted external peer group matters most.
This is for leaders who know they think better, decide faster, and go further with the right people around them.
Your Novum circle is where the real conversations happen — because everyone in the room knows exactly what you're talking about.
SHARPER DECISIONS
Input from people who understand your context Bring your hardest challenge to peers who've faced comparable situations — and get the direct, unfiltered perspective that's impossible to get inside your org.
REAL BENCHMARK
What's actually working elsewhere Not curated case studies or conference presentations — honest accounts of what's working, what isn't, and what others would do differently if they could.
CLEARER THINKING
The question that reframes everything A peer who's been where you are asks one question — and suddenly you see your situation differently.
STEADY GROUND
People to call when things get hard Over time, these are the people you reach out to when a high-stakes situation needs a fast, trusted perspective from someone who genuinely understands the terrain. Always just a text away.
CAREER CAPITAL
Build the network before you need it The relationships compound over time — into opportunities that travel with you. You build a network not when you need it, but before. So that when things change, as they inevitably do, you're not starting from scratch.
UNEXPECTED COLLABORATIONS
Find your next co-innovation partner Members have found co-innovation opportunities and partnerships across the value chain — connections that would never have surfaced otherwise.
● How it works
Monthly hotseat. Ongoing access. Results that compound over time.
Novum runs as a monthly facilitated conversation — 90 minutes with your circle, a core group of 8-12 members. Each session includes the hotseat opportunity: a member brings their most pressing challenge, the group asks clarifying questions before offering any input, then responds directly. You leave with a committed next step — and report back the following month. It's a disciplined process. Not a talking shop.
MONTHLY · 90 MIN
Hotseat sessions 2–3 hotseats per call. Bring your challenge, the group asks before it advises, you leave with a committed next step.
AS NEEDED
Between-call access A private channel to your peer group — for a quick perspective on a decision, or the urgent situation that can't wait until next month.
WHEN RELEVANT
Guest contributors When the group wants to go deeper on a topic, we bring in the right practitioner — driven by the group's needs, not a fixed program.
INCLUDED
Stay fresh. Engage in the Society, our wider community of innovation professionals — topical speaker sessions, AI-powered knowledge base, and our annual summit.
“But… I am so busy already…?!”
We hear you. Your Novum circle call is one more thing on your calendar — 90 minutes a month. It’s also the one item that makes everything else on it easier.
Members consistently tell us it’s not about time spent, it’s about time recovered — in decisions made faster, mistakes avoided, and months of circling on a problem that one conversation could have cut short.
Twice a year, we meet.
Novum members gather in person twice a year, across Europe and North America. Two days, lunch to lunch. The same peer methodology as your monthly sessions — no keynotes, no panels, no vendor pitches. Just fellow members, the right environment, and more time than a 90-minute call allows. The conversations that start here don't end when the two days do.
● Who's in the room
Carefully matched. Genuinely comparable.
Novum circles are curated — not random. We carefully match members by seniority, organizational context, mandate type, and current priorities. The result is a room where everyone is navigating terrain that's recognizably similar — different enough to bring fresh perspective, close enough that no one needs to explain the basics.
We don’t match on title alone. An innovation lead at a 2,000-person industrial company and one at a 50,000-person FMCG have very different realities. We look at organizational maturity, mandate scope, reporting lines, and current priorities.
What get’s shared, stays in the circle. Novum circles operate under the Chatham House Rule: participants are free to use information from discussions, but may not reveal the identity or affiliation of those involved. That’s the foundation of the candor that makes the format work. Also, circles are composed so that no two members come from competing organizations.
Members include:
Chief Innovation Officers
VP, Head and Director-level innovation leads
Strategy & Growth leads
Corporate strategy, business development, growth functions
Intrapreneurs & Venture Leads
Running new business units or ventures inside large orgs
Technology & Transformation
AI, digital, IT and transformation leaders driving change
R&D and (AI) Product
Building the next generation of products and capabilities
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● Why it works
Nothing beats a deep conversation among people who live the same reality.
The model goes back to Benjamin Franklin's Junto Club in 1727 — a small group of practitioners meeting regularly to share knowledge, challenge each other's thinking, and hold each other accountable. Nearly three centuries later, the mechanism is still as effective. It works because the people in the room have lived a version of what you're dealing with. No context needed. No translation. And because they're outside your organization, they can say things no one inside it can — and you can too.
#1
benefit named by peer advisory members: catching the mistake before it happens — saving time, budget, and credibility.
2.2×
faster revenue growth among CEO peer group members vs comparable non-members.
70%
of people who committed goals to a peer and reported back achieved them — vs 35% who kept goals to themselves.
In the age of AI, having genuine human-to-human conversations is crucial. Technology accelerates access to information—but it doesn't replace the kind of nuanced, experience-based judgment that emerges when peers think through complex issues together. Novum provides that space: structured, confidential dialogue among equals, leading to better outcomes and stronger leadership.
Because when it's all about speed, the best thing you can do is pause, take a step back, and focus on what really matters.
To make sure you're actually heading in the right direction, not just moving fast. With others, chasing similar objectives and facing similar challenges. Novum is built around a simple idea: when peers who face the same challenges share what's actually working, everyone moves faster.
15+
years of experience bringing innovators together, since 2011.
35+
in-person conferences in innovation hubs around the world, always welcoming a curated group of 250+ innovation professionals.
5,000+
innovators welcomed in our online sessions and peer to peer discussions.
“ I'm amazed with the profile of the other people here. Everyone has relevant experience and is open to sharing and helping. I've been part of other groups but none match yours in terms of connections and networking. Truly remarkable. ”
“ I so appreciate the format, how open, honest and authentic it was. I am blown away with learnings, reflections and new insights. Such an amazing group with a true sharing mentality. ”
“ We had over 10 consultants sharing their advise, but none of that was helpful. In just one session we got exactly the input and feedback we needed to move forward with our project. ”
“ Thank you! The feedback I got made me realize we were on the wrong course. This 1 hour discussion saved me months of wasted time (and a few hundred thousands in budget too). ”
● Take the first step
The clarity that comes from being in the right room.
Novum is offered at a yearly membership fee, discussed during the application conversation.
Individual
One group. One year. The external perspective that changes how you think, decide, and lead.
Your seat at the table.
- Monthly 90-minute facilitated hotseat session
- Curated group of 8–12, matched by seniority and context
- Structured peer methodology — not just conversation
- Between-call access to your peer group
- Guest sessions driven by group needs
- Membership of wider community with topical speaker sessions, AI-powered knowledge base and yearly summit
Team
Joining as an individual is valuable. Bringing your team multiplies it.
It's even more powerful when your whole team is in.
Each member joins their own matched group. What comes back to your function isn't one person's external perspective, but multiple. Different peer groups, different windows into what's happening elsewhere.
Less echo chamber, more external intelligence.
To make sure every group is worth everyone's time, membership to Novum is offered after a short application process. Here's what it looks like.
1 – Apply online (5 min)
A short form — your role, organizational context, and what you’re hoping to get from your participation. You can indicate whether you’re applying for yourself or also for your team.
2 – We’ll talk (30 min)
We schedule a short call to discuss your mandate, your current priorities, and where you are in your innovation journey. Not an interview— a mutual conversation about fit.
3 – You’re confirmed
If there’s a group that’s the right match, we’ll tell you. If not, we’ll say so clearly and explain why. We’d rather be honest than place you in a group that isn’t right.
4 – You’re introduced
Once confirmed, you’ll meet with your group facilitator before the first session, and then you’ll be introduced to the group — so you walk in knowing who’s in the room.
Join 38,000+ corporate innovators and get your weekly dose of insights to inform your approach and improve your outcomes.
