As CEOs seek to grow their business the answer often comes down to one word – innovation. Innovation is the heart that pumps out new value to existing and new customers. With this in mind, I thought it would be valuable to assemble the CEOs of top innovative companies and ask questions like: how they develop strategy, how they build innovation into their corporate culture, and what they see the future holds. Below are the answers from these 3 CEOs:
More than 165 years old, Siemens is often called the oldest, biggest company, with reported worldwide revenue of approximately $100 billion in fiscal 2013.  Through its history Siemens has created the first electric railway and streetcar, traffic lights in Germany, the integrated circuit, the hairdryer, vacuum, computed tomography and pacemaker among other inventions. Eric Spiegel is CEO of Siemens USA with 52,000 employees throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $24.2 billion in fiscal 2013 and is home to nearly 100 manufacturing sites in the U.S.
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company provides specialized insurance solutions in both personal and commercial insurance lines.  It was founded 150 years ago in 1863 with an original societal mission to give back to families of fallen firefighters. Fireman’s Fund insured the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, the first green building in 2006, plus many classic Hollywood films as a specialized provider to the entertainment industry.  Andrew Torrance is CEO of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.
Applied Materials is the leader in precision materials engineering for the semiconductor, display and solar industries. Applied’s innovative products are used in leading semiconductor factories to produce virtually every microchip in the world. Applied Materials employs more Ph.D.’s than most other companies in Silicon Valley. Gary Dickerson is the CEO of Applied Materials, Inc.
1. Robert Reiss: How do you build innovation into the DNA of your organization?