Thomas D. Kuczmarski is the founder, senior partner and president of Kuczmarski Innovation, a management consultancy committed to accelerating growth through innovation. He is a nationally recognized expert in innovation and the development of new products and services. Over the course of his career he has helped hundreds of clients, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations, learn to systematically unlock the value of innovation. Kuczmarski is the author of six books: Managing New Products, Innovation, Innovating The Corporation, Values-Based Leadership, Apples Are Square, and Innovating...Chicago-Style. He has taught product and service innovation at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management for 30 years, attracting students and executives from around the world.He is extensively published and cited in radio, television, and national periodicals including: The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, The Today Show, USA Today, Advertising Age, Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago Sun-Times, and Chicago Tribune. Kuczmarski is a regular columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek's online Innovation Channel and a highly sought after keynote speaker and lecturer in the U.S. and abroad. Kuczmarski is also founder, along with journalist Dan Miller, of the Chicago Innovation Awards, which annually celebrates, educates, and connects innovators in the Chicago region. The awards, which are endorsed by every major business association in the Chicago region, showcase the creative spirit of America's heartland. In 2013, the Awards expanded to include a new venture, The Innovators Connection, designed to help expand the region's economy by creating business connections among the region's innovators, large and small.He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and an appointed member of the Illinois Innovation Council.