Mitchell Sava
Durham, NC
Mitch is the Global Lead for Open Innovation at Accenture, an internation professional services firm. Hot topics for him include breakthrough innovation, innovation labs/accelerators/incubators, corporate venturing, and creating a culture for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Previously, he was the Director of Innovation for what is now Creative England, a public agency working for the growth of the creative industries in England. In that role he was responsible for the iNet, a GBP3.5M EU-backed innovation fund and program.
A long-term supporter of entrepreneurs, he dove into the start-up waters himself as the founder and CEO of polyWonk, an internet company focused on collaboration and innovation in public policy and services.
Prior to this, Mitchell was the Sr. Advisor to NESTA, a ground-breaking UK public agency devoted to innovation, and also served as an innovation policy advisor in the UK and Europe.
Before relocating to the UK, he spent seven years as a strategist with Deloitte in San Francisco where he launched the Innovation Well, the first innovation service at a large consultancy. During the dot-com era, he co-founded OnRamp, Deloitte's business venture accelerator for start-ups and spin-outs of Fortune 500 firms.
Other experience includes work with the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, the Missouri Innovation Center and the Center for Technology Assessment and Policy.
Mitchell holds an MPA in innovation and entrepreneurship from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MSc in Technology and Human Affairs, and a BSc in Computer Science. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, a founding member of the Innovation Work Group, which published "Big Potatoes: The London Manifesto for Innovation" in the lead-up to the recent UK general election. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA), where he leads their project on “The Glory of Failure”.
He is an amateur winemaker, a lover of things cooked slowly, and a father forever in quest of sleep.