Brian E Kurtz

Brian E Kurtz is passionate about harnessing the power of design, technology and social innovation to transform the world.

He partners with leaders at Fortune 100 multinationals and multilateral organizations to mount global movements, accelerate new ventures, and realize the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. He is a Partner at The Kurtz Group, a boutique consultancy and investment firm that has ushered executive leadership teams through periods of transformation for over thirty years.

Previously, as Chief of Staff to the Chief Technology Officer at Telstra, Australia’s largest Telco and Media company, he spearheaded strategic development of the company’s global innovation agenda. His mandate included forming a world-class Industry Advisory Board, producing multi-city Hack-a-thons and launching a groundbreaking new innovation lab in the heart of Melbourne, Australia.

He was recognized as a ‘Responsible Leader’ by the BMW Foundation for founding The League of Intrapreneurs Australia, a network of pioneers and innovators within leading institutions. Prior to Telstra, Brian led development of Hub Australia, the country’s most prominent provider of co-working spaces and communities composed of cross-sector leaders including entrepreneurs, academics, corporate executives, leaders of NGOs and government innovators across four capital cities.

Brian is a global strategist with over a decade of experience in marketing, strategic development and leadership inside large corporations and lean startups. He has visited and benchmarked over 150 innovation labs on five continents and has been a featured speaker on cultivating innovation districts and cross-sector collaboration at The BMW Foundation, The United Arab Emirates Prime Minister’s Office, Engineers Without Borders, VICE, TEDx, SingularityU, NEXUS Global and Facebook. His favorite cities are Barcelona, Melbourne and Berlin.