About Helene
Helene Cahen is an innovation consultant, trainer, facilitator with over 20 years of experience helping companies navigate innovation challenges. She is the author of Fire Up Innovation and a Tedx speaker.
She is the founder and Principal Consultant at Fire Up Innovation Consulting (previously Strategic insights) where she guides Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and non-profits to understand innovation, create innovative new products/services, build effective teams, and support a user-centered culture.
She is also a lecturer, coach and facilitator for the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business and the Haas Executive Program, teaching innovation principles to both students and executives.
Prior to founding her consulting firm, Helene held executive and management positions in advertising, marketing research, HR, finance, and sales as well as VP of Innovation for an online start up. Her experience included directing large marketing research budgets for The Clorox Company and directing agency global advertising campaigns for large CGP companies such as Unilever, Nestlé and Kraft Foods.
Born and raised in Paris, France, Helene (pronounced “L N”) graduated with a business degree from the elite Sciences-Po Paris. Trained in creative problem solving and design thinking, Helene received a Master of Science in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Buffalo State University of New York. She is a a certified Foursight® facilitator.
Helene actively gives back to the community both financially and through volunteering with non-profit organizations.
Published Paper and Articles
Puccio, G., Cabra, J., Fox. M., & Cahen, H. (2010). Creativity on demand: Historical approaches and future trends. Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (2010), 24, 153‐159. Cambridge University Press.
Beckman, S.L., Kellogg, C. & Cahen, H. (2010). Teaching MBA students how to think like designers. Problem Finding. Problem Solving. Quarterly of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Winter 2010.
About Fire Up Innovation Consulting
We empower teams to learn and use new processes, skills, and tools to create new mindsets that make innovation and change easier — ultimately becoming part of the organization’s culture. Our experiential approach and long-term programs help develop the skills required to thrive in a changing environment. Fire Up Innovation Consulting's unique approach is based on best practices Helene Cahen learned from over 20 years of experience in the innovation field.