Scaling innovation in a large organization is less about ideas and more about execution. How do you turn bold concepts into measurable business growth?
This week’s VentureFuel Visionary is Manasa Nalla, Associate Director of Product Innovation & Strategy at The Duracell Company. With nine years at Duracell spanning engineering, R&D, and product strategy, she shares how she builds consumer-centric roadmaps, aligns 100+ external partners, and translates technical differentiation into compelling customer ROI.
The episode also discusses: what "innovation impact" really means inside a Fortune 1000 company, how to prioritize what makes it into the product roadmap — and what doesn't, the story behind Duracell's ProCell Cost Savings Calculator and proving labor savings to unlock growth, how to scale new products without getting trapped by legacy systems or internal politics, and emerging technologies enterprise leaders should be watching from CES and beyond.
Episode Highlights
- From Activity to Impact – The episode explores how organizations can move beyond innovation for the sake of activity, focusing on measurable value for customers, business, and the broader ecosystem.
- Prioritizing What Matters – Manasa discusses how to filter and select ideas that are technically feasible, strategically aligned, and deliver real consumer or business impact.
- Scaling Innovation Across Partners – She covers strategies for aligning internal teams and external partners without slowing down progress or losing focus on the end user.
- Turning Technical Data into Customer ROI – She also talks about how digital tools, like cost savings calculators, make innovation tangible by connecting performance metrics to real-world outcomes.
- Emerging Technologies and AI – The conversation highlights key trends — connected ecosystems, smarter energy solutions, and AI — that are reshaping how enterprises accelerate product development and decision-making.
VentureFuel builds and accelerates innovation programs for industry leaders by helping them unlock the power of External Innovation via startup collaborations.