Book David Gram through The Keynote Curators
Biography
David has worked with radical innovation and lean start-up methods in small businesses and large global corporations for the last 16 years – e.g. as Head of Innovation at Scandinavian Airlines, as Senior Innovation Director in LEGO’s Future Lab, and recently as Venture Partner in LEGO Ventures. Using design thinking and agile development, David has been developing and leading innovation units and projects from early incubation to full maturity. He has recently been instrumental in building and launching LEGO Ventures, the new strategic venture arm at the LEGO Brand Group.
David is co-founder of Diplomatic Rebels, a company dedicated to empowering companies and intrapreneurs worldwide to become stronger innovators. He is passionate about transforming large organizations into lean innovators. Believing that companies not only have an opportunity to better leverage their resources, assets and expertise in creating value, but also a responsibility to lead the global change in a way that has a long-term positive impact on human beings and the planet.
Through his experience, David has obtained several unique insights and developed approaches to how businesses can stay afloat in an ever-changing world and transform the organization into a change-leading innovator. He believes that anybody can become an innovator in their own organization or as he calls it a Diplomatic Rebel. As an experienced international keynote speaker and executive advisor, David uses his passion for breakthrough innovation to inspire and infuse this new mindset and toolbox in organizations worldwide.
Contact us for David Gram fees and availability
Videos
Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more
Intrapreneurship is behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. This approach enables larger companies to break from old habits and ways of working to meet future challenges and disruptions in an agile, nimble and fast manner to minimize risk and maximize learning.
Key takeaways include:
- Identifying and disrupting old habits
- Innovation with an entrepreneur’s mindset
- Fostering the future on a company-wide level
Growing big is no longer a clear strength for companies as they risk becoming slow and unable to adapt. It seems that with size comes a growing fear of failing, paralyzing experimentation. Future organizations need to become more like open platforms enabling multiple stakeholders, incl. partners, startups and customers, to engage and create value around the edges of the company.
Audience takeaways:
- Understand how to transform the growing organization into a nimble and adaptive ecosystem of capabilities, assets, and talent, enabling meaningful collaboration with startups while empowering employees to build new startups in the ecosystem.
To pursue radical innovation successfully, companies first need to set a strong foundation for its execution. This includes defining a clear purpose for why the company is exploring new territory and a strategy for where and how to explore. The right Opportunity Spaces should be identified to avoid “boiling the ocean.”
Audience takeaways:
- Understand why having a clear purpose and understanding of
the company’s core capabilities is essential for driving effective innovation and how setting limits to what you do will dramatically increase your chances of success.
How to challenge the status quo with disruptive and provocative new ideas and projects– without losing the support and respect from colleagues and management. This is a difficult balance and many intrapreneurs either give up and do as they are told, or they burn out and leave. To overcome this, you need to balance the innovator's rebel nature with the corporate navigator's diplomatic skills.
Audience takeaways: Understand the 5 habits of highly impactful intrapreneurs and how to become a Diplomatic Rebel. Learn how to foster and train these skills and how to build and lead an organization of diplomatic rebels.
Attracting, retaining, and leading the millennial & GenZ intrapreneurs demands a new approach to leadership and new ways of working. It calls for more autonomy and empowerment in the organization carried by visionary leadership, where coaching and EQ development replaces micromanagement and IQ focus. This is a transformation of leadership and organizational management.
Audience takeaways: Understand how to embrace the skills and mindset of the new generations to drive disruptive innovation. Learn how to attract, motivate, and measure the future workforce.
The Educational industry is changing radically. Education is being democratized as it moves online, allowing many new startups to emerge, and putting the industry's traditional players and business models under pressure. New technologies, like AI and Blockchain empower personalized and adaptive learning while empowering the users to become educational content creators. Experimentation and intrapreneurship are needed for the existing industry players, new startups, and investors in the industry to navigate and explore these disruptions.
Audience takeaways: Understand some of the key drivers of the changing educational industry and how to effectively explore and validate investment theses in this space.
Get in TouchContact US
Fill out the form so we can best understand your needs.
A representative from The Keynote Curators will reach out to you.
Related Thought Leadership Speakers
Blog Posts
Purpose Before the Noise: Why Your Morning Sets the Whole Day
Purpose sets the tone for your whole day. Learn why protecting it each morning matters more than any meeting on your calendar.
Read More
Communication Breaks Down When Leaders Forget the Human Element, with Melina Palmer
Melina Palmer explains why communication is a psychology problem, not just a clarity one, and how leaders build trust through language.
Read More
Everyone Has Creativity, Even If They Don’t Believe It
Creativity isn't a personality trait. Nir Bashan explains why creativity shows up when everything else fails, and how to unlock it in your team.
Read More
Customer Service Starts by Truly Listening, Says Barbara Khozam
Barbara Khozam explains why customer service depends on real listening, respect, and consistency, not scripts or slogans.
Read More
Event Experience Design Is What Separates Memorable from Forgettable in 2026
A premium event isn't built on the biggest name. Here's what event professionals say actually drives unforgettable experiences in the second half of 2026.
Read More
True Authenticity Starts With Knowing Yourself, with Kevin Boehm
Kevin Boehm reveals why authenticity in business starts with knowing yourself and how leaders can build success that actually means something in this episode of The Keynote Curators Podcast.
Read More
The Differences Between Inspiration and Creativity
Explore Fredrik Haren's concept of creative respiration and learn why business leaders must shift their focus from constant inspiration to actionable creativity.
Read More
Leadership strategies for uncertain times with Meridith Elliott Powell
Meridith Elliott Powell shares practical leadership strategies for turning uncertainty into competitive advantage, engaging teams, and building succession plans. (
Read More