Linda Bernardi

With a passion for disruptive technologies and leadership, Linda Bernardi possesses a unique vision and a fierce commitment to promoting innovative, disruptive vision and technologies. In her role as “innovation provocateur,” Linda helps organizations break free of their comfort zone, defy conventional wisdom, and shatter outdated paradigms in their quest for market-changing products, services and methods. Linda is a very active professional speaker, delivering keynotes and talks around the globe. She works closely with the Financial, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Retail, Hospitality, Consumer Products and Tech sectors.

Linda is currently a Senior Advisor for McKinsey & Company Worldwide. Previously, Linda was Chief Innovation Officer at IBM for IoT and Cloud when IBM introduced Watson. Her focus was enabling IBM’s Fortune 100 customers to introduce IoT, AI and cognitive capabilities into their operations and thrive in the hyper-connected world. As the former EVP, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Element AI, she was responsible for product development and strategy. She has held several other senior executive roles.

Upon leaving IBM, Linda completed her second book, The Inversion Factor (MIT Press 2018), which discusses the mindset shift in enterprises from ‘product-first’ to ‘needs-first’ mentality and the evolution of IoT in the hyperconnected world. The Inversion Factor lays out one of the most critical paradigm shifts in technology today and won the Axiom Bronze Award in Business Theory.

Linda’s first book, ProVoke (2011) discusses the necessity of disruption in order to innovate. She is now working on her 3rd book in innovation and disruptive technologies to be released in 2021.

Linda has delivered hundreds of talks at large companies, tech and innovation events & conferences around the globe and has reached tens of thousands of readers and followers of disruption and innovation. She has proudly and deliberately created the Culture of Disruption in large companies. You can call her an Innovation Activist!

Linda is a serial tech entrepreneur. In 2001, she founded her first startup, ConnecTerra, Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based software provider connecting RFID technology to large enterprise IT. Today RFID is considered to be the genesis and enabler of IoT.

After selling the company in 2006, she became an avid early-stage technology startup investor in the US and abroad.

Linda’s work in the not for profit sector includes:

• Founding Emeritus board member of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology & The Grace Hopper Celebration
• Emeritus board member at The SETI Institute in astronomy and astrophysics.

She has an MS in Applied Mathematics & Statistics from UCLA and lives in Seattle.