MEET ALEXANDER OSTERWALDER
Business models and value propositions age faster than ever before, spurred by rapid technological change, increased uncertainty, market volatility and ever-changing customer needs – making business model innovation and value proposition design an essential strategy for driving value-creating growth.
One of the world’s most influential proponents of business model innovation and value proposition design, Alexander (Alex) Osterwalder provides a framework for large companies and startups to innovate by rapidly experimenting with new business models and value propositions. He is co-founder of Strategyzer, a leading software provider that helps organizations develop growth engines, better customer understanding, more attractive value propositions and powerful business models via online applications and blended online/offline courses.
Osterwalder invented the “Business Model Canvas,” a strategic management tool to design, test, build and manage business models. The tool – successfully used by such leading organizations as Coca-Cola, GE, P&G, Mastercard, Ericsson, LEGO and 3M – is detailed in his first book, international best-seller “Business Model Generation” (Wiley, 2010). Crafted alongside Professor Yves Pigneur, Osterwalder’s long-time co-author and former Ph.D. supervisor, as well as 470 collaborators from 45 countries, the book was initially self-published in 2009 with an innovative crowd-funded business model. It was named among the 12 best business books of all time by USA Today. More recently, Osterwalder published “Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want” (Wiley, 2015), which explains how to gain greater fit between a product and its intended market.
A passionate entrepreneur, and in-demand speaker and leadership coach, Osterwalder won the 2015 strategy award from Thinkers50; he ranks high (#15) among the leading business thinkers of the world. In 2013, he won the European Union’s inaugural Innovation Luminary Award.
Osterwalder is a frequent keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies and has held guest lectures in top universities around the world, including Wharton, Stanford, Berkeley, IESE, MIT, KAUST and IMD. He holds a Ph.D. from HEC Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a founding member of The Constellation, a global not-for-profit organization aiming to make HIV/AIDS and Malaria history.
One of the world’s most influential proponents of business model innovation and value proposition design, Alexander (Alex) Osterwalder provides a framework for large companies and startups to innovate by rapidly experimenting with new business models and value propositions. He is co-founder of Strategyzer, a leading software provider that helps organizations develop growth engines, better customer understanding, more attractive value propositions and powerful business models via online applications and blended online/offline courses.
Osterwalder invented the “Business Model Canvas,” a strategic management tool to design, test, build and manage business models. The tool – successfully used by such leading organizations as Coca-Cola, GE, P&G, Mastercard, Ericsson, LEGO and 3M – is detailed in his first book, international best-seller “Business Model Generation” (Wiley, 2010). Crafted alongside Professor Yves Pigneur, Osterwalder’s long-time co-author and former Ph.D. supervisor, as well as 470 collaborators from 45 countries, the book was initially self-published in 2009 with an innovative crowd-funded business model. It was named among the 12 best business books of all time by USA Today. More recently, Osterwalder published “Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want” (Wiley, 2015), which explains how to gain greater fit between a product and its intended market.
A passionate entrepreneur, and in-demand speaker and leadership coach, Osterwalder won the 2015 strategy award from Thinkers50; he ranks high (#15) among the leading business thinkers of the world. In 2013, he won the European Union’s inaugural Innovation Luminary Award.
Osterwalder is a frequent keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies and has held guest lectures in top universities around the world, including Wharton, Stanford, Berkeley, IESE, MIT, KAUST and IMD. He holds a Ph.D. from HEC Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a founding member of The Constellation, a global not-for-profit organization aiming to make HIV/AIDS and Malaria history.
VIDEOS
Suggested Speaking Topics
Build Yourself a Growth Engine: Business Model Innovation
A study by KPMG shows that 74% of CEOs are afraid of new entrants disrupting their business model. Rightfully so! Osterwalder outlines how organizations can tackle the difficult topic of (re-) inventing their own business models to remain competitive. This highly interactive, hands-on presentation is based on the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool developed by Osterwalder to design, test, and build business models. Osterwalder shows that while business model innovation is difficult, it does not have to be risky.
Value Proposition Design: Getting Your Customers to Care
A study by Simon-Kucher shows that 72% of all new product introductions fail to meet their revenue and profit targets. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this talk Osterwalder outlines how organizations can more systematically understand customers and create value for them with the right products and services – while reducing the risk of innovation at the same time. This interactive presentation is based on the Value Proposition Canvas, Osterwalder’s tool to design, test, and build value propositions.
Innovation Culture: Managing and Innovating Simultaneously
What’s the difference between “successful” and “exceptional”? Successful companies spend their time on managing and improving their established business model. But the processes and culture of execution and management often kill innovation. Exceptional companies know how to maintain an execution culture and nurture an innovation culture at the same time. In this interactive and practical presentation, Osterwalder gets participants working on culture via his Culture Map, a business tool to assess, design and nurture a desired organizational culture.
A study by KPMG shows that 74% of CEOs are afraid of new entrants disrupting their business model. Rightfully so! Osterwalder outlines how organizations can tackle the difficult topic of (re-) inventing their own business models to remain competitive. This highly interactive, hands-on presentation is based on the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool developed by Osterwalder to design, test, and build business models. Osterwalder shows that while business model innovation is difficult, it does not have to be risky.
Value Proposition Design: Getting Your Customers to Care
A study by Simon-Kucher shows that 72% of all new product introductions fail to meet their revenue and profit targets. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this talk Osterwalder outlines how organizations can more systematically understand customers and create value for them with the right products and services – while reducing the risk of innovation at the same time. This interactive presentation is based on the Value Proposition Canvas, Osterwalder’s tool to design, test, and build value propositions.
Innovation Culture: Managing and Innovating Simultaneously
What’s the difference between “successful” and “exceptional”? Successful companies spend their time on managing and improving their established business model. But the processes and culture of execution and management often kill innovation. Exceptional companies know how to maintain an execution culture and nurture an innovation culture at the same time. In this interactive and practical presentation, Osterwalder gets participants working on culture via his Culture Map, a business tool to assess, design and nurture a desired organizational culture.
