Emilie Colker

Emilie is passionate about how companies can connect authentically with communities and customers in new ways. She’s also intrigued by the collision of the physical and digital worlds, as technology drives a new unconscious longing for greater physicality and yet much of day-to-day work is focused on designing for AI.

For more than 20+ years, Emilie has held marketing, digital leadership and innovation roles focused on driving growth for businesses experiencing waves of innovation and change; with an emphasis on integrating sustainability holistically into businesses to create a competitive advantage. Emilie has delivered tangible results for early-stage companies focused on growth, as well as helped major brands solve diverse problems and seize new market opportunities.

Much of her work has involved defining—or redefining—market strategies for brands and helping leaders and their teams to identify and implement a systemic approach to designing, launching and scaling new products, services and experiences that people love and that advance society usually in service of some form of organisational transformation. 

Emilie leads global innovation at Avanade -- a 60,000 person-strong joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture responsible for designing and implementing tech solutions for mid-sized companies ($500M-$3BN).

Before joining Avanade to use human-centered design within a technology consultancy and delivery environment. Emilie spent 6 years in leadership roles at global design and innovation firm, IDEO, most recently as a senior partner responsible for European operations and significant client transformations.

Before joining IDEO, Emilie helped education powerhouse Pearson build an award-winning sustainability and social impact agenda that rolled out globally within eight months and generated returns within 14. The program reached three billion people in three years.

Emilie joined Pearson in 2014 when Pearson acquired the Business English SaaS company she helped lead for $90 million, and led their global marketing campaigns and social impact functions during her term there while also leading the company's digital transformation efforts.

Emilie spent 15 years in Silicon Valley in beginning in the early 00s navigating the exponential wave of growth that led to businesses adapting to the Internet era. Her background at creative agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and tech startups enables her to contribute to projects across industries and speak to customers with diverse needs.

Emilie has received a number of awards for innovation, communication, and social impact, including the Cannes Lion Grand Prix. Emilie is a fierce advocate for gender equality and women's leadership and serves on several advisory boards dedicated to empowering women in business, civil society, and politics.