Ben Thuriaux-Aleman

Partner

Head, Technology, Innovation & Digitalization Competence Center, Energy Practice

Ben delivers strategic change and process improvement to improve industry technology and innovation management.

Ben Thuriaux-Aleman

Education

Rotterdam School of Management
Chicago Booth School of Business
MBA (Dean’s Honor List)
Open University
Postgraduate Certification in Project Management (Distinction)
Science Policy Research Unit
MSc in Science and Technology Policy
Manchester University
BSc Physics

Past Experience

Technopolis Group
Senior Consultant
Military Intelligence, Joint Chiefs of Staff, French Army
2nd Lieutenant, Desk Officer

Ben Thuriaux-Aleman

Ben is a Partner at Arthur D. Little in the London office and leads the Technology and Innovation Management Practice and Growth Strategy. He is also affiliated with Energy Practice’s Competence Centre in Technology & Innovation.

His work focuses on:

  • Strategy, technology and innovation management diagnostic and adapting innovation management best practices
  • Growth Strategy
  • National Innovation Systems, University and Education Strategy, Entrepreneurship Education and Innovation Hubs
  • Development of innovation strategy and technology roadmaps
  • Market intelligence and transaction support

Ben led Arthur D. Little’s most recent Innovation Excellence Benchmarking Study and our R&D management best practice study; he has also co-authored a number of ADL reports and viewpoints on a range of different innovation-related topics. He is passionate about the use of evidence and statistics in supporting decision-making.

Before joining Arthur D. Little, he worked at Technopolis Group on the evaluation of R&D programs and institutions and Innovation Policy for the EU and OECD.

He holds triple British, French, and Belgian Nationality. Ben trained as a Military Intelligence Officer in the French Army and holds a half blue for Judo from Sussex University.

The future of higher education, Part I
The future of higher education, Part I
From good to great: Enhancing innovation performance through effective management processes
From good to great: Enhancing innovation performance through effective management processes
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Closing the innovation gaps between business units
Closing the innovation gaps between business units
Why is this, and what can companies do to improve the situation? Based on new research, this article explores the reasons for failure to share best innovation practices between business units and sets out strategic approach companies can take. About the research Having run for over 20 years, ADL’s Global Innovation Excellence Benchmark is an anonymous self-assessment best practice database, containing responses from over 500 companies to a series of detailed questions on innovation excellence. It measures two dimensions:
Technology foresight: anticipating future impact
THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT What is technology foresight?
The Future of Innovation Districts
  The way in which organizations innovate, and places where they are based to do this, have changed profoundly over the last decade due to two overall trends – convergence and disruption. Companies have moved away from closed innovation models to more open approaches in which organizations and places work in collaborative ecosystems and networks, forming “uncommon partnerships” between previously unrelated industries.
Innovation management
Many organizations have created significant business benefit by decentralizing R&D and innovation functions, thus improving the contribution of innovation to business unit performance. However, this often creates a conflict of ownership, as the alignment of R&D activities with corporate strategy then needs to be dealt with at group level. Frequently, the responsibility for alignment between corporate strategy and business unit innovation and R&D lands with the CTO, who needs the right processes and tools to achieve this.
The National Innovation Ecosystem
Innovation is key in driving social and economic development and bridging the wealth gap between emerging and developed countries. Over the last 50 years, only a few countries, such as South Korea and Singapore, have succeeded in unlocking the full benefits of nation-wide innovation. Instrumental to their success is a systematic approach tackling innovation in a holistic manner that captures policy, governance, innovation engines and innovation enablers to shape their innovation ecosystem and bridge systemic and market gaps.
Innovation purpose
Innovation is central to success for businesses today, yet many large, asset-heavy companies with decentralized business units struggle to combine R&D agility with common, clearly communicable corporate strategies. This article, based on experience at a large global energy company, explains how a purpose-driven approach to R&D can deliver innovation agility across the organization.

Ben Thuriaux-Aleman

Ben is a Partner at Arthur D. Little in the London office and leads the Technology and Innovation Management Practice and Growth Strategy. He is also affiliated with Energy Practice’s Competence Centre in Technology & Innovation.

His work focuses on:

  • Strategy, technology and innovation management diagnostic and adapting innovation management best practices
  • Growth Strategy
  • National Innovation Systems, University and Education Strategy, Entrepreneurship Education and Innovation Hubs
  • Development of innovation strategy and technology roadmaps
  • Market intelligence and transaction support

Ben led Arthur D. Little’s most recent Innovation Excellence Benchmarking Study and our R&D management best practice study; he has also co-authored a number of ADL reports and viewpoints on a range of different innovation-related topics. He is passionate about the use of evidence and statistics in supporting decision-making.

Before joining Arthur D. Little, he worked at Technopolis Group on the evaluation of R&D programs and institutions and Innovation Policy for the EU and OECD.

He holds triple British, French, and Belgian Nationality. Ben trained as a Military Intelligence Officer in the French Army and holds a half blue for Judo from Sussex University.

The future of higher education, Part I
The future of higher education, Part I
From good to great: Enhancing innovation performance through effective management processes
From good to great: Enhancing innovation performance through effective management processes
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Time to renew your pilot’s license?
Closing the innovation gaps between business units
Closing the innovation gaps between business units
Why is this, and what can companies do to improve the situation? Based on new research, this article explores the reasons for failure to share best innovation practices between business units and sets out strategic approach companies can take. About the research Having run for over 20 years, ADL’s Global Innovation Excellence Benchmark is an anonymous self-assessment best practice database, containing responses from over 500 companies to a series of detailed questions on innovation excellence. It measures two dimensions:
Technology foresight: anticipating future impact
THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT What is technology foresight?
The Future of Innovation Districts
  The way in which organizations innovate, and places where they are based to do this, have changed profoundly over the last decade due to two overall trends – convergence and disruption. Companies have moved away from closed innovation models to more open approaches in which organizations and places work in collaborative ecosystems and networks, forming “uncommon partnerships” between previously unrelated industries.
Innovation management
Many organizations have created significant business benefit by decentralizing R&D and innovation functions, thus improving the contribution of innovation to business unit performance. However, this often creates a conflict of ownership, as the alignment of R&D activities with corporate strategy then needs to be dealt with at group level. Frequently, the responsibility for alignment between corporate strategy and business unit innovation and R&D lands with the CTO, who needs the right processes and tools to achieve this.
The National Innovation Ecosystem
Innovation is key in driving social and economic development and bridging the wealth gap between emerging and developed countries. Over the last 50 years, only a few countries, such as South Korea and Singapore, have succeeded in unlocking the full benefits of nation-wide innovation. Instrumental to their success is a systematic approach tackling innovation in a holistic manner that captures policy, governance, innovation engines and innovation enablers to shape their innovation ecosystem and bridge systemic and market gaps.
Innovation purpose
Innovation is central to success for businesses today, yet many large, asset-heavy companies with decentralized business units struggle to combine R&D agility with common, clearly communicable corporate strategies. This article, based on experience at a large global energy company, explains how a purpose-driven approach to R&D can deliver innovation agility across the organization.

More About Ben
  • Rotterdam School of Management
  • Chicago Booth School of Business
    MBA (Dean’s Honor List)
  • Open University
    Postgraduate Certification in Project Management (Distinction)
  • Science Policy Research Unit
    MSc in Science and Technology Policy
  • Manchester University
    BSc Physics
  • Technopolis Group
    Senior Consultant
  • Military Intelligence, Joint Chiefs of Staff, French Army
    2nd Lieutenant, Desk Officer