Asset Publisher
Neal Thornberry
Faculty | Facilitator | Executive Coach
Creating a Culture of Innovation (CCI) Program Manager
nethornb@nps.edu

Professor Neal Thornberry, PhD is the Faculty Director for Innovation Initiatives at the Center for Executive Education at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is also a Professor Emeritus at Babson College in Massachusetts. He has been a visiting lecturer at Duke University, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Ashridge Management College (UK), HEC (France), and Tsinghua University (China) and the Darden School.

His current work at NPS involves the design and delivery of the Creating a Culture of Innovation (CCI ) program for officers and civilians actively involved in Navy innovation efforts. This intensive 3-day course helps Navy personnel create both a strategy and an architecture for implementing innovation within their respective communities.

Dr. Thornberry is also involved in the Navy Senior Leaders course at NPS where he teaches innovation and change leadership to Navy officers. He is frequently asked to give keynote speeches on innovation and corporate entrepreneurship various organizations including the Coast Guard, Homeland Security, and other organizations interested in increasing their IQ (innovation quotient).

Dr. Thornberry holds a doctorate in Organizational Psychology and specializes in the areas of Innovation, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Organizational Transformation. His previous book, “Lead Like an Entrepreneur: Keeping the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive in the Corporation” (McGraw-Hill, 2007), reflects over a decade’s experience helping organizations grow through the application of innovative thinking and entrepreneurial orientation. His EOS (Entrepreneurial Orientation Survey ) is still used as the basis for Doctoral Theses around the world. His latest book “Innovation Judo: Disarming Roadblocks & Blockheads on the Path to Creativity” (Evolve Publishing, 2014) helps leaders and innovators overcome the barriers they often face in ushering in the new. (www.amazon.com)

Professor Thornberry has written a number of articles and cases on business management in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His work has appeared in the European Management Journal, Project Management Journal, Behavioural Science, Fortune Magazine, Industry Week, Business Week, The European Management Journal, and The Journal of Management Development. His article "A View About Vision" was selected as one of the keystone articles for inclusion in Contemporary Issues in Leadership (1998).

He has taught and consulted with numerous organizations around the world including Ford Motor Company, Daimler AG, Chrysler, IBM, KCI, SmithKline-Glaxo, SAP, Nationwide Insurance, Home Depot, France Telecom, Sodexho, Arcelor Steel, Alfa Laval, GE, Fresenius Medical, Cisco Systems, and Motts. As a subject matter expert, he is often a keynote speaker for NGO’s as well as public sector & military organizations including the Navy (NWDC, CNIC, BUMED, and NAE), the United States Coast Guard, the Human Capital Institute, the U.S. Government, ATB Financial (Alberta Treasury Branches), PDI (Professional Developers of Iowa), IRI (retail industry group), the Republic of Thailand, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital of Boston, and Kimberly-Clark.