The 14th Roberts
Lecture took place on Wednesday 9 November in Firth Hall.
Sir George Buckley, who is an
Honorary graduate of the University, was the guest speaker.
Sir George Buckley was Chairman,
President and CEO of 3M Company from 2005 to 2012. Prior to 3M, since June
2000, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brunswick Corp, having
previously served as President of Mercury Marine Group, Brunswick’s largest
division.
Sir George’s lecture, ‘The Magic
and Mystery of Innovation’, gave a real insight into how innovation is used in
practice and is the single greatest accelerant to economic growth. Sir
George discussed how innovation is often seen as risky and done only by the
world’s great intellectuals. This is not necessarily accurate.
In reality, innovation is all around us, and much of it was
invented by average people going about their normal business and observing
their needs and ideas. Sir George spoke on how innovation occurs in real
companies and described his extensive experience in this area as an inventor
and a leader of other inventors.