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Public speaker, serial entrepreneur, business angel, professor, and author of the best seller “Pre-project excellence”, Raphaël H Cohen is known as one of the world’s leading experts in entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship, employee engagement and corporate governance. More than 40’000 persons in several countries have read the various editions of ”Pre-project excellence” in English, French or Spanish.
His latest book in French “Levers of Engagement” maps the levers of Fair and Caring leadership, as well as a simple and novel way to measure an executive’s level of leadership, which, in turn, brings about a paradigm shift in terms of how people are managed.
Creator of the famous IpOp model that has been a major source of inspiration for ISO 56007 standard on Managing Opportunities and Ideas (adopted in 2023 by 42 countries) that improves the early-stage calibration of projects, he has coached more than 300 intrapreneurial projects since he started helping companies boost their bottom-up innovation capabilities. The rigor of his pre-project analysis tools has enabled many companies to improve the success rate of their innovations and take better advantage of technological or business models disruptions.
Raphaël H Cohen currently provides or has provided services to many iconic companies, such as Airbus, Nestlé, the French Post, Sanofi and Microsoft, in order to help them develop their agility, their innovation capabilities and the level of engagement of their teams. His tools are widely used by industrial companies, banks, service providers and even the public sector.
As an expert in executive education, he helps senior executives master complexity with humor. From 2001 to 2021, he has been academic director of the “Entrepreneurial Leadership” specialization of the EMBA at the University of Geneva, which has awarded him the title of Academic Fellow.
As a key opinion-leader on equity and justice within organizations, he is often invited to explain how corporate governance can integrate fair humanistic and caring leadership.
His international career in various industries has given him a pragmatic, cross-disciplinary and intercultural approach that supports his mentoring of directors and executives.
He is a regular contributor to leading journals, such as “Harvard Business Review” and “Forbes”.
As a recognized authority he challenges conventional wisdom in project and innovation management and leadership. As co-author of the ISO 56007 international standard and creator of two groundbreaking frameworks—the IpOp Model for pre-project analysis and the Fair and Caring Leadership framework—he brings both academic rigor and hard-won entrepreneurial experience to every engagement.
While others tell you psychological safety is important, Raphaël provides the governance system to implement it. While others celebrate innovation, Raphaël shows how to stop wasting money on bad projects. He doesn't just inspire—he equips.
What sets Raphaël apart is his refusal to accept traditional so-called "best practices" at face value. With a track record of founding and scaling multiple ventures, coaching over 300 innovation projects, and teaching at leading business schools, he delivers keynotes that debunk myths, challenge assumptions, and provide actionable frameworks that organizations can implement immediately—not just inspiring ideas, but complete proven governance systems for deployment.
His presentations combine humor, real-life war stories, thought-provoking insights, and field-tested tools that attendees can use the next day. Expect to laugh, think differently, and leave with concrete frameworks that actually work.
• Full day trainings :1 to 3 days
• Full programs on leadership and intrapreneurship (bottom-up innovation) : 5 to 35 days
• Keynotes
KEYNOTE SPEAKING TOPICS
INNOVATION & PRE-PROJECT TRACK
1. Stop Wasting Resources: The Pre-Project Revolution
Most organizations waste millions on projects that should never have been approved. Raphaël reveals why traditional project selection fails and introduces the IpOp Model—the rigorous pre-project analysis framework now part of ISO 56007. Learn how to optimize your portfolio by choosing the right projects before you invest, not after you have burned through resources. Includes real stories of projects saved (and killed) through better pre-project analysis.
2. From Ideas to Impact: Mastering Innovation Portfolio Management
This keynote debunks common myths about innovation management and presents proven best practices that some leading organizations use to select, prioritize, fund and execute initiatives that deliver measurable results. Perfect for leaders tired of innovation programs that generate buzz but no measurable business outcome.
3. The Intrapreneurial Advantage: Building Innovation from Within
Why do most corporate innovation programs fail? Raphaël shares contrarian insights and frameworks showing how companies like Nestlé, Microsoft, and Airbus have cultivated genuine intrapreneurial cultures—not just innovation labs that produce limited measurable outcome. Based on real experience of enabling change agents that build ventures inside and outside corporations.
4. The Missing Link in Risk Management
Most organizations miss one essential aspect of managing uncertainties. In this keynote, Raphaël presents a novel field-tested approach that prevents the waste of considerable resources resulting from current practice while giving management more transparency on project management.
5. Entrepreneurial Thinking for Corporate Leaders
Bridge the startup-corporate divide. Drawing from his experience as both entrepreneur and advisor to major corporations, Raphaël challenges conventional corporate wisdom and shows how leaders can adopt entrepreneurial mindsets without the usual platitudes. Practical, proven, and often surprising.
6. Digitizing the Pre-Project Analysis and Selection Governance
Theory without tools is just philosophy. Raphaël developed IpOpTools, the software platform that operationalizes the IpOp Model, showing how organizations can use digitization to accelerate and improve their pre-project analysis and portfolio management processes. Perfect for organizations ready to move from spreadsheets to systematic decision-making.
LEADERSHIP & ENGAGEMENT TRACK
7. Fair and Caring Leadership: The Engagement Equation That Actually Works
Everyone talks about employee engagement, but few can measure what matters: engagement generated by managers. Raphaël pioneers a novel measurement approach and reveals the Fair and Caring Leadership framework—the levers managers can pull to transform team performance. Unlike typical engagement talks, this includes a complete governance system for implementation, not just inspiration.
8. Beyond Psychological Safety: The Implementation Gap
Psychological safety is the buzzword du jour, but how do you actually implement it? Raphaël challenges preaching approaches and provides a structured governance framework to truly embed psychological safety organization-wide. Based on real implementations, not academic theory.
9. Measuring What Matters: Manager-Generated Engagement as a KPI
What if we measured managers not just on deliverables, but on their ability to generate engagement? This thought-provoking keynote introduces a very simple pioneering measurement methodology that reveals which managers leverage team potential and which hamper it. Includes frameworks for developing engagement-generating capability.
10. Attracting and Retaining Millennial Talents
This keynote provides concrete tools for selecting and motivating millennial talents who are compatible with older generations and your company culture. Challenges conventional recruitment management practices with forward-thinking alternatives.
11. Governance and Equity: The Unexpected Levers to Outperform by Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
Most organizations struggle with talent attraction and retention despite generous compensation packages. Raphaël reveals the often-overlooked connection between governance practices, perceived equity, and talent magnetism. This keynote challenges conventional HR wisdom and presents a structured framework showing how fair governance systems and equitable decision-making become your competitive advantage in the war for talent. Based on real implementations that transformed retention rates and employer brand perception.
ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION
12. Quickly Changing the Culture of the Organization
Changing company culture is usually a long and painful process. This forward-thinking keynote provides a concrete governance-based approach for accelerating the evolution of the organization culture. It targets leaders looking for sustainable change beyond their current leadership team.
13. The Engagement Equation: Unlocking Your Team's Full Potential
Based on his new book, Raphaël reveals the science and practice of employee engagement, combining his Fair and Caring Leadership framework with real stories of transformation. Learn how to turn disengaged teams into high-performing innovation engines.
14. Your Secret Weapon: Pre-Project Tools for Successful Change and Digital Transformation
Why do 70% of digital transformations fail? The answer lies in what happens before the project starts. Raphaël reveals how pre-project analysis tools—originally designed for innovation portfolio management—become your secret weapon for successful organizational change and digitalization. Learn the rigorous methodology that prevents costly mistakes, aligns stakeholders, and dramatically increases transformation success rates. Includes real stories of transformations saved through better pre-project rigor.
MOTIVATIONAL - PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & CAREER
15. Unlocking Your Potential
In this keynote, Raphaël explains the tools, approaches and mindsets that can boost your career—the same ones that allowed him to go from average student to first of his class, to become a successful serial entrepreneur, an engaging professor at prestigious business schools, and the trusted advisor of C-level executives at Fortune 500 companies. Personal, practical, and proven.
16. The Keys to Credibility and Influence for VUCA Leaders in the Age of AI and Millennials
Leadership credibility isn't what it used to be. In a VUCA world where AI disrupts daily and Millennials question authority, traditional leadership approaches fall flat. Raphaël presents a forward-thinking framework revealing the new sources of credibility and influence that actually work with today's workforce. This thought-provoking keynote combines research insights with real-world examples, showing leaders how to build authentic influence across generations and through technological disruption.
17. Leading in VUCA in the Age of AI and Millennials: The Pitfalls to Avoid
Even experienced leaders stumble when navigating volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—especially when AI reshapes work and Millennials challenge norms. Raphaël identifies the most common and costly leadership mistakes in this new landscape and provides concrete frameworks to avoid them. This myth-busting keynote challenges conventional leadership wisdom and offers practical alternatives based on real failures and successes. Learn what NOT to do before it costs you talent, credibility, and results.
CUSTOM PROGRAMS
18. Custom Keynotes
Raphaël specializes in creating customized presentations that address each organization's specific challenges, combining elements from his frameworks with tailored insights and governance systems for your context. He will gladly participate in the selling process
