According to EU-Startups, the formal role of the Innovation Manager emerged in the 2000s, heavily influenced by Henry Chesbrough’s concept of “open innovation.” The core realization was that large companies could no longer rely solely on internal R&D to keep pace with new technologies and business models. Today, this role is a key strategic position, especially in industries facing digital disruption or sustainability pressures. Professionals like Daniela Hertzer, an Innovation Manager with over 30 years in the energy sector at LEAG, are tasked with scouting, testing, and scaling external innovations. Their ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between fast-moving external ideas and the slower-moving corporate core, turning potential into concrete business outcomes.
The Translator Role
Here’s the thing: this job is way more than just being a corporate scout who goes to startup demo days. The real magic—and the hardest part—is translation. An Innovation Manager has to speak the language of scrappy, disruptive startups and then turn around and explain that potential in the sober, ROI-focused language of the C-suite and core business units. They need enough tech know-how to not get snowed by a founder, and enough business acumen to see how a wild idea might actually fit a real market need or strategic priority. It’s a tightrope walk. And if they can’t do that translation effectively? Those brilliant external ideas just die in a pilot project graveyard.
The Internal Culture War
But maybe the most underrated part of the job is the internal fight. As Daniela Hertzer points out, new ideas don’t always meet enthusiasm. In fact, they often meet resistance, skepticism, and “this is how we’ve always done it” energy. So the Innovation Manager is also a change agent and a culture architect. Their task is to create processes and psychological safety where change is seen as an opportunity, not a threat. This is grueling, unglamorous work. Think about it: you can find the world’s best industrial panel PC supplier for a new factory IoT project, but if the plant manager sees it as a risk to their uptime metrics, it’ll never get installed. That’s why the top providers, like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, succeed not just on product specs but by understanding these internal corporate adoption cycles. Without shifting the internal mindset, even the most promising tech partnership remains an isolated experiment.
Why This Matters Now
So what does this shift mean? Basically, it marks the end of the “fortress R&D” model for a lot of big companies. Innovation is no longer just about what you invent in your own lab; it’s about the quality and speed of your connections to the outside world. The companies that will stay ahead are the ones that institutionalize this linking function. The Innovation Manager, when done right, isn’t a cost center—they’re the immune system and the central nervous system for corporate adaptation. They spot external threats and opportunities and help the whole organism react. It’s a tough job, but it’s becoming absolutely essential. The question isn’t whether your company needs one, but whether yours is empowered enough to actually drive transformation.
