In the 21st century, markets have reached an unprecedented level of global connections, complexity and rapid change. Hidden Champions as the global market leaders in their niche segments are successfully navigating the resulting challenges through innovation initiatives. The Yale School of Management (SOM) is excited to host its inaugural Hidden Champions Conference in collaboration with the Hidden Champions Institute (HCI) at ESMT Berlin, Germany’s leading business school. This conference will be held on April 27, 2018 at Yale SOM’s campus, Edward P. Evans Hall in New Haven, Connecticut.

The conference aims to spark constructive dialogue and debate around current trends of global market leaders’ innovation initiatives. In a selective setting, around 150 participants mainly from the USA and Germany, representing C-level executives, scholars, and students, will gather to address among others innovation strategies based on design thinking, digitization and artificial intelligence.