David S. Duncan is a Senior Partner at Innosight based in Innosight’s global headquarters in Lexington, MA. He is a trusted advisor to top leaders at many of the world’s most iconic companies, helping them to navigate disruptive change, create sustainable growth, and transform their organizations to thrive for the long-term.
In his decade with Innosight he has worked with a diverse set of clients including Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Medtronic, Mercer, Coca Cola, Citigroup, and Aetna. His advisory work has focused on helping senior executives develop and execute long-term growth strategies, often with an emphasis on transformation in the face of industry disruption. David is equally involved in helping companies to institutionalize innovation capabilities through the design and deployment of a broad range of enablers. David leads Innosight’s Financial Service practice area, as well as Innosight’s practice area focused on Organizational Capabilities for Innovation and Growth.
David is a featured speaker and author on topics of innovation and growth. He is the co-author of two books and a number of influential articles, including the new book “Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice” (HarperCollins, October 2016), co-authored with Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen. A groundbreaking book with the potential to reframe industries, “Competing Against Luck” is based on a simple yet profound idea: customers don’t buy products and services; they hire them to do a job. And understanding which jobs your customers need done is key to innovation success.
Duncan is also co-author of the e-book, “Building a Growth Factory” (Harvard Business Press, November 2012) and several Harvard Business Review articles, including “Knowing When to Reinvent” (December 2015), coauthored with CEO of Aetna Mark Bertolini, and “Build an Innovation Engine in 90 Days” (December 2014).
Prior to joining Innosight, David was a consultant for McKinsey & Company in the Boston office. David graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.
PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS
“Knowing When to Reinvent,” Harvard Business Review, 2015.
“Build an Innovation Engine in 90 Days,” Harvard Business Review, 2014.
Building a Growth Factory, Harvard Business School Press, 2012.
“Customer-Focused Portfolio Management,” Strategy & Innovation, Feb 11, 2009.
“Health Plans: Disrupt and Prosper,” Managed Care, January 2, 2009.
“Innovation, Recession-Style,” BloombergBusinessweek, December, 2008.