Anita Friis Sommer
Turning rigorous research into innovation that holds up under real-world pressure.
Associate Professor and COO at the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO₂ Research Center. Former Head of Sustainable Operations at the LEGO Group, award-winning innovation researcher, and author of Mission-Driven Innovation.
Background
“Innovation is more than a process. It’s a system — built on purpose.”
Anita Friis Sommer
Bridging science, leadership & impact
Dr. Anita Friis Sommer works at the intersection of rigorous academic research and hands-on industrial leadership — turning insight into operating models that hold up under real-world pressure.
Before joining CORC, she spent over a decade at the LEGO Group in senior leadership roles, most recently as Head of Sustainable Operations, leading global initiatives toward net-zero carbon emissions across all LEGO manufacturing sites worldwide.
She is the award-winning co-creator of the Agile–Stage-Gate® model together with Dr. Robert G. Cooper, and an internationally recognised expert on mission-driven innovation.
Mission-Driven Innovation
How to Lead Technology in a Complex World
Everything Anita has learned across research and industry, distilled into one practical system for leading innovation under uncertainty — built to deliver both business growth and meaningful impact.
“Combines rigorous research, practical leadership experience, and a deep understanding of technology innovation into a framework that is both timely and highly actionable.”
— Andrea Kates, MIT Entrepreneur in ResidenceAcademic work & expertise
With 31 publications and over 1,200 citations, Dr. Sommer’s research spans innovation management, agile methodologies, sustainable operations, and technology maturation.
Research areas
Keynotes & engagements
Dr. Sommer brings cutting-edge research and hard-won leadership experience to the stage — making complex ideas in innovation and sustainability immediately applicable.
From the CORC panel debate · Folkemødet 2026
Mission-Driven Innovation
How to align innovation systems with strategic purpose to deliver measurable, scalable impact.
Sustainability Leadership
Lessons from leading zero-impact operations at global scale — from LEGO to CO₂ research.
Agile for Physical Products
Pioneering research on integrating Agile and Stage-Gate for hardware and R&D environments.
Technology Maturation
Accelerating lab-to-scale development — navigating volatility, complexity and uncertainty.
Innovation Governance
Building leadership structures and portfolio management systems that actually work.
Cross-sector Collaboration
Driving innovation across academia, industry, and government — building the partnerships that matter.
Book Anita to speak
Available for keynotes, panel discussions, and executive workshops — internationally.
Get in touch
Whether you’re interested in speaking engagements, research collaboration, or the book — I’d love to hear from you.