WPI Innovator of the Year

Building an Innovation Ecosystem

The WPI Innovator of the Year Award recognizes annually a graduate or friend of WPI who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishments as an innovator, showcasing individuals who have excelled in driving innovation within enterprises of all kinds.

The WPI School of Business focuses on accelerating the discovery, development, and commercialization of breakthrough innovation, as well as economic development and job creation. The WPI Innovator of the Year celebration is a key building block of this entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. It recognizes role models for our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends; catalyzes the engagement of highly successful innovators and entrepreneurs in the transformation of WPI; and inspires honorees to commit their time and talent to help WPI become a leading global contributor to addressing the global grand challenges.

2012 WPI Innovator of the Year

David P. Norton ’62 is the 2012 WPI Innovator of the Year. David Norton is the world’s leading authority on strategic performance management. Well known as the co-creator of The Balanced Scorecard, he is a founder and director of several professional services firms, including Palladium Group, Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, and Renaissance Solutions, Inc. Previously, he co-founded Nolan, Norton & Company where he spent 17 years as president prior to its acquisition by KPMG Peat Marwick. A frequent lecturer and writer around the world, David Norton’s work on strategy management is the subject of many books, articles executive conferences, and training programs. The Balanced Scorecard concept was selected by the editors of Harvard Business Review as one of the most influential management ideas of the past 75 years. David Norton was voted one of the world’s 12 most influential thinkers by Sun Top Media’s “Thinkers 50” in 2008. In addition to his electrical engineering degree from WPI, David holds a master of science from Florida Institute of Technology, an MBA from Florida State University, and a doctorate of business administration from Harvard Business School.     As part of this year’s celebration, David Norton shared his experiences and insight with the WPI Community. View the presentation slides. (3.74 MB, PDF)

Past Recipients

Year	Name	Message to Community
2012	David P. Norton ‘62	Watch video
2011	James P. Baum ‘82	Watch video