Claudia Kotchka is a Senior Executive and Change Agent who successfully led an innovation culture transformation at Procter & Gamble. Ms. Kotchka is a decisive, high-energy and results-driven leader with broad based experience in cutting-edge innovation practices, strategic use of design, culture change and the marketing of mega brands. She is recognized for advancing and integrating design, innovation, strategy and execution. A pioneer in innovation practices, she is acknowledged for strategic thinking, organization change, financial acumen and proven results. Her positive approach engenders enthusiasm throughout an organization.
Currently, Ms. Kotchka advises Fortune 500 companies on wide ranging aspects of innovation, design and culture change. In 2009, Ms. Kotchka retired from P&G, completing a milestone filled thirty-one year career, where she served on the Global Leadership Council, the Innovation Council and the Corporate Women’s Leadership Team. When she retired, Ms. Kotchka had completed two key roles reporting directly to the CEO, A.G. Lafley, leading Design Innovation Strategy and a framework for Business Model Innovation.
Innovation, design, strategic brand management and organization change are hallmarks of her career. Working within P&G’s traditional organizational framework, she introduced a dynamic and dramatic culture change incorporating design in all aspects of the business. She globalized design by establishing Design Centers in Asia, Europe and South America, concurrent with the effort at HQ. This included establishing the Clay Street Project, a systematic, unique innovation approach for internal, multi-disciplinary teams.
In recognition of her leadership, innovation and management expertise, Ms. Kotchka has received numerous awards including Innovation Leader from Business Week and Master of Design from Fast Company. Her success as an innovator and change agent has been featured in Scaling Up Excellence by Robert Sutton and Hayagreeva Rao, Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by David Kelley and Tom Kelley, The Game-Changer by A.G. Lafley and Ram Charan, The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley, The Design of Business by Roger Martin and Change by Design, How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation by Tim Brown.
Since 2016, Ms Kotchka has served as a Director on the Board of Loblaw Companies Ltd, the leading Food & Drug retailer in Canada (approximately $50B Revenue) where she has played an active role in guiding the company to become more customer centric. In addition to serving on the Governance Committee, she serves on the Risk & Compliance Committee, which covers food and drug safety, corporate compliance and cybersecurity.
From 2011-2015, Ms. Kotchka was a member of the Board of Directors of BlackBerry, serving on the Audit committee. As a Board member, she successfully guided the firm through several CEO changes and a strategy shift to refocus on their core strengths of security and reliability for Enterprise customers.
Ms. Kotchka is a regular Guest Lecturer on innovation at Stanford University and is a Board Director for the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region. From 2006-2016, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.
She holds a B.B.A. graduating Cum Laude from Ohio University and is a Certified Public. Accountant. Ms. Kotchka resides in Los Angeles.