Helen Riley, Moonshot Mission Controller at X (formerly Google [x])
Helen Riley, Moonshot Mission Controller at X (formerly Google [x])
Moonshot thinking: X’s approach to radical innovation
Moonshot thinking: X’s approach to radical innovation
27 Apr 201812:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Harvard community only
In 2010, Google founded a secret research lab called Google [X] to develop big, futuristic
ideas it called moonshots. After five years, this research lab broke off into its
own company called “X, the moonshot factory”. Today, X sets out to foster uncomfortably
ambitious ideas that address some of the world’s biggest problems. It's currently
home to some of Alphabet's far-out projects like Internet-beaming balloons and delivery
drones. It's also where a range of Alphabet business and products were founded including
Waymo, Google Brain and Verily Life Sciences. In this session, X's Moonshot Mission
Controller(aka CFO), Helen Riley will provide an overview of X’s radical approach
to innovation and share how others can apply "moonshot thinking" principles too.
Location:
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center 103
Organizer:
About Helen:
Helen leads the teams that smooth the way for moonshot technologies to become successful businesses. Prior to X, Helen led global finance and analytics for Google’s marketing teams, focused on products like YouTube, Search and Android. Before joining Google, Helen was a strategy consultant at The Boston Consulting Group in San Francisco and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in London. Helen holds a Bachelor & Master of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and a Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.