Engineering Professionals: Insights & Resources

Best Innovation Consulting Services in the USA

Ryan Stevens
September 28, 2025
All Insights
Engineering Professionals: Insights & Resources

Best Innovation Consulting Services in the USA

United States Innovation Consultants

Innovation consulting in the U.S. is more than ideation, it’s strategic execution, powered by human insight, future-readiness, and measurable outcomes. In this curated guide, we spotlight U.S.-based innovation consultancies that combine proven frameworks, real client impact, and visionary leadership.

Methodology: How We Chose These USA-Based Innovation Consultancies

We selected each firm based on:

🔍 Research-drive: Publicly available case studies, original methodologies, or published frameworks

💬 Client-reviewed: Demonstrated ROI or verified client success

📍 Location-based: Founded and operating within the U.S.

🌟 USA Innovation Consultants - Provider Spotlights

Jump Associates

What they do:

A strategy and innovation consultancy that combines design thinking, systems strategy, and cultural anthropology.

Who they work with:

Fortune 500s across retail, healthcare, tech, and finance.

Operating model:

Empathy-driven research, cross-functional co-creation, and purpose-to-practice implementation.

💡 Why they stand out:

Purpose-to-Practice framework connects vision to execution

🧠 Embedded anthropological insight for market relevancy

📊 Helped brands like Nike and Target evolve to meet next-gen consumer demands

Dev Patnaik, CEO, Author, Speaker, Podcaster & Professor of Jump Associates

Dev is a leading voice in empathy-driven strategy and author of Wired to Care. He’s worked with executive teams at GE, Nike, and Target to turn human insight into enterprise-level transformation. His leadership is marked by strategic clarity and cultural foresight.

The Media League

What they do:

A media innovation firm focused on impact storytelling and digital strategy for mission-led organizations.

Who they work with:

Nonprofits, advocacy campaigns, and foundations.

Operating model:

Narrative development paired with digital analytics to scale attention and influence.

💡 Why they stand out:

🎯 Precision storytelling tailored for social outcomes

📈 Integrates message design with real-time performance metrics

🗳️ Proven results across civic campaigns, policy orgs, and cause-driven brands

Fernando Amendola, Co-Founder, Managing Director & Lead Marketing Strategist of The Media League

Fernando brings over a decade of experience in advocacy media, previously working in political communications and nonprofit campaigns. His strength lies in crafting emotionally intelligent narratives that mobilize public sentiment and action. He’s known for building integrated communications systems that connect audience insight with measurable impact—serving organizations in education, democracy reform, and public health.

Thierry Fautier, Co-Founder, Managing Director & Lead Business Strategies Lead of The Media League

Thierry is a seasoned strategist with roots in media technology and broadcast innovation. With a background that spans both European and U.S. media ecosystems, he brings systems thinking to advocacy campaigns, ensuring they’re scalable, measurable, and multi-platform by design. Thierry is especially known for integrating advanced media frameworks into mission-first communications, helping causes accelerate influence with precision.

New Market Advisors

What they do:

A growth strategy consultancy focused on uncovering white-space opportunities through Jobs-to-Be-Done and foresight modeling.

Who they work with:

B2B SaaS, fintech, and consumer brands.

Operating model:

Combines JTBD research with business case modeling and future trend assessments.

💡 Why they stand out:

🔭 Structured foresight methodology for spotting emerging growth spaces

🧰 One of the most applied JTBD toolkits in commercial practice

📉 De-risked innovation strategies for clients like Microsoft and Nestlé

Steve Wunker,  Managing Director of New Market Advisors

Steve is a former Innosight leader and author of multiple books on innovation. His work blends market insight with practical frameworks, helping clients identify, prioritize, and execute new growth strategies grounded in consumer needs.

ID8 Innovation

What they do:

Helps organizations, especially in healthcare and public sectors, develop innovation capacity and human-centered service design.

Who they work with:

Healthcare systems, edtech companies, and public-sector agencies.

Operating model:

Facilitated workshops, co-design labs, and embedded change management initiatives.

💡 Why they stand out:

🏥 Extensive experience designing within regulated healthcare systems

🔄 Merges service design with organizational culture development

🤝 Works hand-in-hand with internal teams for scalable implementation

Mara Lewis, Co-Founder of ID8 Innovation

Mara is a two-time entrepreneur and innovation ecosystem builder, known for her work shaping startup accelerator programs and venture ecosystems. With deep experience advising civic, tech, and healthcare clients, she specializes in embedding innovation strategies that reflect both cultural readiness and market demands. Her leadership combines empathy, entrepreneurship, and systemic design thinking.

Brad Holliday, Co-Founder of ID8 Innovation

Brad brings a background in clinical innovation, systems design, and co-creation. He’s worked extensively in healthcare and education, building internal innovation capabilities that align with organizational goals and constraints. Known for translating strategy into action, Brad’s leadership is collaborative and deeply pragmatic.

Tom Carmona, Partner & Principal Consultant of ID8 Innovation

Tom leads systems architecture and strategic facilitation at ID8. With a background in organizational behavior and service design, he focuses on building resilient innovation models inside large, slow-moving institutions. His expertise lies in operationalizing abstract innovation principles into step-by-step, scalable processes for real-world adoption.

Innovation Point

What they do:

Enables organizations to embed innovation capabilities into leadership and organizational strategy.

Who they work with:

Technology, manufacturing, and professional service firms.

Operating model:

Delivers foresight strategy, innovation workshops, and cultural transformation initiatives.

💡 Why they stand out:

📚 Author-led innovation frameworks used by Fortune 500 leaders

🧠 Focuses on internal innovation capability, not just outputs

🔄 Long-term partnerships that evolve with client needs

Soren Kaplan, Managing Principal of Innovation Point

Soren is the author of Leapfrogging and The Invisible Advantage. He’s known for helping large organizations like Disney and Cisco shift from reactive innovation to embedded culture change. His approach is systems-oriented and grounded in leadership growth.

Ancona + Associates

What they do:

A boutique innovation and brand transformation consultancy helping legacy companies modernize through identity redefinition, cultural strategy, and brand experience.

Who they work with:

Consumer goods, food & beverage, retail, and heritage brands.

Operating model:

Hybrid model combining brand anthropology, experiential design, and long-term visioning workshops.

💡 Why they stand out:

🧭 Brand anthropology approach that uncovers hidden cultural narratives

🎨 Deep specialization in legacy brand transformation and reinvention

📐 Experience-led strategy that fuses design, emotion, and long-term business objectives

Tomas Ancona, Experience Strategy & Design t of Ancona + Associates

Tomas brings over 25 years of experience reimagining brand relevance in a fast-changing culture. Known for his distinctive fusion of cultural foresight and brand storytelling, he has advised Fortune 100s, CPG icons, and civic entities. His leadership style is deeply exploratory, with a sharp focus on emotional resonance and systemic brand evolution.

C’EST WHAT

What they do:

C’EST WHAT is a purpose-driven innovation practice that helps organizations navigate uncertainty through story-based foresight, creative rituals, and narrative strategy.

Who they work with:

Corporate innovators, purpose-led teams, and public-sector organizations.

Operating model:

Blends strategic storytelling with experiential design tools to unlock hidden insights and internal alignment.

💡 Why they stand out:

🔮 Narrative foresight tools that help organizations see and shape preferred futures

🌀 Creative facilitation experiences that open up team potential

🧘 Psychological safety-building practices that support change from within

Michael Perman, Founder, Certified Sommelier & Innovation Strategist of C’EST WHAT

Michael is a former innovation leader at Levi’s and author of Craving the Future. He helps organizations shift mindsets using story, sensory intelligence, and futures thinking. Known for crafting immersive innovation experiences, Michael is a practitioner of both strategic clarity and emotional intelligence in complex decision environments.

The Re-Wired Group

What they do:

A strategy and innovation consultancy rooted in Jobs-to-Be-Done theory, helping teams uncover the real drivers behind customer behavior. 

Who they work with:

SaaS startups, consumer tech companies, and large service organizations.

Operating model:

Deep, interview-based JTBD research, behavior modeling, and innovation roadmapping.

💡 Why they stand out:

🧠 Leaders in practical JTBD application—turning insights into high-conversion product features

🎯 Behavioral science-led methods to reduce market risk and increase product adoption

🔁 Coaching-based delivery model that builds long-term internal capability

Bob Moesta, Founder, President & CEO of The Re-Wired Group

Bob is a pioneer of Jobs-to-Be-Done theory alongside Clay Christensen and one of the foremost experts in demand-side innovation. He’s helped launch over 3,500 products and frequently speaks on market shaping, behavioral economics, and product development. His approach is precise, coaching-oriented, and focused on uncovering “why people buy.”

Strategyn

What they do:

A pioneer in outcome-based innovation using Jobs-to-Be-Done theory and quantitative modeling.

Who they work with:

B2B SaaS, product development teams, and industrial innovation units.

Operating model:

ODI (Outcome-Driven Innovation) framework based on uncovering unmet customer needs and mapping them to opportunity.

💡 Why they stand out:

🧪 Inventors of the Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) methodology

📊 Highly quantitative, uses opportunity scoring to guide product strategy

🚀 Trusted by Fortune 100s to reduce innovation risk and increase product-market fit

Tony Ulwick, Founder & CEO of Strategyn

Tony is widely recognized as the creator of the Outcome-Driven Innovation framework. His methods are used across industries to build products customers want, backed by decades of consulting with companies like Microsoft and Bosch. He leads with structure and insight.

August Brown

What they do:

August Brown is a strategic innovation consultancy that helps businesses develop new growth models, leveraging customer insights and systemic innovation design.

Who they work with:

B2B tech firms, startups, and industrial enterprises.

Operating model:

Combines deep qualitative research with business model innovation workshops and iterative prototyping.

💡 Why they stand out:

🚀 Focus on scaling innovation from concept to commercial success

🔍 Rigorous customer insight methodologies driving product-market fit

⚙️ Hands-on approach integrating strategy with rapid experimentation

Gordon Nameni, Founder & Managing Director of August Brown

Gordon is a seasoned innovation strategist with a background in product development and business design. Known for helping early-stage ventures and established enterprises navigate uncertainty, he emphasizes pragmatic, insight-driven innovation processes. Gordon leads with a collaborative style that bridges creative thinking and operational discipline.

Innovation Consulting Services in the USA: Driving Strategic Growth and Market Insight

Innovation consulting in the USA focuses on helping organizations unlock new growth opportunities by combining deep market understanding with creative problem-solving approaches. These services emphasize practical strategies for business model innovation, customer-centric design, and foresight into emerging trends. Leading innovators in this space leverage proprietary methods to transform ideas into scalable, market-ready solutions. Their work spans multiple industries, delivering tailored insights that help companies stay competitive and relevant in fast-evolving markets. The relevance of these services continues to grow as businesses seek sustainable differentiation and resilience amid disruptive forces.

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For deeper insights on how to operationalize innovation and scale what works, explore these vetted reads from Digital Reference:

For organizations seeking to evolve through thoughtful innovation, accessing well-structured knowledge and strategic perspectives is essential. Leveraging platforms that curate deep, actionable insights can accelerate growth and adaptation across various domains. Whether refining talent management, operational excellence, marketing strategies, or financial acumen, a trusted guide is critical for success. Start transforming your approach with Digital Reference.

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