In the realm of innovation and corporate entrepreneurship, we are proud to welcome our newest Executive in Residence Carl Fraik to the team. With leadership roles in product supply and innovation, he brings a wealth of experience from Procter & Gamble and a dedicated focus on AI adoption and integration to our innovation ecosystem.
Carl spent five impactful years at P&G Ventures, spearheading Innovation Delivery and Product Supply across a spectrum of operations, from the design phase to scaling new brands. His responsibilities extended to refining lean startup methodologies and open innovation strategies at an enterprise level.
Currently, he contributes not only to Cintrifuse but also serves as the Director of Research for the Corporate Entrepreneur Community. We’re eager to tap into his insights on the Cincinnati innovation ecosystem, explore his collaborative spirit, and uncover the vast opportunities that Generative AI presents for startups.
Please give a high-level overview of your background:
I am a 35 year veteran of Procter & Gamble, where I held numerous leadership roles in Product Supply and Innovation. I spent 5 years in P&G Ventures where I led Innovation Delivery and Product Supply across all aspects of operations for design, start-up and scaling of new brands. I was also responsible for the continual improvement of Lean Startup and Open Innovation for the enterprise. During my P&G career, I was based in several countries, including China, Ukraine, Singapore and the USA. In addition to my role at Cintrifuse, I am also the Director of Research for the Corporate Entrepreneur Community.
What most excites you about the Cincinnati innovation ecosystem?
StartupCincy Week really demonstrated the ever-increasing level of collaboration taking place among all players in the ecosystem. This desire for “everyone to succeed” is a superpower of the Cincinnati region.
What is the biggest opportunity you are seeing for startups right now?
Both businesses and consumers are searching for ways to reduce their spending and time to complete tasks. This presents startups with a vast canvas of use cases that leverage Generative AI to create solutions for these opportunity areas.
What are you hoping to accomplish in your role at Cintrifuse?
I hope to improve the lives of people in the Cincinnati Region by providing a coordinated, collective Artificial Intelligence capability, committed to responsible AI, that enables new products and services, attracts capital, creates/preserves jobs, develops/improves skills and provides a trusted source of AI-related communication and education.
What is your favorite thing about Cincinnati?
How people here proudly celebrate the past (e.g. great museums), and at the same time continuously create and innovate toward a bigger, better future (e.g. FC Cincinnati).
