Speaker Locations

Chicago, United States

David Schonthal Keynote Speaker

Best-selling author, The Human Element
Award-winning Professor of Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management
Faculty Director - Zell Fellows Program, Kellogg School of Management

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David Schonthal's Biography

David Schonthal is an award-winning business school Professor, columnist, author, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist who has invested in and advised many companies over the last two decades. As a speaker, he has addressed global audiences, discussing various topics related to entrepreneurship and innovation.

Since 2012, David has served at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Joining the faculty as a Clinical Assistant Professor, he became an associate professor and has served as a Clinical Professor of Strategy since 2020. He’s a Director of the Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice and a Faculty Director of the Zell Fellows program – an internal initiative that funds startups created y students. David also holds visiting professorship at Tel Aviv University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

David has a lot of experience with businesses, having co-founded Matter, an innovation centre supporting entrepreneurship within the healthcare industry. He is an Operating Partner at 7Wire Ventures, a company that helps create new technology in the healthcare industry. He’s a Venture Partner at Pritzker Group Venture Capital, which invests in businesses focused on consumer and enterprise marketplaces. David is an Advisor for the Japanese venture capital firm Design for Ventures (D4V), investing in startups centred on design.

In 2021, David co-authored the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon bestseller The Human Element (2021). The book explores the factors that influence and motivate human behaviour and how to use those factors to affect desired outcomes. Since 2022, he’s been a regular contributor to Inc magazine’s “The Next Thing” column, providing insight into innovation topics ranging from entrepreneurship to design strategy and healthcare solutions. He’s also a frequent columnist for publications such as Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Fortune.

David is honoured on the “40 Under 40” list for Crain’s Chicago Business magazine and a finalist for Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award. He’s a five-time recipient of the Executive MBA Outstanding Professor and the Faculty Impact award for teaching excellence from Kellogg University. He also holds a distinction from Publishers Weekly for a bestselling author.

David’s unique perspective on business and entrepreneurship comes from his years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor. He has engaged audiences at global events and conferences as a keynote speaker, sharing his insights on leadership and change.

The Human Element of AI: Overcoming Resistance to Innovation in the Age of Intelligent Technologies

In today’s business landscape, the emergence of generative and agentic AI presents unprecedented opportunity, yet also faces deeply entrenched resistance. While most executive teams focus on showcasing AI’s value—efficiency, scalability, and competitive edge—these traditional, value-based approaches often overlook a critical truth: value alone doesn’t drive adoption.

In this session, Kellogg Professor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author David Schonthal will draw on insights from his book, The Human Element, and explore why organizations and individuals resist change, even when the benefits are obvious. Through the lens of Friction Theory —which shines a light on the hidden forces that oppose innovation—participants will gain a practical framework for understanding and overcoming the human barriers to technological transformation. Delivered at the intersection of behavioral science and strategic innovation, this session challenges conventional thinking around how new technology is best introduced into organizations, and offers corporate leaders a roadmap for driving adoption with empathy, ease, and understanding.

Key Takeaways Include:

Why traditional value-driven narratives often fail in the face of disruptive technologies

The four types of psychological Friction that stall AI and digital transformation efforts

A research-backed framework for diagnosing and neutralizing resistance within teams and across organizations

How to lead AI adoption by removing resistance not just adding appeal

Designed for senior leaders navigating change, this session will help executives to lead innovation initiatives not just with technical insight—but with a deep understanding of the human element behind every transformation.

OVERCOMING THE RESISTANCE THAT AWAITS NEW IDEAS

How do you get people to say yes to a new idea or innovation? In this interactive session, David Schonthal highlights the Frictions that operate against new ideas and innovation; describes the unexpected reasons why the ideas and initiatives people are most passionate about get rejected; and explains how to transform those frictions into important, powerful catalysts for change.

DESIGN THINKING

Design is not just a verb – it is a way of thinking. In this interactive session, David highlights some of the fundamentals of Design Thinking and discusses how they can be applied to everything from products and services to business models. Participants will explore how to apply these principles across a variety of industries, in small companies and large enterprises alike.

QUESTION 0: BEGINNING THE HUNT FOR NEW IDEAS

Inspiration for innovative new products, services and ventures is all around you – sometimes hiding in plain sight. The best way to discover these opportunities often starts with asking the right questions. In this session, David shares tools and techniques for reframing the world around you, identifying ways to make an impact and mustering the confidence to do something about it.

HUMAN—CENTERED INNOVATION SPRINT

Business is, at its core, a social enterprise. As a result, understanding the social, emotional and functional needs of humans is essential to providing true and lasting innovation. In this workshop, David highlights the fundamentals of Human-Centered Innovation and discusses how they can be applied to everything from products and services to business models. Participants will explore how we can apply these principles across a variety of industries, in small companies and large enterprises alike. The workshop culminates in a popular hands-on design sprint where audience members will roll-up their sleeves and design new products and services for each other.

THE POWER OF WHY

Truly innovative products and technologies start by focusing on the consumers’ problems to be solved. What do consumers really want to accomplish? What are the tradeoffs they are willing to make to achieve better outcomes? Why do they make the choices and decisions that they do?

The key to all of this is finding the right struggle to address. In this session David unpacks the most powerful tools and techniques for discovering the hidden needs of consumers, and translating them into compelling new products, services and ventures.

“FUEL AND FRICTION” - MASTERING THE FORCES THAT DRIVE (OR STIFLE) INNOVATION

How do you get people to say yes to a new idea or innovation? In this interactive session, David Schonthal highlights the Frictions that operate against new ideas and innovation and the Fuels that can help supercharge them; describes the unexpected reasons why the ideas and initiatives people are most passionate about get rejected, and the right types of “fuel” that can propel a good idea forward; and explains how to transform those frictions and fuels into powerful catalysts for change.

The Human Factor

How to Overcome the Resistance to Your Ideas

Finding Insights in the Most Unlikely Places

He Frictions Which Prevent Innovation Adoption

Why People Resist New Ideas—and How to Innovate Anyway

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Innovation Requires an Environment of Creative Risk

Kellogg Insight

The secret reason you feel resistant about a new technology, team, or idea at work

Fast Company

Author Talks: The forces working against innovation and how to overcome them

McKinsey & Company

Could Generative A.I. Out-Entrepreneur Humans? Maybe, but Here's What Matters More

Inc.

Books by David Schonthal

The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas (2021)

Comments & Testimonials

Engaging talk. Practical, easy to understand. David had great examples that brought Friction Theory to life.

Carole Silvestre, Global Head of Communications, VTEX

David’s presentation and message were a great capstone for this year’s theme of establishing an innovation mindset throughout our company.

Jon Zasiebida, Global User Marketing Director, Robert Bosch Tool Corporation

David’s session was absolutely fantastic!

Noelle Peterson, Director of Global Events and Field Marketing, UserTesting

David was quite masterful with the group. The session got one of our highest ratings. He did an outstanding job of unpacking the content in a way that was truly engaging.

Kaihan Krippendorf, Founder, Outthinker Strategy Network