Jeff Cope

About Jeff Cope

My team is on a mission: use innovation to shape a better future. Every day we help clients identify and act on opportunities to grow, expand their impact, and improve the lives of their end users. It’s a challenging and rewarding endeavor, and I’m driven to fulfill our mission and maximize the value we create for our clients.As an experienced innovation practitioner, I specialize in user-centered design and research methods. I have the privilege of serving as a trusted advisor to large corporations across multiple industries, as well as economic development organizations and federal agencies.Recently, I’ve taken on new roles in our group, including exploring high-impact markets where innovation is thriving and aligns with RTI’s North Star Goal to positively impact the well-being of 1 billion people by 2030. Where can we focus our innovation superpowers to amplify our contribution to this ambitious goal?Innovation is a continuous journey of learning, exploration, and discovery. What excites me most is the opportunity to uncover what’s next, help clients succeed, and witness the tangible impacts of our work.

Experience

1. Senior Director, Strategy & Innovation

   RTI International

   Dec 2021 — Present · Research Triangle Park, NC, US

   I serve as an advisor to Innovation, R&D and New Product Development teams at large companies, guiding them on emerging trends, technologies and partners that will enable innovative, sustainable next-generation products and solutions. Most of those projects relate to the future of advanced manufacturing, sustainable products and packaging, automation and robotics, IoT/smart devices, consumer products, or transportation. As part of the RTI Innovation Advisors leadership team, I help set and execute our growth strategy. I explore and develop high-impact markets where innovation is thriving and aligns with RTI’s North Star Goal. I also mentor others in best practices in business development and client engagement.

Education

• North Carolina State University

  BSME

  1987 — 1992

Skills

• Technology Scouting
• Competitive Analysis
• Start-Ups
• Technology Trends
• Technology Commercialization
• Business Strategy
• Open Innovation
• Materials Science
• Licensing
• Commercialization
• Patents
• Innovation Management
• Program Management
• Strategy
• Technology Forecasting
• Proposal Writing
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Entrepreneurship
• New Business Development
• Business Development
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Product Development
• Technology Transfer