Case study · Generali

An ecosystem for 70,000 innovators.

Generali didn't want a clever idea from a consultant. They wanted innovation to flourish at every level of the business — in 50-plus countries at once.

A Generali ‘Shaping the future through innovation’ programme booklet at an innovation event

Sector Multinational insurance

Our role Innovation strategy, governance & ecosystem design

Engagement 90-day sprint

You don't scale innovation by doing it for people. You build the conditions for them to do it themselves.

The problem

Generali is one of the world's largest insurance carriers. Its ambition wasn't a single breakthrough product — it was to unlock the innovative potential of its entire workforce, at every level, in every market.

70,000 employees across 50+ countries — the scale Generali wanted innovation to reach, not a pilot in a single business unit.

Innovation at that scale can't be a central team's side project. Without a shared strategy, governance, and the mechanisms to fund and spread ideas, enthusiasm stays local and momentum quietly dies.

The goal wasn't one big idea. It was a system that keeps producing them.

What we did

Ninety partnered with Generali on an intensive 90-day sprint to turn that ambition into working structures — then kickstarted the ecosystem itself.

01Set the strategy and governance. A group-wide innovation strategy and a governance model built to support sustainable, high-impact innovation.
02Built the enabling function. A group innovation function designed to enable the business units — not to innovate on their behalf.
03Kickstarted the ecosystem. Cornerstone initiatives to bring it to life: a global innovation fund to back promising ideas, and an international network of champions to drive engagement.

The outcome

Generali's innovation journey has gained real, lasting momentum.

Everywhere for everyone — the vision the ecosystem now delivers, earning multiple industry awards and creating measurable value.

Innovation is now embedded across the business, empowering teams to take bold steps — and the fund and champion network we launched keep compounding that value long after the sprint ended.

In their words

Generali worked with Ninety to shape our global vision and structures for innovation. Their understanding of what mechanisms work best in insurance has boosted our speed and confidence.

Chief Innovation Officer, Generali

The takeaway

Build the system, not the idea.

A single breakthrough impresses a boardroom. A well-designed ecosystem — strategy, governance, a fund and a champion network — keeps producing breakthroughs long after the consultants have gone. That's what compounds.

More case studies

An ecosystem for 70,000 innovators.

Generali worked with Ninety to shape our global vision and structures for innovation. Their understanding of what mechanisms work best in insurance has boosted our speed and confidence.

Build the system, not the idea.

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