Pune Division, Maharashtra, India
Manoj is an experienced Innovation & Futures Strategist with over two decade experience in visualising future and catalyzing disruptive innovation for global brands, organizations, and governments. As the Founder CEO and Chief Strategist at Turian Labs, an innovation and strategic foresight consulting firm, Manoj has been at the forefront of driving change by leveraging foresight and Design Thinking. Manoj is also a Member of the global APF (Association of Professional Futurists) and National Council for Design and Innovation, CII- India. A serial entrepreneur, Manoj also co-founded and led Onio Design, a design firm, and ITERNIA, a digital branding company, prior to Turian Labs. His passion lies in understanding the people and shaping future-forward roadmaps through his unique RenaissanceMind framework, which blends foresight and innovation to build resilient organizations. He is a recognized expert at facilitating CXO and senior leadership engagements, nurturing cultures of innovation, and guiding strategic initiatives using megatrends, deep listening, and design-led foresight. Manoj has worked closely with global giants like Google, Volkswagen, Samsung, Hyundai, Medtronic, and Aditya Birla Group, as well as modern startups like Swiggy and government entities such as Govt. of Finland and Govt. of Dubai. His extensive experience spans mentoring startups, advising entrepreneurs, and investing in emerging ventures. As a thought leader, Manoj frequently shares his insights on Design Thinking, Innovation, Megatrends, and Foresight at international forums. He is also a visiting faculty member at renowned institutions including the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad and the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad. Manoj also serves as member of advisory committee - IDC Industrial Design Center at IIT Bombay. Beyond his professional pursuits, Manoj's interests span astronomy, philosophy, anthropology, poetry, linguistics, and spirituality. He has authored a non-fiction book, 'Skyway Interpreter,' and a Hindi poetry collection, 'Madhurimayan.' Manoj holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from IIT Bombay (1992 batch) and a Postgraduate degree in Industrial Design from NID Ahmedabad. Connect with him on Twitter at @lookinbard.
Turian Labs is a strategic foresight and innovation consulting company that helps organizations answer one defining question: What’s next? We use our proprietary RenaissanceMind framework, a blend of Futures Thinking, Design Thinking and Business Thinking, to uncover human-centric insights, spot emerging opportunities and drive transformational change across products, services, experiences and business models. Founded by alumni of IIT Bombay and NID Ahmedabad, Turian Labs brings over 25 years of design-led research and innovation practice across both physical and digital worlds. Our research-led strategy boosts UX and CX, maps emerging customer segments and competition, and bridges the gap between megatrend potential and immediate business opportunities. We work with some of the world’s most respected brands and high-growth startups across private and public sector innovation—including Google, Meta, Hitachi, Hyundai, Principal, Stryker, Samsung, Beiersdorf, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra & Mahindra group, ISB, Duke Corporate Education, Government of Dubai and Government of Finland, among others. Beyond projects, we help build cultures of innovation, through Design Thinking sprints, megatrend-led strategy and foresight workshops, cross-functional training programs and our learning arm, Turian Academy, which offers intensive programs in UX Research, Design Thinking and Strategic Foresight for teams and individuals.
Advocacy with government on Design & Innovation related policies in India
Innishari is platform that creates & curates enriching experiences around music, art, science, design, spirituality, storytelling - all that celebrates the abundance in our lives.
Visiting faculty/Professor of practice for Innovation, Design Thinking, Strategic Design Management and Foresight - at various institutions - National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), Indian School of Business (ISB- Hyderabad), MITID -Pune, Chandigarh University