Paula Kranz is an innovation executive, Army combat veteran, and New York Times best-selling author who thrives on launching disruptive technology, tackling uncertain challenges, and bringing the teams together to turn vision into reality. With a contagious entrepreneurial spirit, she has delivered value to businesses, board rooms, and the battlefield—amassing a track record of success across the technology, healthcare, communications, and national security sectors. She has founded and advised multiple companies focused on tech-enabled business transformation. She now applies her knowledge as a consultant to McKinsey & Company clients, guiding global emerging tech companies on penetration into the US healthcare market. Paula is also the Founder and CEO of Medi-XR, providing immersive and emerging technology capabilities to enhance healthcare education and customer experience. She was recruited to Novant Health to apply this strategic expertise to drive innovation, patient outcome improvement, and strong investment return. As the Vice President of Innovation Enablement from 2020-2023, she created and led numerous initiatives, often personally securing the outside funding, community collaboration, and talent needed to realize each vision. Within three years, she conceptualized and created a revenue-generating global startup incubation program, and built an experiential Innovation Lab and facilitated new relationships with top tech giants. She advised the Novant Health Ventures Investment Committee on strategic technology investment opportunities. Paula’s ability to quickly adapt, strategize, and lead was forged as a US Army intelligence officer assigned to NATO, special operations, DIA, and the FBI. She spent over a decade leading operational, administrative, logistic, intelligence, and strategic functions across large multi-national organizations. Throughout her career, she oversaw multi-million-dollar budgets and global classified missions. While serving in war zones across 60 countries, she forged key partnerships with allies and adversaries. During this time, Paula became a thought leader in her field as a best-selling author and public speaker. A broad education at prestigious institutions around the world underpins Paula’s accomplishments. She holds an eMBA in Global Business Transformation from Oxford University, an MPA in Behavior Economics and Public Policy from Harvard, an MA in International Security and Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver, and a BS in systems engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point.