Dave Ayers | Digital Thread Podcast | Momenta

Perspective on Digital Innovation

In this week's episode, Ken Forster speaks with Dave Ayers, our newest Strategy Partner at Momenta, about the lessons he has learned across water technologies, energy management, communication products, and services over the last 40 years.

Dave has worked as a senior leader in R&D at major technology firms like Nortel Networks, Alcatel Lucent, and Xylem for the better part of 40 years. His areas of expertise include water technologies, energy management, communication products, and services. He was most recently Vice President of Innovation Strategy and Partnerships at Xylem, where he was responsible for enterprise-level strategic planning across Xylem as well as for developing an ecosystem of alliance partners. Dave came into Xylem via its acquisition of Sensus, where he was VP of Global R&D, responsible for the technology strategy and product development for the smart metering portfolio worldwide. Dave graduated from Carleton University with a B. Eng. in Electronics.

Discussion Points:

• What would you consider to be your 'Digital Thread.'
•  I see you got your engineering start in the communications space, working across senior leadership roles at Alcatel-Lucent and Nortel. How did this early experience inform your views of smart and connected things?
• You joined Sensus at a formative time, as they were laying the foundation for the first wide-scale connected device rollouts of smart Water, Electric & Gas meters in North America and Europe. Tell us a bit about your work and wins here.
• We met literally 'across the table' as Momenta supported Xylem during the acquisition of Sensus back in 2016. What the market saw as an acquisition of metering, we saw as an acquisition of an industrial-grade full-stack IoT development house and solution. In that light, what were some of the key synergies you saw from this marriage?
• You spent the last two years heading up Innovation Strategy & Partnerships for Xylem. What was your remit here and some of your key accomplishments?
• We often talk about the importance of water, but the past years have reinforced the critical importance of this precious commodity. Where do you see some of the largest opportunities remaining for us in water management?
• Let's dig deeper into your Innovation Strategy work. How do you define 'Innovation in the context of a large industrial OEM'?
• I'm particularly interested in your perspective on so-called 'outside in' innovation: including universities, startups, and venture capital. Who is doing this well, and what are some of the best practices you've seen?
• Which trends are you watching these days?
• In closing, where do you find your personal inspiration?