184: How Corning International is Manufacturing Innovation in New Markets

What role do trust, cultural understanding, and collaboration play in global innovation? In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Gökhan Doran, Division VP and General Manager at Corning International, to uncover the keys to navigating the complexities of international manufacturing and partnerships.  From Brazil to Nigeria, Japan to India, Gökhan shares his journey of building diverse, value-driven collaborations that blend Corning’s innovation in glass science with local expertise and creativity. Together, we explore the human resistance to change, the importance of breaking down comfort zones, and the philosophical insights that guide Gökhan’s leadership style. Drawing inspiration from Plato, Gökhan discusses how curiosity, discipline, and a willingness to climb the metaphorical wall of fear have shaped his career and approach to partnerships. We also dive into the challenges and opportunities of operating in a global marketplace, from fostering trust in cross-cultural collaborations to ensuring alignment on core values. Gökhan highlights how these synergies drive innovation and long-term growth, transforming partnerships into powerful engines for progress. Whether you're leading a global team or looking to expand your business internationally, this conversation offers actionable insights into the art and science of collaboration, innovation, and leadership in a fast-changing world.  

Om Podcasten

Did you ever wonder how an innovation got to its finish line? How innovators saw the future, made a product, and created change – in our world and in their companies? I did. Innovation Storytellers invites changemakers to describe how they created their innovation and just as important – THE STORIES – that made us fall in love with them. Come learn how great innovations need great stories to make them move around the world and how to become a better storyteller in the process. I’m Susan Lindner, the Innovation Storyteller. But I wasn’t always. I’ve been a wannabe revolutionary, an epidemiologist at the CDC and an AIDS educator in the brothels of Thailand helping to turn former sex workers into entrepreneurs. Trained as an anthropologist and the Founder of Emerging Media, I’ve spent the last twenty years working with innovators from 60+ countries. Ranging from cutting edge startups to Fortune 100 companies like GE, Corning, Citi, Olayan, and nine foreign governments, helping their leaders to tell their stories and teaching them how to become incredible advocates for their innovations. Great innovation stories make change possible. They let us step into a future we can’t see yet. I started this podcast to shine a light on our generation of great innovators, to learn how they brought their innovation to life and the stories they told to bring them to the world.