How LG Nova Is Turning Corporate Innovation Into New Companies

Could a company best known for TVs, appliances, and consumer electronics become a launchpad for entirely new businesses? In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I sat down with Sokwoo Rhee, Corporate Executive Vice President for Innovation at LG Electronics and Head of LG NOVA, to discuss why some of the world's largest organizations are rethinking how innovation happens and what it takes to build the next generation of companies from within a corporate environment.

Sokwoo shares his journey from entrepreneur and government innovator to leading LG NOVA, LG's Silicon Valley-based innovation center focused on creating entirely new ventures in areas such as healthcare, AI, energy, and digital services. We explore why innovation requires a different mindset from traditional business operations and why corporate leaders must be willing to invest in opportunities where the outcome is uncertain but the long-term potential could reshape an organization's future.

Our conversation also examines the challenge of balancing quarterly business realities with long-term innovation goals. Sokwoo explains why successful innovation portfolios resemble venture capital strategies, where multiple experiments are necessary because breakthrough ideas rarely arrive with guaranteed outcomes. He offers a candid perspective on risk, leadership, failure, and the importance of creating space inside large organizations for ideas that may eventually define the next decade of growth.

We also discuss LG NOVA's approach to building new companies, including its work in mental health technology, where AI is being used to help therapists spend more time supporting patients and less time on administrative tasks. Along the way, Sokwoo reflects on the role of storytelling in innovation, why evidence matters as much as vision, and how innovators can help organizations imagine futures that do not yet exist.

If you've ever wondered how corporate innovation can move beyond pilots and PowerPoint presentations to create entirely new businesses, this conversation offers a fascinating look inside one of the world's most ambitious innovation initiatives. What role should large corporations play in building the companies of tomorrow, and how much risk are they willing to take to get there?