Digital Transformation: Kris Harrison's Innovation Leadership at Leonardo

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, digital transformation isn't just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative for companies striving to maintain a competitive edge and deliver unparalleled value to their customers. Few individuals embody this drive for innovation quite like Kris Harrison, the UK Engineering Innovation Lead for Support and Service Solutions (S3) at Leonardo. An award-winning engineer, Kris Harrison's journey is a testament to the power of diverse experience, forward-thinking methodologies, and a steadfast commitment to pioneering new digital frontiers within a global aerospace, defence, and security powerhouse.

At Leonardo, Kris Harrison is not merely overseeing projects; she's orchestrating a fundamental shift in how engineering solutions are conceived, developed, and delivered. Her work is directly impacting how customers, partners, and suppliers interact with Leonardo's products and services, creating an ecosystem of efficiency, real-time insights, and seamless integration. This article delves into Kris Harrison's pivotal role, exploring her career trajectory, her innovative approach to digital product development, and her broader contributions to inspiring the next generation of engineers.

From Physics Graduate to Engineering Innovation Pioneer

Kris Harrison's impressive career at Leonardo began in 2002, shortly after she completed her physics degree at the University of Nottingham. Joining the company's graduate programme as an electronics engineer, she immediately immersed herself in a dynamic and challenging environment. Her early years were foundational, providing her with a holistic understanding of the engineering lifecycle from multiple vantage points.

Her progression through various roles illustrates a deliberate and strategic accumulation of expertise:

Electronic Circuit Design: This hands-on experience grounded her in the fundamental building blocks of technology.
Product Integration: Moving into integration honed her ability to see how disparate components come together to form a cohesive whole.
Environmental Qualification: This role instilled a deep appreciation for robustness, reliability, and the rigorous testing required for mission-critical systems.
Multi-disciplinary Engineering Management: Crucially, this transition allowed her to develop leadership skills, coordinating diverse teams and understanding the complexities of large-scale projects.

Each of these stages offered unique insights into different sites, customer requirements, and supplier relationships, broadening her perspective and preparing her for the strategic demands of her current leadership position. This breadth of experience is a critical asset, enabling Kris Harrison to approach complex innovation challenges with a comprehensive understanding of both technical feasibility and operational impact. Her journey underscores a vital lesson for aspiring engineers: a diverse skill set and a willingness to embrace varied challenges are paramount for ascending to leadership roles in innovation. To learn more about her inspiring path and her commitment to fostering future talent, you might be interested in Kris Harrison: Engineer's Career Journey & STEM Outreach at Leonardo.

Spearheading Digital Product Solutions in Support and Service Solutions (S3)

As the UK Engineering Innovation Lead for Support and Service Solutions (S3), Kris Harrison's primary mission is to drive the delivery of cutting-edge engineering innovations directly to customers. This role places her at the heart of Leonardo's digital transformation efforts, particularly within the critical domain of support and services. She leads a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team, comprising experts from diverse fields crucial to modern digital development:

Data Science: Extracting actionable insights from vast datasets.
Application Development: Building robust, user-friendly web and mobile applications.
Business Analysis: Translating complex business needs into technical requirements.
Customer-Focused Design: Ensuring products are intuitive, efficient, and solve real-world problems for users.

Together, this team is responsible for designing and delivering a sophisticated suite of digital products – primarily data-driven web and mobile applications – that serve both internal Leonardo stakeholders and external customers. The impact of these innovations is profound:

Enhanced Customer Experience: Intuitive interfaces and seamless functionality improve user interaction.
Automated Data Acquisition: Reducing manual effort and improving data accuracy.
Real-Time Visual Insights: Providing immediate, accessible information anytime, anywhere, empowering faster and better decision-making.
End-to-End Supply Chain Integration: Streamlining operations from procurement to delivery, fostering greater transparency and efficiency across the entire ecosystem.

In an industry where precision, reliability, and speed are paramount, these digital tools are not just incremental improvements; they represent a fundamental shift towards proactive, predictive, and highly efficient support solutions. Kris Harrison's leadership in this area ensures that Leonardo remains at the forefront of leveraging digital capabilities to enhance operational readiness and customer satisfaction.

The Agile and Design Thinking Edge: Driving Innovation at Speed

The digital landscape is characterized by its relentless pace of change, demanding adaptive strategies and flexible methodologies. Kris Harrison and her team have embraced this reality by adopting cutting-edge approaches like Design Thinking and Agile methodology, which are central to their success in delivering rapid, impactful innovations.

Design Thinking: Customer-Centric Problem Solving

For Kris Harrison, innovation begins with a deep understanding of the customer's challenges. She regularly facilitates Design Thinking workshops, bringing together customer groups to identify pain points and areas where digital solutions can add significant value. This methodology is critical because it:

Emphasizes Empathy: Truly understanding the user's perspective, needs, and frustrations.
Fosters Collaboration: Bringing together diverse perspectives to generate creative solutions.
Prioritizes Problem Definition: Ensuring that development efforts are focused on solving the right problems effectively.
Encourages Iteration: Recognizing that the first solution isn't always the best and continuous refinement is key.

These insights form the bedrock of their product development, ensuring that every digital solution is inherently customer-focused and addresses genuine operational needs.

Agile Methodology: Flexible Development, Continuous Feedback

Once insights are gathered, the team transitions to an Agile methodology for product development. This iterative approach is perfectly suited for the fast-moving digital realm:

Rapid Prototyping: Quickly translating ideas into tangible prototypes.
Iterative Development Cycles: Breaking down large projects into smaller, manageable "sprints."
Continuous Customer Feedback: Integrating feedback throughout the development process, rather than waiting until the end. This allows for course correction and ensures the final product aligns perfectly with user expectations.
Adaptability: The ability to respond quickly to changing requirements or new technological trends.

This dynamic interplay between Design Thinking and Agile allows Kris Harrison's team to develop secure, deliverable products with remarkable speed and precision. Collaboration extends beyond her immediate team, involving experts from other parts of Leonardo and external suppliers to ensure the highest standards of quality and security. For a deeper dive into her methodological approach, read Kris Harrison: Driving Digital Product Solutions with Agile & Design Thinking.

A typical day for Kris Harrison perfectly encapsulates this dynamic environment:

Planning Reviews: Assessing priorities and progress with her team.
Technical Solution Brainstorming: Transforming nascent customer ideas into concrete prototype capabilities.
One-on-One Meetings: Mentoring team members, focusing on both personal and technical development.
External Engagement: Visiting suppliers and attending conferences to stay abreast of the latest app and cloud technology trends.
Customer Visits: Traveling across the UK to maintain direct contact with customers, understanding their evolving needs firsthand.

This multi-faceted approach ensures that innovation is not just a theoretical pursuit but a continuous, practical, and customer-driven process.

Beyond the Blueprint: Nurturing Future Engineers through STEM Outreach

Kris Harrison's dedication extends far beyond her core responsibilities at Leonardo. Recognizing the critical importance of fostering the next generation of talent, she actively leads Leonardo's outreach programme. This initiative involves close collaboration with schools and educational charities, with the vital goal of promoting engineering careers to young people.

Her involvement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) outreach is particularly impactful because she serves as a tangible role model. Young individuals, especially girls, can see themselves reflected in her success, demystifying engineering and showcasing it as an accessible and rewarding career path. Her efforts contribute to:

Addressing the Skills Gap: Inspiring more young people to pursue STEM subjects helps ensure a robust pipeline of future engineers and innovators for industries like aerospace and defence.
Promoting Diversity: Encouraging a broader range of individuals, including those from underrepresented groups, to consider engineering careers enriches the industry with diverse perspectives and ideas.
Building Community Engagement: Leonardo's commitment to education strengthens its ties with local communities and contributes to societal development.

This commitment to outreach is a powerful demonstration of Kris Harrison's belief in paying it forward and shaping a brighter future for the engineering profession. It underscores the broader impact of innovation leadership, which extends beyond product development to include human capital development and societal contribution.

Conclusion

Kris Harrison's innovation leadership at Leonardo is a compelling narrative of strategic vision, technical prowess, and a deep understanding of human-centric design. Her journey from a graduate electronics engineer to a pivotal driver of digital transformation exemplifies the power of continuous learning, diverse experience, and adaptable methodologies. Through her leadership in the S3 line of business, she is not only delivering advanced digital products that enhance customer experience and operational efficiency but also championing a culture of iterative development and customer-centric problem-solving. Beyond her direct contributions to Leonardo's digital evolution, her passionate engagement in STEM outreach highlights her broader commitment to inspiring the next generation, ensuring that the spirit of innovation continues to thrive. Kris Harrison stands as a beacon of modern engineering leadership, demonstrating how a blend of technical expertise, strategic foresight, and a human touch can effectively navigate the complexities of digital transformation in a high-stakes industry.