Trusted by organizations across the Upstate
Our work is built through partnership. We collaborate with organizations across our region to understand their challenges, design experiences around their needs and help their people put new ideas into practice. The organizations featured here represent just some of the teams that have trusted CIL to support their leaders, people and continued growth.
Your Leaders Shouldn’t Practice on Simulations.
They Should Solve the Problem That’s Already on the Table.
Most leadership programs teach frameworks in a classroom and hope participants apply them later. We put your team to work on the real challenges your organization is facing right now—they build solutions, test ideas and leave with tools they’ve already started using. Whether you need a single-day workshop, an eight-week cohort or a multi-month engagement built around your strategic priorities, we design for your problem, your people and your timeline.
Leadership and Team Performance
Resilient, high-performing leaders at every level—from first-time managers to senior teams navigating change.
Innovation and Strategic Problem-Solving
A structured process for real organizational challenges, ending with a working prototype and roadmap your team built themselves.
AI & Workforce Readiness
Practical AI fluency and stronger human capabilities, built on our AI Ready framework.
Culture & Organizational Development
The culture your organization needs to retain talent, drive engagement and sustain performance.
Trusted to transform teams:
How the Furman Innovation Lab can help your organization
A leader with history and momentum
With 200 years of academic excellence and a strong reputation across the Southeast, Furman is a recognized partner for organizations seeking credible, high-quality professional development.
Learning that fits your team
Choose from in-person, online, or hybrid delivery formats to meet the needs of your business—whether it’s a single course, a certificate program, or a full custom series, we make it work for your schedule and your team.
Solutions built for you
We adapt existing programs or design new ones to match your goals, tackle your industry’s challenges, and fit your team’s culture, delivering immediate value through every course.
Experts who’ve been there
Your team will learn from experienced practitioners who blend research-driven insight with hard-earned experience in leadership, design, innovation, data analytics, and more.
Impact you can measure
The Furman Innovation Lab’s programs are built to inspire action. They help strengthen leadership pipelines, boost retention, and equip teams with skills that drive performance and innovation long after the training ends.
Built for your team: employer learning solutions powered by the Furman Innovation Lab
Partnering with the Furman Innovation Lab means more than bringing training to your workplace—it’s about obtaining flexible, high-impact learning experiences aligned with your goals, industry, and culture.
Partner With UsHow we meet your needs: our proven design process
No matter which option you choose, every Furman Innovation Lab partnership follows a collaborative, four-step process we call the 4 Ds:
Discovery
We learn about your needs.
Design
We build the solution together.
Delivery
We implement the program.
Debrief
We review results and plan next steps.
Your program, your way
You choose the level of customization that best aligns with your organization’s needs and aims:
From insight to impact: What our partners are saying
Walking away, I felt like a builder. I could take what I’d learned and pour it into others. I wanted to give back what had been given to me. I was able to go help others, share the wealth, share the knowledge.
Dr. Edwina Perrin
Founder
Leadership Matters Academy
Furman tapped into instructors who had real-world experience. These are people who’ve built businesses, and they can talk about their positive and, more importantly, their negative learnings. The entrepreneurs were able to really take those lessons and apply them to their own initiatives and immediately get feedback.
Brett Owen
Head of Incubation
North American Michelin Innovation Lab
The camaraderie, the joy that we all receive from being in class together every month, we miss it. So, I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
Brittany Brackett
Executive Director and Founder
Outstanding Youth Awards Initiative
Experts who’ve been there
Your team learns from practitioners and scholars who bring decades of leadership, innovation and organizational experience to every session. Grounded in Furman’s liberal arts tradition, they pair research with real-world practice so your people leave ready to lead.
Cynthia Radford
Cynthia’s worked around the world helping leaders from over 40 countries and a wide variety of organizations like Netflix, BMW, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dr. Martens, Aegon Asia, NASA, and Wells Fargo, discover new perspectives, create impact, and lead with purpose. She nurtures leadership that fosters connection, alignment, and collaboration so all can flourish and accomplish meaningful things.
A native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cynthia loves hiking, nature photography, and pet chickens.
Dr. Clemson Turregano
Dr. Clemson Turregano is a seasoned Leadership Solutions professional with 40+ years of global
leadership development expertise. With a strong focus on technical institutions, Clemson
collaborates with domestic and international teams, shaping innovative leadership programs
worldwide.
Clemson is a renowned scholar, creating unforgettable leadership experiences with lasting
impact. His professional career includes delivery in over 40 countries, offering deep
international insight. A retired US Army officer, Clemson commanded troops during the Kosovo
conflict and held key roles at West Point and US Naval War College.
Dr. Rebecca Heiss
Dr. Heiss is a stress expert dedicated to challenging the ways we think about stress energy. Rather than try to get rid of it, Rebecca demonstrates how to use our stress as a springboard to higher levels of performance, passion and purpose. Her research has been designated “transformative” by the National Science Foundation. She is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and author of two books: Instinct and Springboard. When she’s not working she is happiest when hiking with her two spoiled rotten dogs Guinness and Murphy.
Emil Babineau
Emil Babineau is the founder of NUVEXA AI and a technology strategist who helps organizations adopt AI and emerging technologies through a human-centered approach. He partners with Furman University to develop programs that prepare businesses for AI-driven growth and has led product launches, go-to-market strategies, and strategic partnerships for companies including TD SYNNEX, Verizon Telematics, and T-Mobile. With expertise spanning AI, cloud, and connected technologies, Emil combines technical insight and business strategy to help organizations innovate, adapt, and grow.
Kendra Speed
Kendra Speed is a strategy executive, educator, and executive advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate complexity, drive innovation, and align strategy with meaningful results. She has led initiatives for global organizations and now advises executives while teaching at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business.
Get Started
Ready to build a program around your goals? Complete the form or schedule a meeting with our sales team.