B. Joseph Pine II received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, and his S.M. in Management of Technology from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He has worked at the IBM Corporation, MIT’s Design Lab, he helped found Starizon Studio, a consulting company, and has worked closely with Stone Mantel as a Strategic Thought Leader. He is the Co-Founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, and has written numerous groundbreaking books, including Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Organization, The Experience Economy: Work is Theater & Every Business a Stage, and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, and advises numerous Fortune 500 firms, in addition to his speaking roles.

Pine explained the relationship between his early work evaluating the role of mass customization and the significance of innovation in customer experience in today’s economy this way: mass customization turns a good into a service, and a service into an experience. Winners in innovation, he said, have been (and will be) those who move from a product or service to a wholly engaging user experience; witness LEGO’s move from manufacturer of blocks to interactive retail experiences, movies, and theme parks. To get there, he recommends looking for the intersection of the four E’s for inspiration – Entertainment, Education, Escapism, and Esthetics – and adopting a philosophy that “work is theater” – whenever any member of the organization engages with a customer, that employee is on stage, and has an opportunity to become a story-teller about the brand and product.