Ivan Gekht
Siberian Aerospace Engineer turned Tech CEO at Gehtsoft USA, Agilist and Innovator
Sparta, New Jersey, United States
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Born in the unforgiving winters of Siberia, where survival is an art, I developed the grit, resilience, and resourcefulness that define me and our company today.
From my beginnings in aerospace engineering to leading Gehtsoft, I've channeled that relentless problem-solving mindset into the tech world. Now, I lead one of the industry's most exceptional teams — professionals who do what others consider impossible. We are driven by curiosity, systems thinking, and scientific rigor to solve our clients' most complex problems.
I'm also co-founder and editor of Agile Bulletin (https://www.agilebulletin.org/). A magazine that offers sharp insights and real stories from the frontlines of Agile. Designed for changemakers in software development and project management, it highlights how teams pivot, innovate, and lead with agility in a fast-changing world.
We’re not afraid to feature unpopular opinions and counter-cultural ideas and explore the hidden sides of Agile practices—pushing boundaries to spark real conversations and drive progress.
My certifications include:
Scrum.org's PSM III, PAL-EMB, PAL-E, PSPO, PMI's DASM, ICP's ACC, Six Sigma Black Belt.
Area of Expertise
Topics
A Better Innovation: TIPS - The reliable scientific approach to innovation
A Better Innovation: Theory of Inventive Problem Solving - The reliable scientific approach to innovation
Have you ever wondered how companies like Samsung, Honeywell, or Procter & Gamble consistently make the list of the top 50 most innovative companies in the world year after year?
Did you ever stop to question why some companies bring inventions to the market year after year and some collapse with hundreds of millions invested in innovation with no result?
Half a century ago, back in the USSR, researchers noticed that out of 150,000 innovation research projects, less than 2% were adopted by five organizations or more. More than 2/3rds were terminated during the experimentation phase. Innovation was unreliable and expensive, and it almost never produced the desired results. So a great engineer and inventor, Genrikh Altshuller, posed a question to himself - is there a better way to innovate? After reviewing over 15,000 innovation patents, he and a group of researchers finally found a way. The Theory of Inventive Problem-solving (TIPS, also known as TRIZ) was born.
Many manufacturing companies worldwide are leveraging this knowledge, which is why 35 out of 50 companies on the most innovative companies list in 2023 are in manufacturing.
We all work in companies striving to be innovative (otherwise, you would not come to Agile 2025). And yet, one of the best, proven, and reliable approaches to innovation is not well-known and is not being leveraged in our community.
This talk will lift the veil of secrecy and introduce TRIZ (TIPS) to the wide Agile audience.
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