What if the most groundbreaking solutions weren’t waiting within your organization’s walls but scattered across industries, continents, and disciplines, just waiting to be tapped? In this episode of the Innovation Storytellers Show, I sit down with Kyle Basler-Reeder, ExxonMobil’s Global Open Innovation Lead, to discuss how he’s redefined problem-solving for one of the world’s largest energy companies.
Kyle shares his unique journey from his early days as a 15-year-old aspiring entrepreneur to spearheading a program that searches far and wide for fresh perspectives on complex challenges. He dives into the methods and philosophies behind ExxonMobil’s open innovation framework, a system he’s crafted to harness creativity from diverse fields like agriculture, aerospace, and even pharmaceuticals.
Kyle introduces us to what he calls “Level Seven” of open innovation, where ExxonMobil looks to industries far beyond its own, bringing in insights from unexpected sources to tackle persistent and “stubborn” problems. He also reveals the fascinating world of “all-star solvers”—the polymaths who thrive on solving radically different challenges and who bring a Da Vinci-like approach to crowdsourced solutions.
Listen in as Kyle demystifies the path to open innovation, shares strategies for overcoming internal resistance, and highlights why bringing in “outside minds” has been transformative for ExxonMobil’s innovation journey. Whether you’re looking to jumpstart innovation or tackle long standing challenges in your own organization, this episode offers practical insights on expanding beyond the familiar and embracing a truly global approach to problem-solving.
Name: Kyle Basler-Reeder
Title: Global Open Innovation Lead
Company: ExxonMobil
Kyle Basler-Reeder designed, founded, and now manages the global Open Innovation program at ExxonMobil. Before ExxonMobil, Kyle earned an MS in Exploration Geophysics, serving as the national delegate for the National Senior Honor Society and receiving an award for Outstanding MS Student. He has multiple patents spanning the areas of uncertainty quantification, image enhancement, and generative AI.
Kyle started in the Upstream Research Company, developing a subsurface characterization workflow that resulted in ExxonMobil identifying new oil deposits in an area where no one thought it was possible, after which he named those new deposits. With only two years in the company, Kyle was awarded the ExxonMobil Innovation, Creativity, and Excellence award for developing a new technology that greatly reduced the uncertainty of oil reservoir sizes, impacting multi-billion dollar decisions. Kyle then moved into the business, pioneering a variety of new workflows with global impact, including a three billion dollar value impact.
Starting in 2019, Kyle became involved in formal corporate innovation efforts. After his first year in the Global Innovation Accelerator, Kyle’s work “set the gold standard” and he became a senior leader. The next year, Kyle was tasked with establishing an Open Innovation capability at ExxonMobil, which he now manages. Due to global external recognition of the rapid growth and success of his program, Kyle has become a sought-after keynote speaker and podcast participant. His work is also featured in the upcoming book Venture Clienting, which has a foreword written by Henry Chesbrough.
