Kevin Donnery

The most important innovations may not be the biggest breakthroughs. They may be the systems that help us make better decisions every day. We often talk about innovation as if it arrives in one dramatic moment: a new technology, a breakthrough product or a completely new business model. But lasting progress usually works differently. It comes from hundreds of smaller decisions. Measure what is happening. Learn from what failed. Keep what works. Remove unnecessary waste. Listen to the people actually using the system. Then improve it again. That principle applies almost everywhere — from AI and agriculture to climate technology, recycling, supply chains and the circular economy. Technology can dramatically increase our ability to analyse, automate and scale. But it cannot remove the need for judgement. In fact, as our tools become more powerful, good judgement becomes even more valuable. Perhaps the organisations that succeed in the next decade will not simply be those with access to the best technology. They will be the ones that build the best feedback loops between technology, people and purpose. Progress does not always require revolution. Sometimes it is simply one intelligent improvement after another. What small change in your organisation or industry could create a surprisingly large impact if repeated consistently?

A small thing I’ve noticed about good ideas The best ideas often don’t arrive when you are actively trying to find them. They show up on a walk, over coffee, during a conversation, or while doing something completely unrelated to work. Maybe that is because when we stop forcing the answer, the mind starts connecting things in the background. In business we spend a lot of time talking about productivity, optimisation and output. But there is probably still a place for unstructured thinking — time where nothing obvious is being produced, but something useful may be forming. I’ve started to think that some of the most productive moments can look completely unproductive from the outside. Where do your best ideas usually come from?

✈️ Could AI make flying more climate-friendly — without changing the aircraft? One of the less obvious climate impacts of aviation comes from contrails: the white trails aircraft sometimes leave behind at high altitude. Cathay Pacific and Google are now expanding trials of an AI system that predicts where climate-warming contrails are likely to form. Pilots can then make relatively small altitude adjustments to avoid those conditions. In an initial trial involving more than 80 flights, the companies estimated that the approach reduced contrail warming impact by around 40%. What I find interesting is the approach: instead of waiting for entirely new aircraft or fuels, AI is being used to optimise the infrastructure and equipment we already have. It raises a bigger question: Where else could AI deliver meaningful sustainability gains simply by helping us operate existing systems more intelligently? #AI #ClimateTech #Aviation #Sustainability #Innovation

Venice next week 🇮🇹 Looking forward to joining the Future Capital Creatives Soirée during the Venice Film Festival. It should be an interesting mix of investors, founders, filmmakers, writers and people working across technology, finance and the creative industries — exactly the kind of crossover that is becoming more important as capital, media and technology increasingly converge. For me, events like this are less about sitting through another conference and more about meeting interesting people, exchanging ideas and seeing where unexpected conversations lead. If you’re going to be in Venice, details and registration are here: luma.com/family-90cc #VeniceFilmFestival #FutureCapital #Fintech #DigitalAssets #Innovation #Media #Networking

Crypto in Europe just crossed a line: from experiment to financial infrastructure. MiCA is no longer coming. It is here. On 1 July 2026, the final EU transitional period ended for crypto-asset service providers. For the industry, that changes the game. There are obvious benefits. A common regulatory framework can give investors greater protection, institutions more confidence and serious digital-asset businesses a clearer route to operating across Europe. But there is another side to this. Crypto was built around permissionless innovation, decentralisation and the idea that financial systems could operate outside traditional gatekeepers. MiCA moves the sector firmly in the opposite direction: licensing, governance, compliance, supervision and accountability. That may be exactly what is needed for digital assets to reach the mainstream. But it also raises an uncomfortable question. Can crypto become institutionalised without losing some of what made it disruptive in the first place? Europe may now be one of the safer places in the world to build a regulated digital-asset business. It may also be a harder place for a small experimental one to begin. Perhaps the next chapter of crypto isn't about escaping the financial system at all. Perhaps it is about becoming part of it. What do you think — does regulation unlock the next stage of adoption, or remove too much of crypto's original freedom? #MiCA #DigitalAssets #Blockchain #FinTech #Innovation