Plenary Sessions
Conference Chairman
The future of work: evolving the European model
as we enter the third industrial revolution
The ideals of peace, safety, job security and
overall quality of life make up the European
model of work or ‘European dream’.
Although the European dream seems to be
becoming less sustainable, the possibility for a
hopeful future economy remains if alternative
sources for energy are considered and embraced.
Jeremy Rifkin, advisor to the European Union
Hydrogen Economy Initiative envisions an
extreme change in our society and the global
economy. This change will be based on our
response to the four major crises we are facing:
climate change, third world debt, political
instability and the impact of competition
from the global economy.
Rifkin believes we are entering a new energy era
reliant on hydrogen as a main source for fuelling
the economy and impacting the business
community, society and the nature of work in
Europe. This new industrial revolution will be
as profound on the European economy as the
economic and technological revolutions in the
past. He will explore the ways that companies
can both facilitate the integration process
and benefit from its implementation.
Jeremy Rifkin is President of the Foundation on
Economic Trends and has written many books
on the effects of scientific and technological
changes, including The End of Work, The Hydrogen
Economy and The European Dream: How Europe’s
Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the
American Dream. In addition to advising heads
of state and political parties around the world
on economic and energy related issues,
Rifkin also consults with Europe’s leading
companies and helps to spur grassroots
environmental and social justice campaigns.
How to make innovation predictably successful » Watch Video
Increasing successful innovations is one of
the top priorities for CEOs around the world.
Competition is stiff and one of the best ways to
increase shareholder value is through innovation.
In this powerful address, Professor Clayton
Christensen, the world’s foremost authority on
innovation, will argue that the way we are taught
at business schools and the way well managed
companies are run, are more likely to destroy
the prospect of successful innovation, rather
than encourage it.
Professor Christensen will argue that our
usual methods of financial analysis − such as
discounted cash flow − our ways of studying
customer satisfaction and the current fad for
outsourcing, are factors that lead to long term
deterioration in performance. Christensen
believes these things can destroy opportunities
for genuine innovation and create leaps in
shareholder value.
Innovations coming from new firms and new
entrants in the market can disrupt the status
quo by focusing on obsessions with core
competencies of the past, rather than moving
towards future value streams.
However, there is hope for leaders in established
organizations! While there is no silver bullet for
innovation, there are many things leaders can do
to stimulate innovation.
Professor Christensen will outline how we can
make innovation more predictable. A few of
the tactics he will identify include adopting
new approaches to financial analysis, re-focusing
on the real needs of customers and determining
what should be outsourced, amongst other things.
Professor Christensen is author of globally
best-selling books on innovation, including
The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s
Solution. He has been a professor at Harvard
Business School since 1992.
Making strategy happen
Building successful global organizations and
integrating two organizations through M&A into
a high performing new business, are two of the
major challenges CEOs face today.
How can these things be done? And how
can they be done at the same time? Diego
Bevilacqua led the integration of the Unilever
and Bestfoods foodservice business over a five
year period. Diego was successful in taking two
organizations with different strategies, operating
models, identities and cultures and forging
them into a single market leading business.
In the highly competitive $500 billion global
foodservice industry, this was no easy feat. In his
speech, Diego will outline how it was achieved.
Diego’s story is a great business case study
for any leader engaged in globalization, M&A,
creating new models of governance or raising
performance through aligning the whole
organization behind clear goals.
Diego Bevilacqua is group vice president
of Unilever.
Making change happen and the role of HR
Change is an ever-present and often intimidating
part of life. Things are changing faster than
ever in today’s world and the rate at which we
adapt and adjust must speed up as well. We must
change or face being left behind.
Although change can be positive and exciting,
it can be a difficult issue for leaders and
employees to address and conquer. Change
can instil a sense of uncertainty and fear in
some, paralyzing those who want to continue
down paths that are predictable and familiar.
Successful change depends on how it is
presented within an organization. Everyone must
understand the goals and vision. HR particularly
can play a key role in helping an organization
face a period of change.
In this challenging address, Professor Dave
Ulrich will focus on three main themes related
to change − [1] how leaders can create and
sustain fundamental change, particularly cultural
change, through identifying and breaking down
barriers – [2] the disciples needed to make
change happen effectively, particularly how
one can master the skills of turning what we
know into what we do and [3] the role of HR
throughout the change process.
Participants will leave with a roadmap for long
term fundamental change and tools for making
change happen.
Professor Ulrich is professor of business at the
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan,
and is co-founder of the Michigan Human
Resources Partnership. He is also the author
of many books on leadership, HR and building
value within organizations, including HR Value
Proposition, How Leaders Build Value and Leadership
Brand, published in the Autumn of 2007.
Inspirational leadership: engaging the heart, mind and body
The best leaders are both inspired and inspiring.
The world of work is constantly changing, calling
for leaders with the ability to evolve, become
more creative and adaptable and lead with
vision and passion. How can leaders within
organizations move their people forward in a
motivational and inspirational way, while uniting
around a common goal?
Richard Olivier is founding voice of Olivier Mythodrama, a new form of experiential
learning that combines great mythological
stories with psychological insights, creative
exercises and organizational development
techniques to explore issues faced by
modern leaders.
In this keynote presentation, Olivier introduces
participants to the world of Shakespeare with
Mythodrama’s mythology, using drama and the
arts to create an experience that will engage
the heart, mind and body. This work brings
the world of theatre into the development
of authentic leaders.
This inspirational leadership presentation
encourages each individual to find a vision
that is inspirational, personal and achievable.
Richard Olivier, son of Laurence Olivier, was a
leading theatre director for over ten years and
directed the opening of Henry V for Shakespeare’s
Globe in London. Olivier works with a number of
global organizations and academic institutions
including DaimlerChrysler & Lafarge and INSEAD
and Oxford Said Business School.
He is an Associate Fellow of Templeton College,
Oxford and was a guest speaker at the World
Economic Forum in Davos. He is the co-author
of Peak Performance Presentations – How to
Present with Passion and Purpose, along with
Nicholas Jann. Richard Olivier has also written
Inspirational Leadership – Henry V and the
Muse of Fire.
Creating a sustainable culture of innovation: the importance of international diversity
The world is becoming smaller, no longer
separated by the distance of geographical
locations or a lack of communication tools.
Governments, businesses and cultures must find
ways to communicate effectively and understand
differences, as well as develop positive and
influential relationships. This change is not only
taking place on a grander scale, businesses must
also evolve to understand and promote diversity
within their own cultures and client bases.
CEOs must create diverse teams that can engage
effectively and develop leaders. Diversity needs
to be seen as an opportunity for growth, rather
than a threat. Fons Trompenaars will highlight
the importance of understanding and benefiting
from complications that arise from cultural
differences and solving dilemmas by using a
creative approach.
In his address Fons Trompenaars will focus
on three key themes: stimulating individual
creativity, encouraging it within teams and
developing a sustainable culture of innovation.
He will also use the results from the WebCue
survey, a web-based diagnostic tool, to address
issues revealed from data completed by
participants prior to the conference.
Fons Trompenaars is recognized as one of the
world’s leading experts on cultural diversity
through his work as a consultant, trainer,
motivational speaker and author. He has been
helping professionals manage and solve business
and cultural dilemmas for over 20 years. Some
of his books include Riding the Waves of Culture:
Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business,
Building Cross-Cultural Competence and 21
Leaders for the 21st Century.
I invite you to complete this Online questionnaire in preparation for the session I will be leading at the conference in Rome.
What sets the most innovative companies apart from the rest?
How do leading organizations encourage
innovation and create competitive business
advantages? Searching for the elusive answer
to this question, Hay Group and Stratage
Inc. collaborated to research and determine
50 innovative companies and the secrets
of their success.
Terry Waghorn, a partner with Stratage Inc.
and Will Werhane, the global managing director
for Hay Group’s survey research division,
will present the results of the i50 list, as well
as additional research results, case studies
and interviews with executives from leading
companies. Attendees will be presented with
the steps companies should take to turn ideas
into useful and marketable products.
Business execution is the key to managing
innovation. If the answer seems so simple,
why is it such a difficult task to action?
Through their experiences working with global
organizations and an understanding of how
to promote employee effectiveness, Will and
Terry will break down the overwhelming task
that looms behind this simple statement,
making it a more practical and approachable
mission to action.
Building a blue ocean organization
Companies are increasingly finding themselves
adrift in a blood red ocean of opposition, filled
with sharks and characterized by commodity
competition, declining price points and
market share battles. Accelerated globalization
processes and technological progress accentuate
and contribute to this red ocean competition.
Industrial productivity has improved
substantially and in many industries, supply is
outpacing demand. Information on products
and pricing is globally available and niche
markets and monopolies continue to disappear.
To create strong profitable growth in the future,
companies must break out of this red ocean
of bloody competition. They must create blue
oceans of new market space where there is no
competition. This will require a shift in thinking
from supply to demand and from competing
to creating innovative value to unlock all new
demand and make the competition irrelevant.
The question is what are the leadership
capabilities needed to create a blue ocean
organization that is capable of creating
and capturing blue oceans?
In this talk, Renée Mauborgne will address
the leadership capabilities needed, how
management can quickly and cost-effectively
overcome the inevitable organizational
hurdles and how the most vocal nay-sayers
can be silenced. She will specify ways to make
unforgettable and unarguable calls for change,
ensure resources are allocated in the right
places and mobilize the commitment of the
organization’s key players.
Renée Mauborgne, along with her colleague
W. Chan Kim, is the co-author of the international
bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create
Uncontested Market Space and Make the
Competition Irrelevant. She is an INSEAD
Distinguished Fellow, a professor of Strategy
and Management at INSEAD and Fellow of the
World Economic Forum. In addition, Professor
Mauborgne has published numerous articles
on strategy and managing the multinational.