BST Global’s Javier A. Baldor Participates in EFCG’s Executive Leadership Panel
The pandemic has abruptly removed limits to technology innovation, forcing entire industries to stretch what’s possible in only a matter of months. BST Global’s CEO Javier A. Baldor joined a stellar lineup of industry executives as part of EFCG’s Executive Leadership virtual conference to discuss these changing times and what’s ahead. The one-hour session, titled “Rethinking Technology, Realizing a New Competitive Edge” explored how they, as leaders, are reshaping technology’s place in their firms to alter what and how they deliver to the market. An informative Q&A session followed.
Panelists included:
- Raj Arora, CEO, Jensen Hughes
- Austin Conti, CEO, Tenna
- Amy Corriveau, Vice President, Director of Emerging Business Development, CDM Smith
- Javier A. Baldor, CEO, BST Global
- Rachel White, CEO, Arcadis Gen
- Marcus Quigley, EFCG Technology Practice Lead & Event Moderator
Here are some highlights from the panel discussion:
- Attendee Poll Results
- 45% of event attendees said that it would likely take 5-10 years to successfully get “disruptive technology” to be adopted by 80% of AEC firms
- 54% of event attendees said that their technology strategy shifted moderately due to COVID-19, which resulted in adjustments to certain areas of their business
- Theme 1: Transition to Technology
- Panelist Question: How has your organization changed or planned to change, and how have those plans been impacted over the past 12 months:
- Raj: “We are on a mission now to change processes with technology-enabled consulting.”
- Austin: “There’s a real opportunity for the pre-planning of technology in this sector.”
- Amy: “While we were able to seamlessly transition to a digital workforce, many of our clients were not.”
- Javier: “I believe in the data-driven consultancy of the future, where AI, machine learning and big data can unlock many valuable use cases.”
- Rachel: “The type of agility and flexibility we need, we need systems that support the business in different ways than the core business.”
- Theme 2: Change Is Hard
- Panelist Question: How do we build culture and communities of innovation? What are the ways companies are working to drive change? What is working and what remains a challenge or remains unsolved?:
- Amy: “Innovation at scale shouldn’t come with brute force but it really was for many organizations. Imagine if we could do it naturally … progress doesn’t have to equate with perfectionism.”
- Rachel: “Change is hard, but perhaps at this moment in time, not changing is even harder.”
- Javier: “You should find change agents in your organization. They invite, inspire and drive change. Invite them to your meetings and encourage them to share; then celebrate them.”
- Raj: “Engineers, in general, want everything to be perfect to give it a go. You have to drive the “lean startup” mindset that everything can’t be perfect … you have to keep refining the tool like it’s an app on your phone.”
- Austin: “It’s okay to walk before you run. If you look at our entire industry, we are not completely digitized yet.”
- Panelist Question: How do we build culture and communities of innovation? What are the ways companies are working to drive change? What is working and what remains a challenge or remains unsolved?:
- Panelist Question: How has your organization changed or planned to change, and how have those plans been impacted over the past 12 months:
Watch the Highlight Video
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