Global Digital Economy Partner Evita Lune speaks at the CEE FutureTech Congress in Warsaw
Warsaw, Poland – Last week saw the successful conclusion of the CEE FutureTech Congress, one of the most important business summits in Central and Eastern Europe. Held in Warsaw, the two-day event was devoted to debates, panel discussions, and brainstorming sessions about innovations and top trends in the FinTech, InsurTech, and Big Data industries, and their organic impact on the disruption of traditional business models. Evita Lune, Global Digital Economy Partner, represented Pedersen & Partners at the Congress and spoke about finding and managing leaders for disruptive industries from a CEE perspective.
The event welcomed more than 2,500 attendees and more than 150 panellists and speakers from across the globe, representing industries such as FinTech, InsurTech and Big Data, as well as representatives of the finance, banking, insurance, IT, consulting, start-ups, investors, market leaders, and public sector decision-makers.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Finance, expressed his hope that Poland will become an internationally recognised digital hub: “More and more creative projects and joint initiatives are taking place in Poland and Central Europe as a whole. The state should create good development conditions for entrepreneurs. If we can also support them with grants or inspire cooperation with universities and other companies, this is how modern economic ecosystems are born.”
The Congress consisted of three thematic streams: FinTech Digital Congress, InsurTech Digital Congress, and Big Data: Think Big CEE Congress. The line-up of international thought leaders, industry experts and practitioners included James Felton Keith, Chairman of International Personal Data Trade Association, USA; Chris Skinner, Writer, Fintech Commentator, Chair of the Financial Services Club, The Financer, UK; Marcin Petrykowski, Managing Director, S&P Global; Spriros K. Margaris, Founder & Venture Capitalist, Margaris Advisory, Switzerland; and Ghela Boskovich, Founder of FemTechGlobal, as well as leading Polish and regional entrepreneurs and managers from the financial and technological sector.
“During the FutureTech Congress, our goal is to illustrate how our society and the broadly-defined business sector are impacted by the ongoing digital transformation. Technology is transforming the way in which enterprises are addressing customer needs, building efficiencies and delivering both market and shareholder value,” said Marcin Petrykowski, Regional Head and Managing Director at S&P Global and a member of the FutureTech Congress Advisory Board.
Partner Evita Lune spoke during the FinTech Digital Congress stream, which was dedicated to the impact that new financial technologies are having on banks, financial institutions and other market participants.
“During the last couple of years, our platform economy clients have required a totally new type of leader. The era of well-connected, politically correct, strategic and overly diplomatic senior directors is over. The clients in disruptive industries require agile, smart, fast, entrepreneurial, dynamic, analytical leaders. The new breed of director needs to "feel" data as opposed to analysing it. Every achievement or failure is clearly visible in disruptive industries, and there are no chances to hide in large organisations,” stressed Evita Lune.
The session encompassed discussions on the rapid digitalisation of finance, e-commerce payments, digital identity, development of cryptocurrencies and partnerships between new and traditional players.
“Finding leaders for disruptive industries has been a challenging task since such industries are something entirely new – transportation companies without their own cars, hospitality companies without their own hotels, media companies without their own content, and financial services companies without their own physical branches or money. These new types of companies require a new type of management. During the FutureTech congress I shared our experience of finding such leaders in emerging markets; I have personally executed projects in a wide range of diverse global markets including Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Canada, and Romania. The new type of leader is free of bias, and the best talents can succeed in the role, no matter where they are from. This type of leadership requires an open mind for business partnerships – today's competitors may be tomorrow's business partners or clients. A passion for technologies, a global view and an ambition to change the world are the qualities of true disruptive leaders,” Evita Lune explained to the +2,500 participants in attendance.
This first CEE FutureTech Congress was highly successful, and the organisers hope to establish it as one of the main annual events on European and global business calendars.
*Photo credit: MMC Polska
Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is a Partner who develops and implements the firm’s Global Digital Economy strategy, while simultaneously leading the Retail Practice Group and overseeing the Latvia, Poland, and Belarus teams. Currently she has a deep-seated focus on FinTech assignments, partnering with global clients to build digitisation capabilities and reinvent core organisational elements through critical talent acquisition strategies. As Partner, Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior-level assignments, she has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, and CIS across the Banking, FinTech, Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international and regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest, and Brussels.
Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 56 wholly owned offices in 52 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com
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