On Wednesday, October 5, 2011 the British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia (BABC) hosted Driving the Bottom Line in a Digital Economy: Trends in Global Business Development, a business roundtable seminar. The BABC collaborated with six other international chambers of commerce – the Chilean, French, German, Irish, Israeli, and Swedish – for this special program. Over 100 people representing the seven groups participated in the event.
This timely and dynamic discussion about issues affecting the way we conduct business around the world was a tremendous success. Industry practices continue to change and evolve at an ever increasing pace. Business leaders and professionals across all sectors communicate with colleagues and clients in other time zones instantaneously, and the age of digital information both makes people’s lives easier, and more complicated. Panelists from leading global companies: SAP, Amdocs, ARAMARK and Taylor Wessing enlightened the audience about the topic, discussing how business practices have evolved during the past five years, and how even greater exponential growth is expected in the near term.
The discussion focused on understanding the importance of connecting globally, and staying ahead of the curve with respect to the technology being used for e-trade and commerce, digital media, and business operations. The seminar moderator was Matthew Iacoviello, Global Vice President, Global Customer Operations at SAP, and panelists were: John Fisher, Vice President, Ecommerce at ARAMARK Refreshment Services; Lisa Modisette, VP Strategy Consulting for Amdocs Consulting Division; and Graham Hann, Partner at Taylor Wessing, (an international law firm, based in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Dubai and China). The featured speakers explored: establishing a strategy and platform to access the global marketplace; considering key issues when conducting and offering global e-business opportunities; creating effective communication strategies and messages to reach and interact with partners and customers; and anticipating global structuring and legal issues. Moderator and panelist presentations covered how to facilitate business practices in the global economy, customer-centric strategies, technology, innovation, ecommerce platforms, B2B and B2C, telecommunications and the customer experience, digital services trends, social media, and international legal pitfalls. The question and answer session was dynamic and entertaining, with an emphasis on social media. Matthew from SAP astounded the audience when enlightening everyone with a rather unsettling but nonetheless interesting fact – today more people are using handheld devices than toothbrushes! This is certainly a sign of our times, and an obvious indication of the importance of digital devices.
Special thanks to Ian Cross, CEO, I-SITE, and Marketing and Communications Chairman for the BABC who worked with the moderator and panelists to develop the program.
