I’m thrilled to report that our final conference of the year, the 2022 New York Global Innovation Summit at the Harvard Club of New York City on December 1, was an overwhelming success. We had a superlative agenda, highly relevant content and an incredible roster of world-class speakers and panelists.
Speakers for the 2022 New York Global Innovation Summit included Sean Lennon, CIO, Medtronic; Cindy Finkelman, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal and Vice President, SIM NY Metro; Daphne E. Jones, Board of Directors AMN Healthcare, Barnes Group, Inc. and Masonite International and Founder, The Board Curators; Asha Saxena, Founder and CEO, Women Leaders in Data & AI; and Katherine Wetmur, Managing Director & Head, Technology and Operations Risk, Morgan Stanley; Fred Harris, Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking; Michael Ferguson, Director of Security Transformation, Netskope; Frank Price, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Risk Officer, Labcorp; Sabina Schneider, Chief Solutions Officer, Globant; Steven Wallstedt, CISO and Head of Business Continuity, ABN AMRO Group; Dan Turchin, CEO, PeopleReign; Rocco Grillo, Managing Director – Global Cyber Risk Services & Incident Response Investigation, Alvarez & Marsal; Cat Lang, SVP Global Education, ServiceNow; Fred Harris, Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking; Eric Tan, CIO, Coupa; Lee Caswell, SVP, Product & Solutions Marketing, Nutanix; David Mahon, Global Chief Information Security Officer, Deloitte Global; Dale Zabriskie, Field CISO, Cohesity; and Harry Moseley, CIO Advisor, Zoom.
Our ability to assemble a veritable `Who’s Who’ of top-tier corporate leaders and executives is truly unparalleled in our industry and I can’t begin to express my pride in the magnificent work of our team here at HMG Strategy along with the dedication of our regional Advisory Board members.
As I spoke and interacted with this amazing group of high-energy, super-talented and ultra-successful executives, I reflected on the essential role that technology executives play in driving and sustaining innovation in our modern global economy. This also brought to mind the iconic Steve Jobs, who remains a beacon of inspiration for all of us in the technology industry.
Steve famously said that he didn’t like focus groups and market research because customers often did not know what they wanted until an innovative company like Apple showed them groundbreaking products such as the Macintosh, the iPod and the iPhone.
In the years since Steve’s passing, some commentators have noted that Jobs’ disinterest in market research wasn’t entirely accurate. He did care about what customers wanted, but his definition of “customers” was limited to himself and a small team of brilliant executives. In other words, Steve knew what he wanted, and he had the confidence to assume that if he wanted a cool and innovative new product, Apple’s customers would also want it.
That’s the lesson here: Steve wasn’t just an innovative visionary – he was also a confident leader with the ability to convey his confidence and enthusiasm to his executive team at Apple.
As I listened to the thoughtful and experienced executives at our 2022 New York Global Innovation Summit last week, I felt the same kind of confidence and expertise all across the room. I feel that Steve would have been proud of our efforts to dive deep into the foundational strategies of innovation.
A few examples of where we have spearheaded innovation for our Global Advisory Services includes our HMG Global Actionable Insights Advisory Service, a unique, peer-driven research service that’s designed to keep business technology executives up to speed and connected with each other on the latest leadership, business, technology and global macro-economic trends that are impacting businesses and industries.
HMG Strategy’s latest advisory service is the HMG Strategy Genius Service, a unique peer-focused subscription service in which CIOs and other technology executives in the HMG community can submit inquiries regarding a particular challenge they may be facing (e.g.; negotiating a global ERP licensing agreement) and be matched with an expert in the HMG network who can offer qualified advice.
HMG’s Global Advisory Servicesalso includesour newHMG Leadership Development Academy, a five-month program offering practical advice and personal coaching for up-and-coming technology leaders on how to manage a P&L, sharpen their boardroom communication skills, drive innovation across lines-of-business, effectively manage tech debt and other vital skills needed by next-generation tech leaders.
If you are a senior-level executive, please also consider joining our Global CIO & CISO Executive Leadership Alliance (CELA) service. This is a tight-knit, peer-focused community of global CIOs, CDOs and CISOs who collaborate with each other on a regular basis on the top challenges and opportunities they are facing in their roles. Join our network and see what HMG Strategy can do for you and your organization. To learn more about any of these services, contact me at hunterm@hmgstrategy.com or at info@hmgstrategy.com
