Gaining Ecosystem Advantage

Curated and hosted by Michael G. Jacobides (Sir Donald Gordon Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Lead Advisor, EvolutionLtd; Academic Advisor, BCG; Chief Digital Economy Expert Advisor, HCC) and David Lancefield (Strategist, Executive coach, Board advisor to LeaderEQ, and former senior partner, Strategy&), this mini-series brought together some of the world’s leading experts in the field, providing a platform for debate and exchange of ideas.

 Guest speakers in this series were:

• Jeroen Tas, Chief Strategy/ Chief Innovation Officer of Philips

• Ahmed Galal Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Properties

• Dr Cristina Caffarra, Senior Consultant, Charles River Associates

• Kelly Devine, President of Mastercard, UK and Ireland

• Darren Childs, former CEO at Premiership Rugby & Board Member at Antenna Group & VIZRT

• Francois Candelon, Senior Partner and MD, BCG; Global Managing Director of the BCG Henderson Institute

• Jonathan Larsen, Chief Innovation Officer, PingAn

• Keith Underwood, CEO (acting) of the Guardian (and formerly COO of Channel 4) 

• Benedict Evans, Independent Analyst and Venture Partner at Entrepreneur First and Mosaic Ventures

Building ecosystems in healthcare

Guest contributor: Jeroen Tas (Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer of Philips)

COVID-19 has been a massive challenge for healthcare systems the world over and has highlighted the challenges we face due to the fragmentation and limited information sharing in health. At the same time, it has helped technology forge ahead by leaps and bounds. So, what should we expect moving forward? 

In this webinar, Jeroen Tas (Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer of Philips) was joined by Michael G Jacobides and David Lancefield to discuss the future role of ecosystems in healthcare. 

Bridging the physical and the digital

Guest contributor: Ahmed Galal Ismail (Chief Executive Officer Majid Al Futtaim)

Retail, conventional wisdom goes, has been one of the hardest hit sectors due to the rapid acceleration of e-commerce and the effects of the pandemic. So when a firm operates 28 shopping malls across the Middle East and North Africa and has over 350 retail outlets from Uganda to Pakistan, you might think this is an existential moment for the business. Interestingly, not. 

In this webinar, we heard from Ahmed Galal Ismail, Chief Executive Officer Majid Al Futtaim – Properties and a distinguished alumnus of London Business School, MBA Class of 2002, to understand why Majid Al Futtaim was steadily working on a digital transformation strategy that enabled it to pivot its business within weeks of the pandemic setting in. 

By creating ‘phygital’ worlds, building digital eco-systems, and placing data, insights and experiences at the heart of its offering, Majid Al Futtaim has been able to retain market share, drive sales, and continue innovating in a globally challenging period for the retail industry. Who said drastic innovation and platform enabled eco-systems was the sole domain of tech firms? 

Regulating Ecosystem stalwarts

Guest contributor: Cristina Caffarra (one of the leading antitrust practitioners)

COVID19 has, if anything, cemented the hold of the Big Tech firms, which have been the archetypical ecosystem builders. If Big Tech offers such seamless experiences, what is there to dislike? Why should we look at the increasing role of a few powerful orchestrators, who both underpin our lives on a daily basis, and determine the fate of a vast number of complementors? In this webinar Cristina Caffarra, one of the leading antitrust practitioners, considered the dark sides of these shiny new ecosystems, and tells us what we can do, or at least attempt to do, to curb competitive excesses to protect customers, smaller business partners, and innovation, without throwing out the baby along with the tub water. 

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Building ecosystems in payments

Guest contributor: Kelly Devine (the President, UK and Ireland, of Mastercard)

Mastercard is a household name; 2.5 billion cards are embossed with its logo worldwide. Ecosystems play a pivotal role in making transactions “safe, simple and smart”. It faces dynamic new entrants: Fintechs are collaborators, and potential competitors. How does Mastercard evolve its ecosystems to include players such as Square, Stripe and Revolut? How do the inter-ecosystem dynamics shape intra-ecosystem competition? And how does it ensure a fair, open and competitive framework for all participants? 

It also operates in a society facing major issues, such as financial exclusion. What role does it play in addressing them? Specifically, how can it build the trust necessary for people to share their data as we move towards open-banking? Kelly Devine, the President, UK and Ireland, of Mastercard explored these opportunities, tensions and trade-offs in this thought-provoking webinar. 

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Leading a sports-based ecosystem in a crisis

Guest contributor: Darren Childs (Former CEO of Premiership Rugby)

Talk about tough starts. In his first few days, the former CEO of Premiership Rugby, Darren Childs, faced salary cap breaches by the one of the top clubs, Saracens, and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

How do you orchestrate a complex, high profile ecosystem of clubs, sponsors, media companies, merchandisers and fans in such a crisis? How do you lead without “hard” authority over a club chairperson who often pursues their own agendas? How do you withstand pressure to mitigate commercial downsides in order to protect player safety?

Find out how Darren worked closely with Government to provide £88million of support for clubs, whilst also concluding an extension of its long-standing broadcast partnership with BT Sport and a new 10-year deal for the European competitions Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. 

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