Swiss Digital Summit: Business leaders and academics discuss how to help shape digital change

The second edition of the Digital Summit Switzerland took place last week in Zurich on 25 and 26 November 2019, following the success and great response of last years event. digitalswitzerland, in cooperation with Swisscom, Ringier, EY Switzerland and Mercedes-Benz Switzerland (mobility partner), invited high-ranking national and international executives to the Digital Summit Switzerland. This event – under the patronage of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) – has established itself as an important platform facilitating exchange and networking between corporate, academic, entrepreneurial and political players in Switzerland. A high-calibre discussion and expert presentations addressed the overall key topic “Digital Transformation” from many different aspects.

The Swiss Digital Summit is making an important contribution to help shape and tackle the complex effects of digitalisation in Switzerland. It emphasises awareness of both the urgency and the magnitude of the changes resulting from digital change. 

Marc Walder, founder of digitalswitzerland and CEO of Ringier: “With the Swiss Digital Summit, digitalswitzerland launched another relevant initiative. The summit provides an important platform for executives of leading Swiss companies, research institutions and politicians to exchange information regarding digital transformation. We are all united by the will to promote digitalisation in Switzerland – and to actively accompany this change”. 

The Summit was opened by Professor Dr. Thomas J. Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank. Jordan spoke about “The Future of Money”. Sergio Ermotti, CEO UBS, and Tidjane Thiam, CEO Credit Suisse, then debated “The New World of Finance” during a panel discussion. The renowned investor Klaus Hommels spoke about Europe’s role as a sustainable destination for digital innovation.

Urs Schaeppi, member of the Steering Committee digitalswitzerland and CEO of Swisscom: “I am delighted with the great response that the first Digital Summit triggered last year. In 2019, we once again succeeded in engaging top-class speakers. In order for companies to remain competitive in the digital world, they need inspiring impulses from outside and dialogue with other companies and organisations.”

Marcel Stalder, member of the Executive Committee digitalswitzerland and CEO of Chain IQ Group AG, adds: “The prosperity we enjoy in Switzerland must be preserved. Together with my colleagues, I am happy to work to ensure that Switzerland is in no way inferior when it comes to digitalisation. This also includes preserving our leading education and research location, changing the framework conditions to meet future needs, and creating sufficient risk capital to finance innovations.”

• Vas Narasimhan, CEO Novartis (“The new world of life sciences”)
• Professor Marcel Salathé, EPFL (“The new way of getting digital skills”)
• Guillaume Pousaz, Founder and CEO Checkout.com (“The new world of payment”)
• Professor Luc Van Gool, ETH (“The new computer vision – Deep learning, high hopes”)
• Sabine Scheunert-Porth, Vice President Digital & IT Sales/Marketing Mercedes-Benz (“The new world of mobility”)
• Professor Julia Vogt, ETH (“The new way of medicine – personalized health”)
• Professor Jamie Paik, Head of the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab at EPFL (“The new paradigm of robotics – Reconfigurable robots”)

The third edition of the Swiss Digital Summit is planed for November 2020.