Following a successful Swiss Digital Day where we opened the dialogue with the Swiss public on technology and innovation, our first Digital Gipfel Schweiz (Digital Summit Switzerland) took place on 5 and 6 November with over 80 CEOs from leading national and international companies, academic institutions and government representatives to discuss digital transformation in Switzerland. The event was organized in partnership with EY Switzerland and Ringier.
The aim of the summit was to underline the importance of digital transformation in Switzerland, to promote dialogue and interaction between business, research and political leaders and to support change so that the country can remain at the forefront of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Marc Walder, Founder of digitalswitzerland and CEO Ringier: “After the second Digital Day, this first Digital Gipfel Schweiz is another important initiative from digitalswitzerland. While the Digital Day was for the general public, this event provides a platform for exchange on digital transformation for the most important executives from business, research and government”.
On stage, Alexander Karp, Co-Founder and CEO of the US software company Palantir, Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of the technology group ABB, Robert Gentz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the e-commerce platform Zalando, Philipp Metzger, Director of the Federal Office of Communications and Chairman of the interdepartmental working group “Digital Strategy Switzerland”, Sascha Zahnd, VP Global Supply Chain Tesla as well as Daniel Wiegand, Co-Founder and CEO of the airline Lilium, shared case studies, best practices and engaged with the audience through Q&A sessions. Marcel Stalder, CEO EY Switzerland and member of the digitalswtizerland Executive Committee: “The programme was designed in such a way that top people from politics and business could exchange ideas with major technology companies. We must face up to the digital transformation in Switzerland and actively accompany the change there.”
The programme covered topics like Industry 4.0, Digital Competitiveness, Education, E-Commerce and Mobility. Christos Cabolis, Chief Economist and Head of Operations at IMD shared findings from the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2018, where Switzerland ranks 5th, highlighting the country’s strengths and potential challenges. Patrick Warnking, Country Director Google Switzerland and member of the digitalswtizerland Executive Committee highlighted the importance of education, and more particularly lifelong education. He underlined the value of supporting Swiss SMEs in their digital transformation; for this digitalswitzerland has developed the Adapt programme. He talked about fostering passion for STEM and ICT subjects through digitalswitzerland’s Next Generation. Furthermore, he underlined the role of lifelong learning in staying competitive on the labour market, notably by leveraging platforms like Education Digital.
Following this successful first edition of the Digital Gipfel Schweiz, it will be on our agenda again next year in November 2019.
