The 2016 CEO Summit
Our 2nd Annual CEO Summit took place last week in San Diego at the Hotel Del Coronado. The event brought together partners, CEOs, thought leaders and even celebrities to discuss the hot topics currently facing the industries we touch. It wasn’t all work though; we surfed, sailed and golfed, all in the name of networking. It was an unforgettable event and in case you couldn’t make it to San Diego, below are some highlights.
While we heard speakers and panelists from a multitude of backgrounds and experiences, time and again we came back to the same question: what does it take to be a leader and run a successful business? It turns out it’s not your IQ, your ability to avoid failure or even the product or solution you’ve built. According to Sally Hogshead, New York Times best-selling author, “You are the ultimate technology,” and to differentiate, you need to become more of who you are. Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman and television personality from the hit show Shark Tank, also emphasized how trusting her intuition helped her build her team and business. When it comes to differentiation Barbara’s approach is simple: “I intentionally try to be more myself.” Entrepreneurs spend so much time analyzing the market, their business and product, but as leaders it’s also important to look in the mirror and get to know yourself.
CEO and Chairman of GE, Jeff Immelt, took the stage on the first day and provided incredible insight and inspiration. He touched on leadership, the current state of the market, how GE has been able to sustain success, as well as a few personal matters. (Fun fact, Jeff is a big Katy Perry fan!) His leadership philosophy was summed up best when he said, “leadership is this incredible journey into yourself from a stance of being self reflective - how much you’re willing to change, how much you’re willing to learn, how much you’re willing to sacrifice.”
Another fact about Jeff: he doesn’t like business books. They have no shelf life and by the time they’re published they’ve become obsolete. This is indicative of how quickly the world moves and if you’re not thinking a few steps ahead, you’re destined to be left behind. Positioning oneself for the inevitable pivot is imperative.
Diversity was a recurring theme throughout the event. The importance of diversity is an evolution that must be embraced in order to sustain success. At GE, we’re seeing stereotypes are being broken and the outcomes are overwhelmingly positive. To conclude his presentation, Jeff told the crowd, "Demand that people unlearn things and always have the desire to be the most competitive company in the world."
Leslie Miley, Director of Engineering at Slack, shared, “Being inclusive means actually knowing about the people you’re working with, and knowing at least something about how they got to where they are.” Fostering a diverse and inclusive environment is a learned skill. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but one way Deb Elam, GE Chief Diversity Officer, achieves it is simple: “Not shutting [people] down but giving them the grace to have the conversations so they grow... because when the next thing comes up, then you have real trust, then you have a real relationship, then you can have a real team that works together.”
GE Chief Economist, Marco Annunziata also graced the stage. While Marco acknowledged that there are some things profoundly wrong in today’s market, he is also optimistic. “We underestimate technology at our peril. We will find a way around it. We will innovate our way right through.” He also gave maybe the best advice of the weekend: get a dog.
Going public is a huge milestone, but what comes after the IPO is what really counts. While some post-IPO companies are popping the champagne to celebrate, the smart ones know the work has just begun. That was the case for Veracyte CEO, Bonnie Anderson, who advised “what you should really be planning for is the post-IPO, not the event itself.” Regardless of today’s market (ahem, Marco), going public is not for every company and brings its own set of hurdles. It’s essential to start planning before the window is even open, because you can’t time an IPO. Execute, stay focused on the business and the timing will become obvious.
Best-selling Author and Digital Marketing Expert, Mitch Joel told the audience the story of The Three Little Pigs of Business: transform, innovate, and transact. He explained this metaphor with the example of Blockbuster’s downfall leading to the rise of Netflix. Throughout the Summit we were reminded to not only be open to change, but to embrace and facilitate it. GE has set the example with our ability to pivot and transform, especially as we embark upon the digital industrial age. As difficult as change may be, it is equally as exciting. Beth Comstock, Vice Chair of GE, said it best with, "I don't like the now, I like what's next," which is a philosophy we can all learn from.
The EDGE program was also a topic of conversation as various portfolio companies explained their experiences with the program and what it’s meant for their success. Doug Foster, CEO of DigiSight Technologies, stated that a key role a VC can play is helping a company achieve its critical path milestones in the most efficient way possible. This is where GE Ventures’ EDGE really shines, leveraging the global scale, expertise and resources of GE to provide our partners with programs, tools, information and education to help you build, grow and scale. You can learn more about EDGE here.
Another offering unique to GE is the GE Store, which facilitates idea sharing, and collaboration across businesses and industries. Sue Siegel, GE Ventures CEO, proclaimed that it is about de-layering, while bringing speed and power to outcomes in order to deliver solutions to customers faster. It’s a place to aggregate technology, knowledge and tools across the GE Businesses and portfolio companies. When you think about the various industries in the portfolio, there are different things happening at any one time that can inform other industries. The learning that comes out of that is powerful and easily accessible through the GE Store.
Last but certainly not least, Bill Ruh, Chief Digital Officer at GE, and Jamie Miller, President and CEO of GE Transportation, took center stage to discuss GE’s digital evolution and the benefits of Predix, a platform that enables industrial-scale analytics for asset performance management and operations optimization. Bill stated that its genesis was because “We felt there really wasn’t a platform that existed in the industrial space, so in the end we decided to go all in.” Efficiency is key in the digital world and Predix aims to enhance that element; as Bill said “Whoever can learn how to make an asset more efficient and more productive, is going to win.” Jamie chimed in with a tangible example from the perspective of GE Transportation, as she pointed out that derailments are a big issue and in order to combat that, GE works with rail customers to figure out how to predict and prevent such incidents.
Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s CEO Summit. We cannot wait for next year!