AI Issue 5 2018

Acquisition International - Issue 5 2018 17 “Finally, we have teamed up with world leading behavioural and neuro science experts from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm to ensure we have cutting edge technology also within the area of human behaviour.” With technology playing an increasingly dominant part in the IT sector, there are naturally many developments which are having an impact on the industry. Håkan provides us with his thoughts on the industry at present and explains what challenges he believes are affecting it. “The global freight industry is at a tipping point where AI, RPA (Robot Process Automation) and Blockchain are set to dramatically transform the industry. However, given the conservative track record of the industry, this development risk becoming a very painful transition for many. “Importantly, at Zinnovate we understand that it is the man and machine combination that needs to move forward in sync. You therefore need to both understand the enormous potential transformative technology can bring, and yet at the same time have a deep understanding of the human brain and its ‘user manual’ to cleverly drive this man – machine development to unprecedented heights.” With the company looking to establish itself as the leader within the IT sector, it is important that the firm employs the right staff and employees which will see it achieve its mission. Håkan gives his thoughts on what attributes he believes are essential to achieving success in the industry, basing his thoughts on what he has seen and who he has spoken to. “Speaking with leadership authority Peter Drucker, you need to both do the right things and do things right to succeed. Doing the right things however have become increasingly difficult when the pace of change is accelerating almost at exponential speed. “Interestingly for us, we have joined a network, Abundance 360 Digital, led by Peter Diamandis (founder of Singularity University). This gives us access to world leading scientists and futurists such as for example Ray Kurzweil (now at Google). Only if we have access to the best of the best can we in turn help our customers to make the right choices when “future proofing” their companies. Peter Diamandis and his Abundance 360 Digital gives us invaluable insights. “On the second aspect of taking the right steps, we pride ourselves of having a team of doers, people with a track record of getting the job done, regardless of the challenges which present themselves.” Having discussed what characteristics a company should hold in order to succeed in the market, Håkan then goes on to describe in more detail the challenges and opportunities which the firm has faced during its time at the company, and how they have affected the role. “In my mind, the key leadership role is to attract and develop the very best people. Everybody wants to be part of a winning team, so once you have a breakthrough and people see that your philosophy also leads to impressive results, attracting and developing leading expertise becomes almost a snowballing self-fulfilling prophecy. “What pleases me more than anything else is that we are fortunate enough to have high achievers, that are also are very passionate about helping others achieve at increasingly higher levels. There is really no limit then to what you can achieve as a team.” Regarding the future of Zinnovate, Håkan and the team have big aspirations and plans to take the company forwards. Looking to become a role model in which others follow its recipe for success, the team look to lead the way in terms of its unique focus on Return on Competence. He mentions further what he would like to see the company achieve in the times ahead. “Moving forwards, we want to be at the leading edge of Blockchain as we help the industry to transform, but importantly, whilst doing this, we do not want to ever forget that joy, passion and inner satisfaction of our beloved team members are what matters most. In terms of expansion, we want to become stronger in Asia and the Americas and continue to deliver ‘unfair advantages’ to our customers through superior tools and strategies. “Essentially, success for us would see us successfully transition from a remarkably effective start-up to a remarkably successful scale-up.” In his concluding comments, having already talked excitedly about what the future holds for Zinnovate, Håkan signs off by stating what developments he foresees within the surrounding industry, and what the firm will do in order to adapt to these, although he is confident that the team will adapt accordingly. “It is important to consider that 30 years ago, the global freight industry had three assets to play with: People, Processes, Systems. This still holds true but underneath there is a very dramatic change where it used to be almost all about people and its rapidly becoming almost all about systems and advanced technology. “In the future you either are at a lead with Blockchain, AI and RPA or you are not at a lead at all. Darwin said it. We live it. The most adaptable to change survives.” Delivering Excellence