Accelerating the digital transformation of industry, investing in technologies and a new toolbox for global decision-makers, was the main theme of the Greek House Davos conference, within the World Economic Forum, on January 15-19 in Davos, in Switzerland. In particular, the opportunities that show how disruptive technologies are shaping the future of industries worldwide were discussed.

As Peter Jungen, Chairman, Peter Jungen Holding GmbH, Angel Investor, Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) pointed out, “it is important to have entrepreneurs as the missing link between invention and innovation while adding that we have passed from the age of experience to the age of experimentation. He even commented on the good performance recorded last year in the stock market, saying that Greece is on a good course but has not achieved its goals, it has not yet reached the desired point.

Mr. Jungen pointed out the importance of cyber security protection, while referring to artificial intelligence saying that it will offer many areas such as education, health, medicine, while also contributing to solving everyday issues. He even described it as an incredible development, however, as he said, “everyone has their own perspective on artificial intelligence, they don’t know exactly what it does, what it is.” Finally, addressing tomorrow’s leaders in the field of economy and entrepreneurship, he emphasized that the key to success is “to believe in themselves. To bear the risks, to have, not the ‘culture’ of the winner, but the culture of the loser, of failure: It is important to fail, to fall down, so that they can get up and continue.”

Bernard Ferran, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Euroclear SA/NV emphasized that innovation not only requires the right people, but “you need the right ecosystem for innovation to grow. Especially when you as a country want to connect with the rest of the countries, it should be taken into account that not everyone is ready at the same time.” He underlined that it is not only the transformation of technology that is necessary, but the “transformation” of people, while speaking of Greece, he noted that Greeks are creative and resilient, overcoming various crises, “so congratulations for that, because I know that Greece it’s really back on the market now.”

He even emphasized that Asia, the Middle East and the USA are the three biggest markets that “embrace” innovation. Meanwhile, he referred to the example of Singapore, a small country where it impresses with the way innovation is promoted in all sectors. Referring to the banking sector worldwide, he spoke of the need to transform into a more digital technology, while emphasizing that “artificial intelligence is a standard tool that can help prevent and how to become more efficient.”