SSE Alumni Russia organized their second conference

"Digitalization: Focus on People" - the second SSE Alumni Russia conference organized by the graduates of the Stockholm School of Economics in Russia this year took place in a hybrid format: online in ZOOM and offline in the School's classroom in St. Petersburg. Representatives from a wide range of industries that the School had brought together in the past got all together now to discuss the new formats of remote business management, as well as new approaches, opportunities and prospects of digitalization.

"Every crisis offers new opportunities. Thus, the idea of this conference was born. In recent years both in our lives and in our businesses we have seen the impact of digitalization on the roles people play in many processes. However, this year the conditions of the pandemic have brought us new challenges. And it is extremely important and useful for us to share our experience with colleagues from different fields (what the School taught each of us in the first place) in order to continue learning new approaches, to look at some things from the different vantage points and to be aware of the latest trends. The strength of graduates is in their unity. And with this in mind we will continue our annual tradition of conferences", - Ekaterina Golosovskaya, one of the organizers of the event and EMBA SM5 graduate shared.

The conference was opened by Dmitry Gorbachev ("Severstal", EMBA GM18). He spoke about already customary lean production transformation into lean digital and further into product approach in manufacturing.

The next speaker - Dmitry Titarev (Director of the corporate program of the SSE. EMBA GM13) - demonstrated how digitalization is also adopted by the retail giants like M.Video-Eldorado, however in their case they employ it to improve the processes of interaction between the customer and the company. The company enters a new era of omnichannel – meaning that a customer can always use any convenient way of communication or payment method. The Stockholm School of Economics in Russia has developed a special management training program for retailers, which focuses on digital systems and technologies.

Special guest Mikhail Uvarov shared the experience in business development at Diacont Group. His presentation "Hyper Automation and Intelligent Management of Production System" showed how the company of 1000 employees managed to become a leader in exporting a number of high-tech solutions.

Olga Litvinova (Northern Capital Gateway LLC (NCG), EMBA GM20 student) spoke in the online format. Her story about the anti-crisis and training projects at the Pulkovo Airport during the pandemic, as well as the company's latest solutions in the field of digitalization in order to solve current problems made a strong impression. "We live in the interesting times, friends!” – Olga summed up her speech.

Elena Fadeeva (Swedbank. EMBA GM8) surprised the audience with the information that neobanking companies are already operating. These banks do not have physical assets, and all work is done remotely. She also talked about the experience of banking employees’ remote work in Sweden.

Ilya Fomintsev (Oncology Clinic "Luch". EMBA GMR10) gave his thoughts on the changes in the healthcare system and shared the story of the business model restructuring in the Oncology Fund under the pandemic-induced circumstances.

Alexey Popov (Director of Open Programs at SSE Russia, EMBA GM2) demonstrated to the participants that the Stockholm School of Economics in Russia was not affected by the pandemic, but adapted its activities, expanding its presence online. At the same time, the School still mainly focuses on face-to-face education, considering online tools as additions that serve to improve the quality of programs.

The School is especially grateful to the organizers: Ekaterina Golosovskaya and Marianna Volodina, as well as to all the speakers and participants of the conference.