• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

IBIT

  • Home
  • Knowledge
    • Case studies
    • Digital Innovation Foundry
    • Projects and Research
    • The IBIT Report
    • National Information Systems Job Index
  • Talent
    • Mentoring Program
    • Scholarships
    • Temple Analytics Challenge
    • National Cyber Analyst Challenge
    • Professional Training
  • Engagement
    • Executive-in-Residence
    • Digital Leader Fireside Chats
    • Symposiums
    • Small Business and Non-Profit Digital Transformation
    • Information Technology Awards
    • Advisory Board
  • Sponsors
  • About
    • Annual Report 2020-2021
    • News
    • Staff
    • Advisory Board
    • Contact Us and Directions

Digital Fireside Chats kept big ideas flowing during social distancing

During the pandemic, with in-person events on hold, connecting Temple students and faculty with industry thought leaders presented a challenge. To bridge the divide, IBIT launched a new series of webinars: the Digital Leader Fireside Chat series.

It comprised 12 thought-provoking webinars on hot topics in the business world, led by notable executives. For about 45 minutes over lunch, speakers offered concise yet in-depth perspectives on topics within the overarching theme of digital leadership’s challenges and opportunities.

During these thought-provoking Zoom sessions, participants were encouraged to ask questions, giving participants the opportunity to interact with industry leaders. Attendance was capped and the discussions were moderated to allow for meaningful conversation and learning. Over the run of the series, a total of 83 industry executives joined the participants, in addition to 378 students and 36 faculty and staff.  An average of 47 people logged on to each of the chats.

George Llado, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Alexion, kicked off the series with his talk in September. He shared his insights on a topic top of mind for everyone during the pandemic: “The Future of Work.” As someone with 30 years of industry experience in pharma and IT, Llado’s perspective on what comes next is informed by his time with industry giants including Merck and Citibank.

In his November chat, Chris Kearns tackled the provocative question, “Is digital transformation in the end all about the customer experience?” Senior Vice President in Operations and Technology at NBCUniversal, he is in charge of workplace experience and solutions giving him an authoritative take on customer experience. In his past role as Global Head for Hosting Services for the Vanguard Group, his work supported 20 million clients.

Mark Spykerman, Chief Information Officer of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, addressed the topic “The Purpose of Work” in December. It was another salient issue during a year that prompted big questions about life and careers. Before serving as CIO, Spykerman was Senior Vice President, Transformation. In that role, he bolstered the company culture at AmerisourceBergen while enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency.

Other speakers included Linda Descano of Red Havas, Dinesh Desai of Emtec, Inc., Larry Dignan of ZDNet, Cindy Leavitt of Temple University, Stacy Greiner of Dun & Bradstreet, Ron Kim of Merck, Vince Ford of the Curtis Institute of Music, Steve DeLuca of Comcast, and Luke Olenoski of Main Line Health.

Engagement with industry leaders who can share deep insights is a cornerstone of IBIT. During a year that threatened to isolate academia, the Digital Fireside Chat series made it possible for this kind of engagement to go on.

Share:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet

Primary Sidebar

IBIT NEWS

Workshop will focus on the role of metaverses, AR, VR, and digital twins

Career Experience wins 2022 Digital Innovation Award

Jignesh Patel, SVP at AmerisourceBergen

Information Systems Job Index 2022

Vince Ford, SVP at Curtis Institute of Music

20th Annual IT awards

IBIT Scholarships 2022

The digital transformation of workforce development summit

Agora World and LogixCxt win 2021 Digital Innovation Awards

Sondra Barbour, Executive-in-Residence spends the day engaging with students

Digital Innovation Award

9th annual IT career fair attracts 23 employers

IBIT Annual Report 2020-2021

Digital Innovation Foundry Projects in 2021

Digital Fireside Chats kept big ideas flowing during social distancing

[Read More...]

Footer

Fox School of Business

Institute for Business and Information Technology

210 Speakman Hall
1810 N. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122

RSSLinkedinFlickr

ABOUT IBIT

  • About
  • Staff
  • Advisory Board
  • Sponsors
  • News
  • Contact us and directions

Search

RSS IBIT NEWS

  • Workshop will focus on the role of metaverses, AR, VR, and digital twins
  • Career Experience wins 2022 Digital Innovation Award
  • Jignesh Patel, SVP at AmerisourceBergen
  • Information Systems Job Index 2022
  • Vince Ford, SVP at Curtis Institute of Music
  • 20th Annual IT awards
  • IBIT Scholarships 2022
  • The digital transformation of workforce development summit
MORE NEWS...

Copyright © 2023 IBIT · Fox School of Business · Temple University · contact us at ibit@temple.edu

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.