18 + 19 September · Vienna · hybrid conference · 10th Edition
Digital Leadership Forum 2023
Digital Leadership Forum · Digital Comms · Corporate Culture · Boutique Conference
Digital Leadership Forum
Digital Communications, Corporate Culture & Digital Transformation in the era of the rise of AI
Join us for a boutique conference in Vienna and online.
Two days full of inspiring workshops, talks, discussions and side events on digital transformation, the use of AI, digital communications, future of hybrid work, digital equality, social media, corporate culture and leadership. The conference will be held in the Haus der Ingenieure, a traditional city palace, in the center of Vienna. Most sessions can also be attended online.
Flight partner
Use Event code “ATAUXLD”
Digital Leadership Forum · 18 + 19 September 2023
Speakers
Adriaan Bloem
Radagio (Spain)
Digital expert, speaker, author
Managing web and digital projects
Andras Spiegel
Stellantis (Austria)
E-Commerce Global Process Manager
Sales/marketing expert including digital transformation, customer experience, lead management. Result-driven & strategic, he has multi-country work experiences.
Antonina Shelepova
Schneider Electriс (Hungary)
Global Communications manager Global Supply Chain, Europe
She can relate to the following quote "Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” (Brian Tracy)
Bardha Azari
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (Germany)
Director of Strategic Communication
Seasoned professional with extensive global communication experience in the American, European and African theaters. Specialized focus in strategic planning, development and implementation of external communications that support access to target audiences and influence key stakeholders. The following quote resonates with her "There are three truths: my truth, your truth and the truth".
Bipasha Bhattacharya
CNN International (Germany)
Director Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific and Germany
This quote from Maya Angelou resonates with her “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Birgit Kressin
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (Germany)
Global Communications Officer
The following quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg resonates with her: “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
Caroline Rheubottom
Intuit (UK)
Senior Manager Internal Communications
Claudio Corvaglia
Georg Fischer (Switzerland)
Social Media Manager
With passion and focus, he likes to simplify messages and craft new formats that suit the target audiences.
He believes that "What happens on Instagram stays on Instagram", the IG-only content is not only about making this channel special, it's about making our social media portfolio richer.
Cornelia Ineichen
Baloise Group (Switzerland)
Internal Communications & Employee Engagement
The follwing statement resonates with her: As human beings, our daily job is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us is, that each of us is unique. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of how to express it.
Dana Đikić
RHI Magnesita (Austria)
Corporate Channel Manager
Delphine Bradshaw-Nguyen
Medtronic (Switzerland)
EMEA E-Commerce Customer experience manager
Passionate about change management and digital transformation, she can relate to "keep it simple" & "What matters most is not what happens to you, but, how you react to it".
Erik Hartman
Advatera (Netherlands)
Moderator
Expert in enterprise information management and business process optimization
Felicity Sibindi
VSO (Netherlands)
Senior Programme Manager
"Leadership: Building inclusive and diverse communities."
Felicity is an expert in positive transformation of communities. The following quote resonates with her “We are greater than, and greater for, the sum of us.” – Heather McGhee
Frank Giroux
Bayer AG (Germany)
Digital SC Transformation Manager
Experienced digital expert, the following quote from Peter J. Scott resonates with him “No matter how much computers learn how to do – it is how we come together as humans what matters”.
Heather Armond
Allianz Global Corporate & SpecialtyAllianz Global Corporate & Specialty (Germany)
Head of Internal Communications
Bernard Shaw once said “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”
Ivona Kukolovic
Girteka Group (Lithuania)
Changes communication Lead-Partner for Digitalization Program - SAP
Navigating changes can feel like sailing through a stormy sea. Effective communication with your crew and passengers is the key to a safe and successful journey. Who is a guide like a compass, who provides support like a lifebuoy, and who drives forward like sails? Remember to check your ship's lights as well!
Joerg Schudrowitz
BSH Home Appliances Group (Germany)
Social Media Lead Central Europe
For him, the line between feeling supported and feeling monitored is fluid, as technology continues to evolve and change the way we interact with information.
Kata Dudar
Continental (Hungary)
Employer Branding and Communications Specialist
Lars Ruddigkeit
Global AI Hub & Microsoft (Switzerland)
Thought Leader in Cloud, Data & Artificial Intelligence
Expert in Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud & Big Data, the following quote resonates with him “But Artificial Intelligence is neither good nor evil. It is a tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil.”
Le Thuy Duong
Global VAT Compliance (Netherlands)
Marketing Communications Specialist
The quote that resonates with her: “Innovation means starting from customers’ experience towards the product, not the other way around”. Her perspective embraces the idea that customer-centricity, allows marketers to build genuine connections, foster loyalty, and ultimately drive sustainable innovation that resonates deeply with the audience.
Luke Hudson
FREENOW (Germany)
Junior Internal Communication & Employer Branding Manager
"Both internal communications and employer branding are all about getting into the mindset of someone other than yourself: researching, remembering and reflecting on what really counts to the people that matter: your current employees and prospective ones."
Mahesh Patel
British Medical Association (UK)
Head of Digital Strategy
Marco Matti
Unilever (Switzerland)
Digital Commerce Lead Nutrition DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
Multilingual, he is a real digital expert and the following quote resonates with him “to stay relevant tomorrow, you need to invest today”.
Michelle Okwudiafor
TotalEnergies (UK)
Communications and Engagement Lead
A quote she really relates to: “People want to know they matter and they want to be treated as people. That’s the new talent contract.” — Pamela Stroko
Mirko Tagliabue
MTPartners (Switzerland)
CEO
He can relate to the following quote: "the right team members are not just people you work with; they’re partners in your organization’s journey toward digital excellence".
Nicola Cockroft
Wise Ltd. (UK)
People Experience Comms & Employee Engagement
She loves finding out about what makes people tick and what they find challenging. Also loves telling their stories and helping them navigate through uncertainty to get to where they need to go.
Orsolya Eszterváry
Voltaira group (Hungary)
Head of Global Communications
Multilingual expert in B2B and B2C marketing and communications in the global automotive sector.
Sanjay Mistry
Wellcome Trust (UK)
Internal Communications Lead
Strategic comms leader, advising global brands, turning around functions, resolving crisis & promoting diversity & inclusion.
Sharon Campbell
Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
Deputy Head of Communications
A long expertise in social media and digital content, the following quote from David Bowie resonates with her “Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
Sven Fritzsche
Syngenta Group (Switzerland)
Head Brand, Partnerships and Digital
Engaging and committed communications professional, he belives in partnerships that inspire and can help to positively emotionalize a brand if used in communications in creative ways.
Thomas Lidy
Utopia Music (Austria)
Senior Director of AI & Data Science
Active in the field of music tech & AI since 2004, creating emotion-aware AI systems that capture the moods & emotions both in music & from music listeners, he has been organising regularly events in the field and wrote multiple publications. He can relates to the following quote “Personalization is key to every product in the age of social connectivity. With state-of-the-art AI technology, we understand people better than ever before.“
Tina Schmechel
Imperial College London (UK)
Alumni Communications and Digital Marketing Officer
As marketers, it’s hard not to get distracted by the latest trends and what seems to work well for other businesses. More often than not, leveraging your company’s core strengths is the better course of action. When it comes to long-term success, clear messaging and being true to your brand identity always trumps sales gimmicks.
Volker Grünauer
Advatera (Austria)
Moderator
Moderator of the Advatera community of practice
Yann Jeschke
NETZSCH Group (Germany)
Director Group Corporate Brand & Communications
To him, “Communication is the key to EVERYTHING”
Zita Kelemen
Corvinus University of Budapest (Hungary)
Director of International Strategic Partnerships
Agenda
Track A
Digital Leadership and Business Transformation
Digital Leadership and Business Transformation
Track B
Digital External Communications & Marketing
Digital External Communications & Marketing
Track C
Digital Internal Communications, Digital Workplace & Hybrid Work
Digital Internal Communications, Digital Workplace & Hybrid Work
Room A
Monday, Sep 18
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm CEST
Registration and Welcome
Marie Gonzalez, Advatera
Room A
Monday, Sep 18
1:00 pm – 1:05 pm CEST
Welcome by Volker Grünauer, conference chair
Volker Grünauer, Advatera
Monday, Sep 18
1:05 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
The Use of AI: Enhancing Content Production & Boosting Work Productivity
In this workshop we will split into two groups and discuss the fundamentals of generative AI for content production and we will use some popular tools. Please bring your own laptop along for this workshop! Content production with artificial intelligence and machine learning in real-life projects Text generation, Mastering Prompts: The 5 Crucial Elements, Microsoft Co-pilots, Data Privacy when using generative AI; Image generation, simplifying text-to-image tools: what you need to know, Midjourney and Adobe Firefly, using your own face for generated images, copyright issues; Rooms B and C, downstairs, first floor
Lars Ruddigkeit, Global AI Hub & Microsoft
Volker Grünauer, Advatera
Monday, Sep 18
1:05 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Customer Journey Mapping: Why, When, Where and How?
Learn the foundations of Customer Journey Mapping by uncovering the rationale behind its application, the ideal timing, suitable touchpoints and the practical methodology. Boardroom, second floor.
Le Thuy Duong, Global VAT Compliance
Monday, Sep 18
1:05 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Unlocking the potential within: How to empower your workforce through effective internal communication
Ballroom (Room A), second floor.
Christoph Humitsch, RHI Magnesita
Dana Đikić, RHI Magnesita
Monday, Sep 18
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST
Walk to Austrian Parliament
10-minutes walk to the Austrian Parliament building.
Monday, Sep 18
5:00 pm – 6:15 pm CEST
Guided tour at Austrian Parliament
We will get a guided tour of the Austrian Parliament, which shows a stunning Neo-Greek architecture that offers a glimpse into the nation's rich cultural heritage. ID Requirement: Please remind, you must bring your ID card or passport for the security check. Prohibited Items: Large luggage, long umbrellas, bottles made out of glass and larger than 330ml, steel or aluminium bottles that are larger than 500ml and weapon-like objects are not allowed. Security Check: After arrival, please proceed to the security check. Even if you've signed up for the guided tour, you still need to show your ID card and go through security, which may take some time. Tour Details: The guided tour starts promptly at 5 pm, and the meeting point is the visitors center, located right after the security area. Luggage Handling: If you're staying at Motel One Staatsoper, you can leave your luggage at the welcome desk of the conference at Haus der Ingenieure, and it will be transferred to Motel One for you. Room Confirmation: If you've made a personal booking at Motel One Staatsoper, please note that room confirmation may be required by phone before 6 pm on the day of arrival (+43 1 5850505). This requirement depends on your booking method and does not apply to rooms booked through Advatera.
Monday, Sep 18
6:15 pm – 10:00 pm CEST
Dinner at Kelsen restaurant
Located in Vienna´s Parliament building, we will experience a drink on the rooftop and the best flavours of the Austrian cuisine.
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
8:00 am – 9:00 am CEST
Good morning & Check-In
Marie Gonzalez, Advatera
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
8:45 am – 9:30 am CEST
Moderated Roundtable Discussion
Discuss your current challenges with colleagues from all over Europe. Roundtables include: Global Reach, Local Impact: Balancing Global and Local Communications Strategies Strategic KPIs for Driving Digital Transformation Ethics of GPT-Based Chatbot Marketing Selecting Technology shouldn't be a Technical Job Navigating the Storms of Digital Transformation: the role of Internal Crisis Communication Fostering Cultural Differences: Building Bridges for Successful Business Building High-Performing Digital and Comms Teams: Criteria for Selecting the Best Fit The Power of Strategic Communication: Building Resilience in the Age of Misinformation Empowering Managers as Effective Communicators Overcoming Digital Transformation Challenges: Best Practices Employee Engagement
Le Thuy Duong, Global VAT Compliance
Andras Spiegel, Stellantis
Antonina Shelepova, Schneider Electriс
Zita Kelemen, Corvinus University of Budapest
Delphine Bradshaw-Nguyen, Medtronic
Adriaan Bloem, Radagio
Mirko Tagliabue, MTPartners
Orsolya Eszterváry, Voltaira group
Bardha Azari, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
Ivona Kukolovic, Girteka Group
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
9:30 am – 9:45 am CEST
Digital Leadership – thoughts by conference chair Volker Grünauer
Volker Grünauer, Advatera
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
9:45 am – 10:30 am CEST
Keynote: Leading into the Future
A deep dive into what it takes to build inclusive future-facing teams and digital communities that thrive on shared leadership, transparency, accountability and a sensitivity to everyone's cultural and contextual realities. A discussion on the nature of the current global shifts towards more feminist practices that challenge leaders to transform their approach from traditional corporate cultures to more flexible and sustainable methodologies for the best organisational outcomes.
Felicity Sibindi, VSO
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
10:30 am – 11:00 am CEST
Break & Networking
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:00 am – 11:30 am CEST
How emotion-aware AI leads to a step-change in music industry
He will describe how AI systems learn from humans to interpret emotions and where the benefit lies in creating products that understand people's personality, intents and interests.
Thomas Lidy, Utopia Music
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:00 am – 11:30 am CEST
Bringing the organisation together through an organisation wide digital strategy to drive digital recruitment and promote campaigns.
Mahesh Patel, British Medical Association
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:00 am – 11:30 am CEST
The Collar doesn’t matter!
How NETZSCH reaches Blue Collar and White Collar workers at the same time. Internal communication throughout a global intranet.
Yann Jeschke, NETZSCH Group
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Avoiding the Dark Side: Predicting Consumer Needs and Analyzing Behavior Patterns Using App-Usage Data
Data science – getting the most out of your data: Wouldn’t it be great to replace cohort targeting with individual targeting?
Joerg Schudrowitz, BSH Home Appliances Group
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Managing online communities: let data be your guide
The majority of online communities are destined to fail. Whether it is due to a lack of staff, purpose, time or strategy, most platforms and forums appear to lose momentum the moment they are launched. Discover how a complete restructure of its online community driven by data and user feedback helped Imperial College London to (re)engage with its alumni. This session will also touch on how to avoid common mistakes and identify easy wins, helping you to set your online community up for success.
Tina Schmechel, Imperial College London
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
11:30 am – 12:00 pm CEST
Digital Workplace Demo - Award winning Intranet by Wellcome Trust
Sanjay Mistry, Wellcome Trust
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CEST
Lunch & Learn
Discuss your current digital challenges with participants from all over Europe
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm CEST
Keynote: How AI is Transforming Business Intelligence, Innovation and Reshaping the Future of Work
AI has a huge impact on the future of work, as it can automate tasks, improve decision-making, create new products and services, and enable faster and more personalized customer interactions. AI can also augment human skills and creativity, and help workers focus on higher-value activities. AI can also create new jobs and opportunities for learning and development. However, AI also poses some challenges, such as ethical, legal and social implications, as well as the need for reskilling and upskilling of the workforce. Therefore, businesses need to adopt AI responsibly and strategically, and ensure that their employees are prepared and supported for the changes that AI brings.
Lars Ruddigkeit, Global AI Hub & Microsoft
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
1:30 pm – 1:40 pm CEST
Room Swap
Short break to change room and go to the next talk!
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
1:40 pm – 2:10 pm CEST
How Syngenta Group manages areas of tension through collaborations and digital tools
Global and local. Digital and grounded. Fast-paced and regenerative. Find out how and why Syngenta Group relies on a collaboration with a top international athlete and the sound of a traditional Chinese musical instrument.
Sven Fritzsche, Syngenta Group
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
1:40 pm – 2:10 pm CEST
Inclusion at Work and the Role of Managers
Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at work goes beyond mere representation. It requires organizations to cultivate an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. Communicators, armed with their skills in messaging, storytelling, and engagement can (should) play a crucial role in championing inclusivity within the workplace.
Michelle Okwudiafor, TotalEnergies
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
1:40 pm – 2:10 pm CEST
Inspiration or education? Striking the balance in company onboarding
The importance of an engaging onboarding experience for employees will be discussed in this talk. Through stories from the development of a new onboarding journey at FREENOW, Luke will share how the team balanced sparking excitement with conveying key information – plus learnings to make an onboarding sessions more human-centric.
Luke Hudson, FREENOW
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
2:10 pm – 2:40 pm CEST
How to get business management buy-in to support & invest in eCommerce/digital
Do you sometimes struggle to get the active support and investments you need to drive digital or eCommerce initiatives? She will share about her learnings based on her eCommerce experience and will address the following: build the business case, setup the governance to maximize impact of digital investments, measure results on KPIs, resistance from sales and the channel … and keep a positive momentum over time!
Delphine Bradshaw-Nguyen, Medtronic
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
2:10 pm – 2:40 pm CEST
Georg Fischer goes on Instagram
Why to go, when to go, how to go on Instagram. From strategy definition to post performance, let's see what is important to do in order to launch Instagram and let it grow.
Claudio Corvaglia, Georg Fischer
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
2:10 pm – 2:40 pm CEST
Play to Win: Driving engagement virtually
During a time of significant transformation for the organization, in 2022 and 2023 Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty hosted two global virtual employee events using a unique online portal, and driven by a bottom up approach to content creation. Find out more about the planning, preparation and learnings, plus the ups and downs of these broad reaching events.
Heather Armond, Allianz Global Corporate & SpecialtyAllianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Birgit Kressin, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
2:40 pm – 3:00 pm CEST
Break & Networking
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Fireside Talk: Navigating the Diversity & Sustainability Dialogue through an authentic voice.
Join Erik Hartman in conversation with CNN’s Bipasha Bhattacharya for a candid conversation on purpose driven dialogue around the critical themes of DE&I and sustainability. Every organisation wants to engage and be a step ahead on these themes but are these efforts’ purpose driven or simply outcome driven. The session does a deep dive into how organisations and communicators should focus on long term, authentic and impactful initiatives that will help them gain credibility and inspire positive change.
Bipasha Bhattacharya, CNN International
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST
#TrinityIsSocial
Sharon will talk about the University’s approach to social media management across a large public sector organisation, which involves, engaging with a range of divers external audiences, building relationships with current and prospective students, and fostering collaborative relationships with colleagues
Sharon Campbell, Trinity College Dublin
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm CEST
How Do We Bridge the Gap: Transforming Internal Communication for Blue and White-Collar Colleagues ?
Overview of the used channel and taken measures for internal communication at Continental Hungary.
Kata Dudar, Continental
Room B
Tuesday, Sep 19
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
Complex decision support with AI
How Bayer support decisions in production planning with AI, but also the lessons learned from applying AI solutions and the outlook on future AI application will be addressed.
Frank Giroux, Bayer AG
Room C
Tuesday, Sep 19
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm CEST
How to escape the company strategy
Solving riddles together and completing a mission, in this case, finding a way out of a room – is the starting point of every escape room. Baloise took this idea, packed it into a suitcase, and is now using it for strategic communication in the most practical way.
Cornelia Ineichen, Baloise Group
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
4:00 pm – 4:10 pm CEST
Olga Klimesch
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
4:10 pm – 4:30 pm CEST
Townhall - Summarizing the Conference
What did we learn today? The fun session with Erik summarizing the day's learnings.
Erik Hartman, Advatera
Room A
Tuesday, Sep 19
4:30 pm – 7:00 pm CEST
Agenda and locations subject to changes
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The 2-day conference was packed with learnings and great networking opportunities. I will sooo be there next year to watch another set of informative, engaging and entertaining presentations while networking with smart digital/content marketeers!
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The Digital Leadership Forum has been an incredibly valuable development opportunity for me and contributed lots towards my professional development. Incredibly well organised, superb networking and such a supportive and professional team. Highly recommended!
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Digital technology changes so fast... To help you learn best practices from quality professionals, Advatera is a great network. The Digital Leadership Forum is the highlight of the year too!
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Two days filled with insights & learnings & new connections. I didn't realise how much I missed taking part in face-to-face meet-ups until I set my foot in Vienna this week.
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Excellent time at the Digital Leadership Forum this week in Vienna, spoke to so many inspiring people from all over Europe and the bonus: a big "real-life" gathering at last! Great workshops & presentations all around but we further expanded our minds with a tour in the Albertina museum and some beautiful piano music for the closing.
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It was a well organized event with a great mix of valuable input, exchange and culture. #greate #event in a #beautiful #city 🚀❤️
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A very enjoyable conference with a good mix of practical case studies from companies and thought provoking ideas. Small enough (100-200) to meet most of the people and enjoy good conversations.
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The Advatera team did a great job bringing together a really interesting crowd! A reminder of why in-person events still matter: you learn as much from chats between sessions and over dinner as you do from the sessions themselves.
Join us for an exclusive guided tour of the Austrian National Library on Monday evening, followed by a rooftop get-together and dinner at the Austrian Parliament. Please ensure that you bring a valid ID card to pass through security checkpoints at the Parliament.
Join us...
Register below for the Digital Leadership Forum on September 18-19, 2023. The conference is held at House of Engineers, a prestigious Viennese city palace.
Included in the ticket are both days of workshops and sessions as well as the guided tour of the Austrian Parliament and dinner at Kelsen, on the rooftop of the Austrian Parliament (please remember to bring your ID card for the security check) on Monday evening, catering for both days and the get-together after the conference on Tuesday.
Address of conference venue:
Haus der Ingenieure (House of engineers)
Eschenbachgasse 9
1010 Vienna
Advatera
Advatera stands for the regular exchange of experiences between digital, communication and marketing managers. Challenges you have faced in digital, web or intranet projects have almost certainly been experienced by others. The sharing of experiences can help your organization reduce its costs and sharpen its focus on essential success factors.