Here’s part two of our highlights from Web Summit, where we discuss our takeaways on topics like mental health, women in leadership and culture and technology. The sessions made a lasting impact on our women in tech and we will be sharing more content on specific topics in the new year. Also, if you missed part one of our highlights, be sure to have a look!
Lena Grosse - Marketing Director
One of my favourite sessions was Alexi Robachaux of BetterUp discussing future-minded leadership and mental wellbeing. He discussed how mental wellbeing is tied to productivity and performance. This was an area I wanted to find out more about, especially after the pandemic, where a lot of us were struggling to cope with the new normal. The talk was very insightful and gave me some ideas about how to build a more resilient mindset. What particularly resonated with me was how focusing on yourself makes it easier for you to lead and show up for others, a lesson we can all learn from.
The marketeer in me also learned a lot from the brand sessions I attended. My main takeaway from these is not a new one, but an important one in that the brand experience needs to always connect and relate to your core brand story and values. Regardless of what new technologies, trends or channels exist, if your newest strategy does not match your “origin story” and core values, it will not work in the long-term. I found it refreshing to hear that even experienced marketers leading global brands also had to learn that lesson and were willing to share their experiences.
Overall, what I enjoyed the most about the Web Summit was being able to immerse myself fully in these insightful talks and hear from leading brands on how they are implementing new technologies and overhauling their processes to adjust to modern worklife. Some of these takeaways are definitely elements I will be including in my everyday life moving forward.
Rabia Qureshi - Chief Customer Officer
There was so much to cover and I'm still digesting all the valuable talks I attended! In the meantime, here’s my take on a range of sessions which aligned with the areas I am currently developing at GPMD:
- Culture and Teams - I attended several sessions from leading tech companies which discussed ways in which company culture can be shaped and how to develop, grow and lead teams. A standout session for me was “Transforming culture alongside technology” with panellists including Rebecca Parsons, CTO of the Chicago-based technology consultancy firm, Thoughtworks. Rebecca talked about how best to build an environment that allows for good ideas and the steps that Thoughtworks took to build an inclusive innovative culture cycle.
- Women in leadership - This topic will continue to be prominent at any tech conference one attends, however it was nice to see more women panellists in senior roles sharing their advice and guidance for the audience. I particularly enjoyed the panel on Best Global Brands 2022 where we heard from the Chief Marketing and Ecommerce Officer at Philips, Lorraine Barber-Miller. She shared with the audience that she is the “first female CMO at Philips in its 130 year history”. She emphasised that as women in leadership, we have an opportunity to help women and talent rise within our organisation. This is a point that strongly resonates with me. Furthermore, she looks forward to the day where women are not referred to as women leaders, but simply as “leaders”. Definitely something I look forward to seeing more of in our industry as well.
Retail Tech - There were so many leading retailers speaking at the Web Summit that it was almost impossible to pick out my favourite. Standouts were Julia Goldin, Global Chief Product and Marketing Officer at the Lego Group, who told the audience about how the 90 year old brand has managed to continue to inspire its customers through play and retain its legacy through community engagement work, connecting different generations through their love of lego. She went on to share some future plans about where Lego is going next, including building immersive experiences within the Metaverse as a safe space for kids to engage in. Another standout for me was hearing from Alison Loehnis, CEO of YOOX Net-A-Porter, and how resale has become more desirable in the luxury fashion fashion space. Alison had some very interesting stories to share around this subject and also did a live demo on how Net-A-Porter implemented resale of bags through their instant buy back feature.
