Diving into Digital Transformation at EMBA Global Network Week

At the end of my first year in Yale SOM’s MBA for Executives (EMBA) program, I participated in Global Network Week (GNW), a weeklong international exchange program. GNW allows students to apply lessons from Yale’s core curriculum to real-world problems alongside students and faculty from other top business schools. From day one of my GNW experience in Lausanne, Switzerland, I was immersed in the local culture and surrounded by like-minded peers from around the world.

I chose a course called Digital Business Transformation at Switzerland’s International Institute for Management Development (IMD) because the topic aligns with my career goal to become a founder and CEO of a digitally disruptive Fortune 500 company. I wanted to learn how AI is impacting industries around the world, and how global companies are managing digital transformation. During our first session at IMD, Professor Öykü Işik helped us demystify the concept of digital transformation, defining it as organizational change that occurs through the use of digital technologies and business models to improve performance.

As a case study, we examined the recent trajectory of Disney, learning how the company applied a top-down approach to changing its business, as well as creating a consumer-facing mobile app. As a product leader, I always say that a good product leader delivers the product, but a great one understands how the product is built (technology); operated (customer service); communicated (marketing materials); its legal impacts; and the ROI (finance). This idea can be applied to a business undergoing digital transformation: as a CEO, you have to ensure that every aspect of your business understands the company’s vision for its journey.

One highlight of the GNW experience was a field trip to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) headquarters. We learned about the challenges the IOC is facing with its digital transformation and how it is preparing for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. Hearing that such a well-known brand is also facing challenges with digital transformation piqued my interest, demonstrating that even the most prestigious organizations need to keep up with emerging digital trends. I really enjoyed hearing about how the IOC’s proactive approach to its digital journey, which reminded me that when I build my business, I cannot rest on my laurels; I must stay nimble and humble to survive.

At the end of the field trip, we received our group assignments from the IOC. My team was tasked with developing a digital transformation plan for the Olympic Esports Games. The IOC aims to engage younger generations and bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds through esports. To develop our plan, we leveraged lessons from our Digital Strategy class with Professor Mohan Subramaniam, who taught us that the future of competitive strategy requires unleashing the power of data and digital ecosystems. My favorite quotes from that class session came from an Economist article arguing that the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but rather data.

My team used data to understand the target esports audience and customer segment. Our proposal included a detailed approach to fostering community and forging new alliances to create awareness. Inspired by Professor Sarah Toms’ class on AI Strategy, we also created a 30-second video reel using AI to end our presentation.

To wrap up the week, Professor Toms shared how IMD has created its own ChatGPT and how each classroom was recorded and shared with the IMD ChatGPT. As part of its core AI principles, the IMD ChatGPT was ethical and responsible. This showed me that while we must innovate, we have to be responsible and accountable for what we are creating.

I left Global Network Week feeling inspired and excited for the role I will play in digital disruption in the future. I appreciate that Yale afforded me the opportunity to learn from other professors and students from around the world about a topic that I am passionate about. In 10 years, I hope I can contribute to GNW as a guest speaker to discuss my company’s digital transformation journey.