On Oct. 20, Fox Management Consulting (Fox MC) at Temple University’s Fox School of Business partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Independence Region to offer advice on how business owners, entrepreneurs and companies can keep their business models competitive. The event, “Business Model Innovation in a Rapidly Evolving Digital World,” brought together executives from diverse industries including healthcare, media, education and nonprofit to discuss how they have used digital innovation to build and retain a competitive advantage. It was part of Fox MC’s Executive Strategy Series, designed to present diverse perspectives on critical business questions.
Moderated by Dr. TL Hill, Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Managing Director of Fox MC, the event featured panelists Marcus Allen, President and CEO of BBBS Independence Region, Darin Kapanjie, Managing Director of Online Learning at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, Richard Lewis, Philadelphia Regional President of iHeartMedia, and Mike West, CEO of Rothman Institute.
“Technology affects everybody and every aspect of our life, be it personal or professional,” said iHeartMedia’s Philadelphia Regional President, Richard Lewis. “I hope people will walk away from this event with a different perspective than before.”
Marcus Allen, CEO of BBBS Independence Region, added, “if we don’t focus on how to leverage the technology and digital transformation space, we won’t be able to exist in the future. It’s extremely important to understand that space.” He expressed a desire for event attendees to learn how to incorporate technology innovation into their business models, and hoped the conversation would spark thought and motivation into helping entrepreneurs overcome those business challenges.
Victoria Chatman-Galloway, Director of Packaging R&D for Campbell Soup Company, attended the panel event to better understand how to leverage digital technology within the consumer packaged goods space. “I want to understand how daily changes to e-commerce are going to help improve my business, the impact of these changes on my business, and how we can build our foundation to fit into this change,” Chatman-Galloway said.
Dr. Hill, who moderated the event, echoed Lewis and Allen’s sentiments about the importance of and need to adapt to changing technology, suggesting that while change is coming to all industries, the speed and severity of that change will widely vary.
“Digitally enabled business models require investment and cultural change,” Hill said
The Fox MC team chose to host a panel event on business model innovation as part of the Fox MC Executive Strategy Series because a number of existing clients have expressed a desire to evaluate and integrate digital components within their businesses, according to Becca Zinn, Assistant Professor of Practice, Marketing and Supply Chain Management and Director of Marketing for Fox MC. Zinn worked closely with Hill and the Fox MC team to organize the event and the series.
“Effective use of digital technology is pressing for organizations across all industries. Hearing from those who’ve managed cultural change to successfully implement a new model can inspire others to do the same,” Zinn said.
Fox MC launched the Executive Strategy Series earlier this year to provide thought-provoking content to the region’s business community. “We want to share the knowledge that resides within our network, both because of the amazing people and organizations involved, and because of the careful, creative, evidence-based strategy and marketing work our students, project executives, advisors and faculty have done for more than 350 clients,” Hill said.
The next Fox MC Executive Strategy Series event will take place in spring 2017 and will focus on using data to make business decisions.
To view photos from the event, check out the album on our Facebook page, here. To learn more about the series or about the services Fox Management Consulting offers, contact us here.