Strategy for Breakfast

This week we’re speaking to James Eitner, the Chief Human Resources Officer at TikTok. GDS Group presenter Kelley Iuele asks James about all things diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring, and how we can all get better at it. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].  

Discussion points 

• Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging... we hear companies talking so much today about wanting to promote these values. But how do you do that in the hiring process?  
• What does a wide net look like when it comes to recruitment? 
• What are leading organizations doing to make better, more inclusive hiring choices? 

Get in touch 

• Connect with Kelley Iuele 
• Connect with James Eitner 
• Or email [email protected] 

Resources mentioned in this episode 

• GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables 
• GDS Group – Summits 
• If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group 
• Omnicore says only 3.4% of TikTok’s audience is older than 55. 

No, we don’t mean a world without our favourite, sweet treats... This week we’re talking about the latest in preparing for a cookieless world. The result of removing targeted advertising will impact everyone; internet users, digital advertisers, and publishers. So how can we ensure we’re fully prepared as an organisation, while ensuring users and customers still get the service they desire. GDS Group presenters Julia Belle and Alex Wood talk us through it all. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

·      Are customers becoming more data-savvy? Or are they becoming more reluctant when it comes to allowing companies to harvest their data?

·      First party cookies v third party cookies - what are the pros and cons?

·      What can your organisation do to prepare?

Get in touch

·      Connect with Alex Wood

·      Connect with Julia Belle

·      Or email [email protected]

Resources mentioned in this episode

·      GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

·      GDS Group – Summits

·      If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

·      Who owns our data?

·      Google ending third-party cookies in Chrome

We’re taking a deep dive into an utterly fascinating phenomenon taking place in social media: the meteoric rise of TikTok versus the steep decline of Meta. No matter what you call it, Meta is the biggest social media platform in the history of the world. But with nearly half of Gen Zs using TikTok search instead of Google, are they set to take Meta’s crown? In this episode, GDS Group presenters Colin Cosell and Michelle Brown talk us through it all. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected]. 

Discussion points 

• What are the origins of Facebook & TikTok? 
• Where are Meta & TikTok today? 
• Can Meta turn it around? Can TikTok sustain this trajectory? 

Get in touch 

• Connect with Colin Cosell 
• Connect with Michelle Brown 
• Or email [email protected] 

Resources mentioned in this episode 

• GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables 
• GDS Group – Summits 
• If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group 
• The number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide 
• TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics 
• Gen Z using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google 

Greenwashing is a phrase we’re hearing more and more, but what exactly does it mean? What activities constitute greenwashing? And what steps can your organization take to make ACTUAL change? GDS Group presenters Stephanie Garey and Kelley Iuele are joined by Ed Gillespie, inspirational speaker, writer, climate activist, and self-proclaimed "insultant" to tell us everything we need to know. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

-      What is green washing/general washing? What sort of things constitute as green washing?

-      What can organizations do to make actual change, rather than just talk about it?

-      Can consumption ever be regenerative?

Get in touch

-      Connect with Ed Gillespie

-      Connect with Stephanie Garey

-      Connect with Kelley Iuele

-      Or email [email protected]

Resources mentioned in this episode

-      GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

-      GDS Group – Summits

-      If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

-       Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts podcast

AI has been rapidly advancing for years. But in the last few months alone, it feels like there have been several significant developments. So, what do these changes mean – both for your business and for wider society? In this episode, GDS Group presenter Alex Woods is joined by Glen Willoughby, Chief Information Officer at Singularity University Labs and a former Special Adviser to NASA, to talk AI advancements, ethics and what might come next. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

-      What are we capable of doing vs what should we be doing?

-      What advancements have been made in AI in the last few months?

-      What keeps you at night when you think about AI?

Get in touch

-      Connect with Glen Willoughby

-      Connect with Alex Wood

-      Or email [email protected]

Resources mentioned in this episode

-      GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

-      GDS Group – CIO summits

-      If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

It would be an understatement to say that digital innovation has really sped up over the last few years, so we’re catching up with Jeff Reine. Jeff is currently an advisor at Copia, who are on a crucial mission to solve – as they put it - the world's dumbest problem: and that’s hunger.

Jeff is also former VP of Direct Consumer Engagement at Coca Cola. GDS Group presenters Kristina Cartwright and Julia Belle will be talking to Jeff about all things digital innovation and the latest industry trends. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

-       What are your thoughts on everything that’s happened over the last 2 years?

-      What are some specific examples of changes you’ve seen or been part of?

-      What do you predict for the next few years?

Get in touch

-      Connect with Jeff Reine

-      Connect with Kristina Cartwright

-      Connect with Julia Belle

-      Or email [email protected]

Resources mentioned in this episode

-      GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

-      GDS Group – Digital Innovation summits

-      If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

-      In 2020, worldwide spending on digital transformation reached 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars, growing 10.4 percent year-on-year: Statista

-      70% of consumers say a company’s understanding of their personal needs influences their loyalty, according to Salesforce.

The retail industry is bouncing back after a tumultuous 2 years dealing with the effects of the pandemic, supply chain issues and the great resignation.

So why is it more important than ever for retail executives to take pride in their work? Balve Bains and Michelle Brown speak to Ron Thurston, an Amazon number 1 bestselling author with extensive experience leading retail operations for America’s most prominent brands.

He’s part way through a year-long tour called “Retail In America,” and joins us live from an airstream trailer to discover the real retail heroes across the country, and the latest industry trends since we last spoke. Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

-      What’s new in retail since we last spoke in Sept 2021??

-      Why has taking pride in your retail career has never been more valued? 

-      Why is brick and mortar retail so important today? 

Get in touch

-      Connect with Ron Thurston

-      Connect with Balve Bains

-      Connect with Michelle Brown

-      Or email [email protected]

Resources mentioned in this episode

-      GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

-      GDS Group – Retail summits

-      If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

We’ve all been hearing that data is the new oil for so long, but is it really? Data is only valuable if it is clean, analysed and implemented correctly, and while two-thirds of businesses say they need more data, 70% of organisations are gathering data faster than they can even use it.

So, Colin Cosell, Ellen Fearnley and Ben Thompson come together to squeeze 100+ hours a week of business conversations with senior executives into 15 minutes to bring you all the latest in the world of data.

Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Discussion points

-      Do organisations have enough data? Do they want/need more? What should they do with the data we already have?

-      Which businesses are leading the way in utilising their data?

-      What are the future predictions?

Connect with Colin Cosell

Connect with Ellen Fearnley

Connect with Ben Thompson

Resources mentioned in this episode

GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

GDS Group – Data summits

If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

Whether you enjoy working from home, or miss the office, the pandemic has changed the way we work forever.

So should your organisation implement a hybrid strategy? What are the pros and cons? What are other organisations doing? And if you do decide to do it, how can you do it well?

Meet the Boss event hosts Ben Thompson, Stephanie Garey and Tim Cassidy get together to talk about what they’ve learnt on this topic from 100+ hours a week of conversations with senior executives.

Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Key discussion points include:

·      What are senior executives saying about hybrid ways of working as approach H2 of 2022? 

·      Which organisations are embracing remote and hybrid working as the norm? 

·      What are the pros and cons, and how you get a solution that’s right for your company culture? 

Connect with Ben Thompson

Connect with Stephanie Garey

Connect with Tim Cassidy

Resources mentioned in this episode

GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

GDS Group – Summits

If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group

How can the oil & gas industries work with the renewables industry to solve the climate crisis?

Stephanie Garey and Kelley Iuele are joined by Rebecca Williams and Michael Short. Rebecca is from the Global Wind Energy Council and was the director at COP26 last year, leading discussion on wind power and energy transition. Michael joins us from Bain & Company and advises clients across the globe - and all energy value streams - with a particular focus on oil & gas and power sectors.

Together we talk about what’s happening now, and predictions for the future of industries working together.

Let us know what you think in the comments or email [email protected].

Key discussion points include:

What If we turned off oil & gas tomorrow, what would happen? Why aren’t we able to?

Who is leading the way? What are some of the best policies?

Following the recent weaponization on gas, will countries start to focus on how they can sufficiently provide energy themselves?

Connect with Stephanie Garey

Connect with Kelley Iuele

Connect with Rebecca Williams

Connect with Michael Short

Resources mentioned in this episode

GDS Group – Meet the Boss roundtables

GDS Group – Customer Experience summits

If you want to join our community of executives leading the way in business and digital transformation, sign up here: The Leading Provider of Virtual Executive Events & Summits | GDS Group