CEOs highlight the role of technology in companies

Gone are the days when technology was just an accessory in the corporate universe. Today it is essential in decision-making and development of new business models, leading the evolution of companies in an increasingly connected, digital and open world. And no one better than CEOs of large groups to show how this transformation in the market is actually happening.

That was the central theme of the panel Techintense Management: Innovation on CEO's tables, at APIX's 2022 in-person journey, at the WTC, in São Paulo. The discussion was attended by Curt Zimmerman, CEO of Bitz, Bradesco's digital account; Erika Medici, CEO of AXA in Brazil, one of the largest insurance groups in the world; and Leandro Barankiewickz, CEO of the business consultancy Futurum TGP.

Leaders made it clear how APIs have played a central role in their companies' strategies, becoming a key element in the evolutionary agendas of products and services. Among the advantages, they did not fail to mention the agility in processes and partnerships, transparency with the customer, and ease of integrations.  ‍

“The sky is the limit for an IT professional who has a business mind. Technology is no longer an end, but a means of viability. One of the guidelines of our team is that all leaders, whether in the area of operation or technology, need to think about business,” says Erika.

She also stressed that observing all companies that use technology, not just their competitors, is essential to bring improvements to the experience of their own customers. “If a customer can easily watch a film on Netflix, he or she will want a very close experience when buying insurance as well, because of that reference.”

As a professional who closely followed the technological transformation of the financial market, where he began working in 1988 as a developer of COBOL solutions, Curt also highlighted this new paradigm. “Today our product is an API. We are all competing for the APIs that are available on the market, trying to facilitate integration. All squads and workgroups that are set up start with digital first”.

With a career built in executive positions and then pivoted to entrepreneurship, Leandro highlighted the application of the concept of “fazejamento” (doing and planning at the same time) in the development of solutions, raising the question that “the feat is better than the perfect” in a reality in which market transformations and user needs are constantly changing. “At 99 (app), there was no planning for the year. We had a compass, planned and did it. From then on, there was disruption and hyper growth, growing 20-30 times in the same year. But that also generated a lot of mistakes and learning, which we could discuss all day long”.

Want to check out more talks from APIX 2022? Click here!‍