The Chairman & CEO of Naturgy, Francisco Reynés, took part earlier today in the XVII Executives Conference organised by the CEDE Foundation (Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives) in Palma de Mallorca.
In his talk, entitled The Transformation of Organisations, Francisco Reynés described the current challenges being faced by companies in their transformation process and in adapting to ever-changing environments. “Organisations cannot remain static. We are forced to change, to take risks in order to move on, and transformation should be a constant for us”, said the Chairman & CEO of Naturgy.
Francisco Reynés was accompanied on stage by Pepe, a humanoid robot made by SoftBank Robotics capable of replicating certain human activities thanks to its many cameras, sensors and models based on artificial intelligence. Pepe was contracted by Naturgy to conduct pilot projects in the field of customer service via chatbots and as a virtual assistant. Together with Pepe, the Chairman & CEO used the 50th anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey to explain the evolution of technologies and their application for the development of society.
Transformation of the energy sector
The Chairman & CEO of Naturgy said that people, processes, know-how, assets, customers and reputation are the key parts making up competitive advantages. Alongside them, certain aspects of the environment – such as the economic situation, the political and regulatory framework, technological advances, market trends and competitors – are the game changers that force adaptation and transformation of those competitive advantages.
“In our case, the energy business, nothing is, nor will be, like we’ve seen before”, said Francisco Reynés, who briefly mentioned the main key trends in the sector, especially renewables, mobility, natural gas and digitalisation. “In the current scenario and in the scenario we are heading towards, it is important to simultaneously ensure the three pillars of energy supply: low costs, contribution to the environmental improvement targets and supply reliability”, he said.
In the case of Naturgy, its Chairman & CEO explained in his talk how the company is leading that transformation in the energy sector based mainly on cultural change, involving simplicity, empowerment for executives and the importance of teams.
Francisco Reynés highlighted the need for companies to be “clear on their action principles, to persevere in their application and be determined to overcome any obstacles they encounter” in the transformation process. “The fear of making a mistake, changing habits and individual attitudes are some of the hindrances that companies should overcome, while a commitment to change, striving for success and team cohesion are the agents of change that need to be enhanced”, said Francisco Reynés in summing up.
CEDE Executives Conference
The CEDE Foundation (Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives) is holding its XVII Executives Conference this year in Palma de Mallorca under the slogan of Keys to growing in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Digitalisation, innovation, transformational leaderships, tourism, talent and new professional profiles, as well as the global economic situation and its impact on Spain, are some of the central issues that major business leaders and senior politicians discussed at the event.
Alongside the Annual CEDE Foundation Conference, the “Youth Meeting – Growing Talent” was held for students coming from universities, business schools and Vocational Training programmes. These young people will have the opportunity to benefit from first-hand experience from senior management executives and some of them will have the chance to share a whole day of working with them.
Led by Isidro Fainé, the CEDE Foundation is an organisation that currently encompasses 38 associations made up by more than 154,000 executives. Its main goal is to provide executives with representation in line with the major role they play in socio-economics. His Majesty the King of Spain is Honorary Chairman of the CEDE Foundation.
