Professor Vittorio Chiesa Of POLIMI Graduate School of Management On How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level

Ultimately, in a context in which business schools are traditionally associated with career progress and maximising their students’ salaries, POLIMI Graduate School of Management aims to distinguish itself more for its ability to convey a new message that speaks of a passion for innovation, collaboration, and wanting to have a positive impact on the world.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Vittorio Chiesa, chairman of POLIMI Graduate School of Management in Milan. Aside from being Chairman of Professor Chiesa also has a strong involvement in the energy industry, as well as authoring six books and more than 200 papers published in journals, books and international conference proceedings. He is truly passionate about digital transformation and the positive impact it can have on the business world.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I am full professor of Strategic Management and, since the start of 2020, I have been chairman of POLIMI Graduate School of Management in Milan. My main research interests are in the field of management of innovation and I teach “Strategy and Marketing” and “Management of Energy and Sustainability” in the MSc programme at our School of Management.

For the last 15 years my research has been focused on the energy industry and how it is constantly changing. I’m the scientific Director of the ‘Energy & Strategy Group’ — a team of professors, researchers and managers dedicated to research and consultancy activities on innovation and strategy concerning renewable energies, energy efficiency, electric mobility environmental sustainability, recycling and circular economy.

Meanwhile, I’ve authored six books and more than 200 papers published in journals, books and international conference proceedings.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

For me, the person who has played a key role in inspiring me throughout both my personal life and career is my mother. She was born in the countryside in a very small village in Italy, where it was seemingly unheard of to study for an education. However, my mother studied classics and then graduated — the first woman to graduate from her village. In fact, after her, the next woman to graduate from the village was a whole 30 years later, so it was a phenomenal achievement.

To me, my mother’s pursuit of an education despite facing such challenges has always inspired me, and has been a constant sign of commitment, engagement, and determination. From a young age, she laid these encouraging foundations for me, and was always very positive, always supported my decisions, and gave me the confidence to follow my initiatives.

Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?

At POLIMI Graduate School of Management, being ‘purpose driven’ is at the very core of our overall strategy and ethos. In fact, three years ago, we decided to take a new direction as an organisation, and we devised a new strategic plan and set out a new set of values and beliefs which could inspire our community to find their true purpose within society.

Together with The Mind at Work, a company which looks to strengthen the performance of teams and organisations, we decided to realign the purpose, values and culture of POLIMI GSoM itself.

We set out a series of actions in order to develop a culture within POLIMI GSoM where we could inspire not only students, but also our staff and all faculty members. As such, we ensured that staff and faculty member participated in workshops and personal coaching so everyone within our community fully understood our new beliefs and values.

We also took steps to redesign our programmes, including our full-time MBA. The New Generation MBA provides the practical skills needed to perform within business, but it also teaches MBA students the necessary ‘soft skills’ in order to develop their awareness of themselves and others, and to find their true purpose within society. These future leaders will then be well equipped to manage purpose-led organisations as they pursue their long-term careers.

Ultimately, in a context in which business schools are traditionally associated with career progress and maximising their students’ salaries, POLIMI Graduate School of Management aims to distinguish itself more for its ability to convey a new message that speaks of a passion for innovation, collaboration, and wanting to have a positive impact on the world.

For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly Digital Transformation means? On a practical level what does it look like to engage in a Digital Transformation?

Broadly speaking, digital transformation is the implementation of digital technology by an organisation to digitize services or operations. Indeed, the main goal for its application is to increase value through innovation, customer experience or efficiency.

Technology is a major driver of change, and digitalisation infiltrates across all sectors — sustainability, healthcare, finance, and so on. In fact, business and technology has combined to a point that they have become one. As a result, future managers must understand how technology permeates all systems, processes, and functions of business, and how it can both enhance, but also challenge, their organisation.

One of the biggest revolutions right now in terms of digitalisation is how organisations are changing their approaches to customers. In recent years, digital transformation has driven organisations to change their business models and adapt to the new digital market in order to create the best customer experience possible. Today, customers expect relevant content in relation to what they’re doing at anytime, anywhere, and on their chosen device. As such, in order to keep up with this new level of customer connectivity, businesses must embrace technology in order to stay ahead and be prepared to constantly update their processes.

Ultimately, digital tools are there to enhance their companies and to broaden their horizons, and if used effectively, technology will be the key component to a business’ success.

In your opinion, how can companies best create a “culture of innovation” in order to create new competitive advantages?

Innovation has a lot to do with the cultural aspects of an organisation. Indeed, in order to innovate, a company needs to have a vision, to have leaders who look forward, and to have key figures within the organisation who are able to adapt in line with constantly changing business environments.

So, to exploit the full potential of innovation, business leaders must create a climate and an atmosphere where all the members of the organisation feel that they can bring ideas to management and suggest initiatives that will be considered and ultimately implemented. All people within an organisation from top to bottom must understand that they will be heard and can contribute to the success of the company.

This ensures that an organisation can exploit the full potential that it has, and the companies that thrive will have appropriate leadership that encompasses this collaborative and inclusive vision, alongside a key understanding of the market and business. The feeling that anyone can generate ideas and implement change is the prerequisite to enabling a company to be truly innovative.

Thank you for your time! We wish you continued success!