The Fightback Summit

In June 2019, an event will take place that promises to be a mainstay on Berlin’s industry calendar

Summits, meet-ups, conferences, and expos happen all the time, in every city throughout Europe — but this one is different.

On the 12th of June at The Grand in Berlin, 100 of the most influential entrepreneurs, digital masters, top CXOs, investors, policy-makers and thought-leaders gather to create a better future of Europe.

The time is now for European businesses to reignite their legacy assets, which are now under threat on multiple fronts as new digital business models are changing the game and digital platforms businesses are entering new markets — as industry boundaries dissolve.

As a business, you are no longer in competition with companies in your industry or your geographical location, as such, to stay relevant, corporations need to radically rethink the very core of business as usual.

Throughout the day, attendees will join a variety of different interactive impact sessions from designing a digital platform business to rapidly scaling a digital venture. Guests will hear real-life experiences from business leaders who have been through the arduous process of creating new digital businesses / models and are ready to share insight and exchange ideas.

Speakers include leading lights like Michael Stephanblome: founder of several successful digital startups who serves on multiple high-profile boards; Michael G Jacobides: Professor of Strategy at London Business School; Simon Torrance: a leading expert in digital platform businesses; and Felix Staeritz: Founder and CEO of FoundersLane — corporate venture builder. A representative from the World Economic Forum, Annika Brack, will discuss the imperative to move towards a pan European ecosystem, in order to promote new digital business creation, in the continent.

Another standout speaker is Sebastien Copeland, an award winning photographer and the Founder and Chairman of The Sedna Foundation — a not for profit organisation dedicated to raising support and awareness of the environmental issues affecting the Polar regions — and consequently, the rest of the planet.

The summit is the kickoff event for the Fightback Movement — a unique group of like-minded individuals driven to combine knowledge / entrepreneurial mindsets, networks, digital capabilities, and corporate access to shape and mould the future of Europe.

Europe has generated unprecedented wealth over the past century, but to maintain its leading position in the global economy, and to ensure prosperity for future generations, there is a need for:

# Collaboration — between tech entrepreneurs, business leaders, and policymakers.

# Entrepreneurship — taking risks to build new sustainable businesses

# Cultural Change — beginning with business leaders in incumbent organisations

# Assets — harnessing capital, market insight, and technical capabilities

# Digitalisation — building new business models for value creation

# Responsibility — shared and understood by all with a clear mission to create a better future

Following the summit, FightBack the book — A playbook for corporate and digital entrepreneurs will be published; a collaborative book for corporate leaders to drive disruptive growth in their industry, by upgrading their business model. In the book, corporates can learn how incumbent businesses across different industries reinvented themselves for Industry 4.0, read best practices from business leaders who have been there and done it, and benefit from detailed action plans.

Today, of the world’s 15 largest digital firms, not one is European. Why is that? There is no easier answer to that question, but it is clear that European businesses have many strong assets from technical capabilities and market insight, to growth capital and large customer bases, but the continent, as a whole, needs a pan-European approach, where countries work together, and not just countries, but across industries and between tech entrepreneurs, investors, and CXOs.

Incumbent businesses in Europe have led the way for centuries. But in Industry 4.0, there is often a reluctance to change the status quo. Executives who aren’t conversant with digital pursue sub-scale digital investments. Leadership overcome with fear resist making big bets on digital, including building new digital businesses models as it is deemed too risky. And, there is too much guesswork — and not enough value-thesis projection. Indeed, efforts are not structured, and the potential digital investment meets too much resistance. But each organisation is different and faces a unique challenge to remain competitive against this backdrop of rapid digital change.

Those committed to the Fightback Movement want to make change easier by bringing together a group of like minded individuals, who are willing to lead the way to the new digital horizon. There are a 100 different ways to say no. But, with the support of a group of high-profile, experienced individuals you will have the tools and access to a knowledge pool that will make the process free flowing to find a way passed the no.

And, hopefully in the future European companies will continue to be the leading lights in the global economy.