IMD just ran its TransformTECH program for the first time. In the program participants learn to harness new technologies to transform their business. IMD had the pleasure of welcoming Michael Juhler, Director, Global Head of Special Cargo, Maersk Line, Denmark, as a participant in the program. After an intense week of TransformTECH, IMD caught up with Michael to discuss his experience. Here are extracts from the conversation below:

What are your current digital transformation challenges? 

We, like so many other companies have a lot of different opportunities and challenges. Some are related to digital and tech and to connecting all the different data we have available and working with it in new ways, finding new patterns, and new ways of generating new insights. 

There’s also a clear demand from our customers that we simply need to become more digital. They want to interact with us in a different and faster way and expect the same ease they experience in their personal shopping in our B-2-B focused environment. 

So, us being a shipping company, naturally we need to get a bit out of our comfort zone, challenge our current way of operating and be first in the area of digital. 

Has TransformTECH met your expectations? 

If as a manager you want to be relevant in the future, you will need to have a deep understanding of what digital is. I will never learn how to code or be the guy who constructs the machine learning, but if I want to lead in this space, then I need a solid understanding of this new landscape. The TransformTECH program is well tailored towards exactly that. 

You get a chance to have meaningful interactions with the professors. The collaboration with EPFL brings a lot to the program; IMD is focused on business and EPFL on technology and in today’s day and age it’s imperative to connect the two. 

What was the highlight of the program? 

The session on machine learning was excellent and the level was perfect for me. It was very well taught. 

Another highlight was the session with real startups learning how they work. In the context of this program it gets you thinking about what you can merge from what they do so well in the startup environment with your own business in the corporate world. 

Would you recommend the program to others? 

I would definitely recommend it. It adds a layer to subjects that we have some familiarity with already. And by the end of the program, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning start to make more sense because you get a better idea of how they are created, and how mature they are, and how they come into play. That’s been very enlightening. 

Why did you decide to do the Digital Diploma at IMD?

From the research that I’ve done, IMD is ahead of the curve in addressing this learning need, which I think will really be growing. During TransformTECH, I sensed there are a lot of people like me who are very interested in new technology and how to use it in business, but who need to know more so we can lead change in the future. And I think IMD is on a very good trajectory to address that need. 

How would you sum up the program in a nutshell? 

It gave me new insights, it took me out of my comfort zone and added a deeper and more detailed layer to my digital vocabulary. 

Find out more about TransformTECH.