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Technology and innovation, e-commerce, industry 5.0, sustainable development and leadership were some of the topics addressed by 18 prominent CEOs of large companies in the country and the region in the hybrid event Leaders TV Forum "CEOs E-volution".

Thus, at the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center, the CEOs share the different post-pandemic business strategies that they continue to promote to this day. In addition, it had more than 50 exclusive guests who attended in person and around 3,500 people connected to streaming through the different platforms.

Cecilia Luchía Puig, director of Lideres TV and president of Mañana Profesional moderated the event and was attended by Jorge Sánchez, general manager of the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center & Park Tower Hotel: “The pandemic was a very difficult time for our sector , but we decided to keep all sources working. That is why today we understand how valuable the return to face-to-face is, since it is where business happens, ”he stressed.

From New York, Carlos García, Managing Partner of one of the main funds in Argentina and the Region, stated that "we are immersed in uncertainty and we do not know what the implications of health or geopolitical issues will be."

And he added: “This phenomenon of uncertainty makes business more difficult than two years ago. Argentina presents us with an enormous challenge to justify an investment. These are moments that can offer opportunities, but they require seriousness and prudence”.

Post-pandemic challenge

An important theme was that of industries and featured Pablo Sibilla, CEO & President of Renault Argentina; Teddy Karagozian, president of TN&Platex; Jean-Noël Divet, CEO of L'Oréal Argentina and Gabriel Cordo Miranda, VP of Commercial Operations in Argentina for Peugeot, Citroën and DS. Each industry faced different challenges during and after the pandemic, and while some struggled more than others, all were able to reap the benefits of the new normal.

"During the quarantine, the more than 120,000 hairdressers in the country, many of them L'Oreal clients, were deeply affected," said Jean-Noël Divet.

And he added: “Not all industries were able to easily move to a virtual work model and our company was one of them. We need physical work and presence in order to continue developing and offering our products. The pandemic posed a huge challenge for us, however, we were able to adapt and find the solutions that allowed us to continue with the business.”

Teddy Karagozian added that "the context we are in discourages entrepreneurs from investing." “However, with the global information that we have today, we understand that in Argentina the demand for our goods is going to explode: from mining, from the waters of our lands, and this will generate the need to produce and promote the wealth of the country”, he clarified.

Pandemic Services

Another area addressed was services, in which Alejandro Stengel, CEO of Banco Supervielle and vice president of Grupo Supervielle, participated; María Tettamanti, CEO of Camuzzi; Diego Sobrini, president of Galeno ART and Galeno Seguros; Alejandra Cámara, General Director of Genesis and Néstor García, President and CEO of KPMG Argentina. Starting with the changes that the pandemic brought about in customer service in banks to the incorporation of technologies that allowed patients to make their consultations with doctors virtually, the spokespersons agreed that the Covid-19 notoriously accelerated the changes necessary that, progressively, they had been doing since before.

“Today and since the pandemic, 80% of invoices are sent virtually and 100% of procedures can be done through the virtual office”, commented María Tettamanti and in turn highlighted: “We also make work more flexible and we accept a hybrid system, face-to-face, but also virtual to give more freedom and quality of life to collaborators”.

"The opportunities that came with customers, who became empowered during the pandemic, came from the technology side," explained Diego Sobrini. “With telemedicine, the services to be provided to them increased and patients became much more likely to opt for these, which made adapting to their needs continue to be a challenge that must be dedicated day after day,” he added.

Innovation and technology

In closing, focused on innovation and technology, Natalia Scaliter, general manager of Google Cloud Argentina; Pablo San Martín, president of SMS Latin America; Eliana Banchik, president of Michelin Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay; Enrique Flaiban, CEO of Grupo Los Grobo and Nicolás Kaplún, Chief Business Officer of Globant Latin America, emphasized the acceleration of technological implementations that confinement led to.

“The pandemic meant that not only new technologies were incorporated, but also new ways of working,” explained Kaplún, while adding: “What used to be exploratory and optional, today has become something immediate, and it is essential to have avid leaders who understand the how, when and why of the different metaverses, that they can adapt to this new normality and that they can encourage them to reformulate their business strategies in the new context we are experiencing”.

“Google developed cloud technologies to cope with the number of users on its services and later decided to make them available to the world,” Scaliter explained. "Users digitized much faster in the pandemic and security is at the center of everything we do," said the businesswoman. → economiasustentable.com

Automatic translation from spanish.