About a year ago, May 25, 2022 to be precise, Jessica Grisolia, Head of Industry Retail Solutions at Scandit, interviewed the existing CTO of Fenix Outdoor during a webinar in which also the CMO of New Black participated.
The topic of the webinar was "Decrypting Digital Transformation".
While writing my article series about Scotch & Soda and Emma, The Sleep Company I saw how Andreas Westendörpf digitally transformed Emma with courage and strength.
I then started investigating the digital journey of Fenix Outdoor, a major retailer of outdoor life and leisure items.
An extensive article series about Fenix Outdoor will soon be available on this website.
During that research it was once again confirmed 'how one leader with vision, with experience, with courage and strength, with the right team and followers can make a company and its digital business transformation successful'.
Christian Bader came on board in October 2019 and left Fenix Outdoor in December 2022.
In a period of three years, he transformed Fenix Outdoor into a company that is prepared to meet the challenges of the coming years.
Of course, he did not do this alone, he had a team of 50 people at his disposal and, above all, many digitally-conscious leaders in the group.
A special feature, the common thread, throughout my article about Fenix Outdoor (and that of Scotch & Soda and Emma) is the combination of Business and Technology, and today I add to that a 'Composable mindset', and above all, leaders with a lot of soul in the game / skin in the game, and you have all the ingredients for success.
Because digital business transformation is not about technology but about people.
--- Christian Bader during the webinar ---
“Fail fast. Stand up. Run again. This is a different mindset that the organization needed to learn, digest and accept. Giving a secure environment for the workforce to learn and move into the new way.”
“People, people, people. In the end, people make the difference. Without the buy-in from your workforce, you will never be successful.”
For those of us that work in or with technology, it is easy to forget that.
Can I be honest?!
What hurts most is how bad the vision on digital transformation and digital leadership is at medium-sized companies in the Netherlands.
Of course you have a different opinion, that is your right, but my recent experiences only substantiate this statement.
Fortunately, there are companies such as Fenix Outdoor and Emma, The Sleep Company that put digital leadership at the forefront and manage to become successful within a period of 2 - 3 years.
Digital Transformation as the driver for business transformation.
If your company is ready for a touch of digital leadership, let's talk.
Enjoy the webinar "Digital Transformation Decrypted".
Decrypting Digital Transformation - Featuring Fenix Outdoor, New Black