Let’s face it—meaningful change is more likely to succeed when the charge is led from the top. And in a world where engineers shape the future, competent leadership is about driving collaboration, sparking creativity and turning bold ideas into reality.
Nowhere was this emphasized more than during a conference fireside chat featuring AVEVA CEO Caspar Herzberg and Amal Clooney, a British lawyer and international human rights advocate.
On the surface, inviting a human rights advocate to a technology conference seems like an interesting choice. But keep in mind that Clooney co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) with her husband, George Clooney, and was intimately involved in developing a speech-to-text translation app to enable trial monitors to document cases and distill information needed to assess the fairness of a trial. Once uploaded to the cloud, AI translates the text so that experts around the globe can analyze it.
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The conversation between Herzberg and Clooney centered on sustained, meaningful corporate involvement in social and environmental issues, rather than reactive measures. They discussed the potential for positive change through individual and collective efforts, despite current global conflicts and challenges.
Herzberg probed whether tech companies are increasingly aware of the responsibility they carry for their technology. “There are tech companies now that have their in-house human rights lawyers advising them, which is a sign of the relevance,” said Clooney. “I remember going to Davos, for example, 10 years ago, and a group of corporate leaders said, ‘Oh, your world is really interesting, but nothing to do with us.’ The conversation has shifted, I think, because customers, employees and others have all shifted expectations as well as where businesses should stand on issues.”
Without missing a step, Clooney redirected the question to Herzberg. “Do you agree? Do you think that tech companies know their power and use it responsibly?”
Herzberg replied: “I think that tech companies do know their power. I think what is increasingly clear to us is the importance of putting the power within frameworks. That’s where ESG comes in. I mean, the idea that you sign up to certain rules, to certain metrics, to certain commitments. Our big focus is sustainability. So, foremost is our role and the one that we bring to our customers. And that means, at times, very intrusive rules that we have to follow. It’s not always pleasant to execute against your ESG framework.”
Generating Impact
Looking back on a decade or so of tracking digital transformation, I’m convinced that the imperative to do more with less lies at the heart of technology adoption. But the organizations that generate the most impact are the ones that combine the right technology with the right skill sets.
Leaders highlighted in our upcoming Innovators issue have demonstrated that success and, ultimately, their impact, depend not only on their propensity to combine soft skills and hard skills, but also on the grit to keep feeding their intellectual curiosity while keeping up with technological advancements. They do so by staying attuned to trends that are shaping industrial transformation, and they are supporting their organizations in pursuit of their strategic goals.
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Also central to the themes we covered in Machine Design this past year is the ability to use technology to transform enterprise-wide collaboration and to find ways to be more efficient, inclusive and dynamic. In the realm of AI and digital transformation, in general, the takeaway is clear: To ignite meaningful progress, we need top leaders who are equipped and inspired to lead the charge.
On another note: Machine Design is working on its own digital transformation. As of January 2025, the publication will be switching to a digital business model to more fully explore its online presence. This approach enables us to respect data privacy, review engagement statistics and publish high quality articles swiftly.
Let me know if you have questions or comments. Reach me at [email protected].
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Editor’s Note: Machine Design’s WISE (Workers in Science and Engineering) hub compiles our coverage of workplace issues affecting the engineering field, in addition to contributions from equity seeking groups and subject matter experts within various subdisciplines.
