025: Leveraging 5G, IoT & AI to DIGITISE one of the World's Largest Conglomerates w/ True Digital's Michael Gryseels

03/02/21 • 31 min

We live in a world where the latest technologies, including AI, 5G, and blockchain, have the capability to truly transform the way we work, live and play. The problem is, they don’t always live up to the hype.

Far too often, the ICT industry pushes the latest technologies and solutions on the market and hope they get adopted, rather than by tailoring solutions to meet the market’s needs and proving that they can deliver tangible business value. The supply and demand sides of the market don’t work together as effectively as they should, and that’s why we are lucky to have today’s guest, Michael Gryseels, with us because he sits at the crossroads of technology supply and market demand.He’s currently the Executive Vice Chairman of Thailand’s True Digital Group and the Chief Digital Officer for CP Group, which is Thailand’s largest private company and one of the largest conglomerates globally.

This combination of roles provides him not only with insights into the market’s requirements - but also the capability to launch solutions to meet those requirements.

Prior to these roles, he spent nearly 20 years with McKinsey & Company, where he was a Senior Partner and led McKinsey Digital Labs in Asia.

Show notes:

01:15 Intro to True Digital, CP Group and A Day in the Life of Michael

05:15 CP Group operates in 15 industry verticals. What process do you follow to identify the opportunities and source the innovation that will digitise these industries?

07:00 You have been in your roles for 3 years, can you give us some examples of the initiatives that you've implemented, or solutions that you've deployed, that you're proud of?

10:00 Status of 5G in Thailand, including which 5G use cases has True Digital identified, does Thailand’s strong manufacturing sector create an opportunity for Private 5G, and what are the Critical Success Factors for operators to be successful in 5G?

15:10 Where would you like to see True Digital and CP Group in 3 years time?

17:15 When you look at the global mobile operators, which ones do you think are doing the best job at driving digital solutions?

19:00 When implementing digital solutions, companies often get stuck in what McKinsey defines as “Pilot Purgatory”. What advice do you have for companies to overcome this?

22:10 Which technologies do you think will have the biggest impact in the next 12 to 24 months?

24:00 Fun Questions

What do you know today about True Digital / CP Group / Thailand that you wish you understood when you started on this journey?
You have lived in 15 countries - and worked in many more. Outside of Thailand, where did you find the most exciting place to work?
When I was 16 years old, I had a blond mohawk, spent my after school hours skateboarding and attending as many punk rock shows as possible. What were you doing at 16?
Let’s say I have the power to turn back time - and I can turn you into a university student today. What would you study - and what would you want to do with your career?

This combination of roles provides him not only with insights into the market’s requirements - but also the capability to launch solutions to meet those requirements.

Prior to these roles, he spent nearly 20 years with McKinsey & Company, where he was a Senior Partner and led McKinsey Digital Labs in Asia.

Show notes:

01:15 Intro to True Digital, CP Group and A Day in the Life of Michael

05:15 CP Group operates in 15 industry verticals. What process do you follow to identify the opportunities and source the innovation that will digitise these industries?

07:00 You have been in your roles for 3 years, can you give us some examples of the initiatives that you've implemented, or solutions that you've deployed, that you're proud of?

15:10 Where would you like to see True Digital and CP Group in 3 years time?

17:15 When you look at the global mobile operators, which ones do you think are doing the best job at driving digital solutions?

19:00 When implementing digital solutions, companies often get stuck in what McKinsey defines as “Pilot Purgatory”. What advice do you have for companies to overcome this?

22:10 Which technologies do you think will have the biggest impact in the next 12 to 24 months?

24:00 Fun Questions

What do you know today about True Digital / CP Group / Thailand that you wish you understood when you started on this journey?
You have lived in 15 countries - and worked in many more. Outside of Thailand, where did you find the most exciting place to work?
When I was 16 years old, I had a blond mohawk, spent my after school hours skateboarding and attending as many punk rock shows as possible. What were you doing at 16?
Let’s say I have the power to turn back time - and I can turn you into a university student today. What would you study - and what would you want to do with your career?

Previous Episode

024: Making SENSE...and CENTS...out of the 5G Market Opp w/ McKinsey's Ferry Grijpink

We recently have talked about the future of 5G - and today - we will take that to the next level. We'll discuss the models being used to fund 5G investments, the consumer and enterprise solutions and services that will help operators monetise those investments and discuss which types of operators are best suited to capitalise on the emerging opportunities.

We are joined by Ferry Grijpink, a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company based out of Amsterdam. Ferry is also the Founder of the McKinsey Center for Advanced Connectivity and is their Global Lead for Digital and Analytics for the Telecoms, Media and Tech Industry.

Show notes:

01:00 Intro to Ferry Grijpink, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

02:20 How can operators monetise consumer 5G solutions and services - beyond gaming

06:00 The 5G funding models - is network sharing the way forward?

09:30 What is OpenRAN - and can it become a game changer?

13:45 Why do operators struggle to provide solutions and services to the SMB market segment?

17:30 Which industry verticals and use cases will drive the Enterprise 5G market opportunity?

20:45 What role - if any - will operators play in the Private 5G market?

23:30 Which telecoms markets do you find the most exciting?

26:35 What advice do you have for operators to help them build the infrastructure, solutions and services to be successful in the 5G world?

28:45 The fun questions

Which 5G buzzwords (e.g. OpenRAN, Private 5G, shared network infrastructure) will get the most hype in 2021?

What do you miss about living and working in Asia?

What would you do with your career if you weren't in consulting?

Ferry has a new "5G Chart of the Day - all charts, no bullshit" newsletter. You can subscribe to it here: https://ferrycgrijpink.substack.com/

Keep an eye out for Ferry & I talking on Clubhouse soon...

Next Episode

026: The Post-Pandemic FUTURE of BUILDINGS & SMART CITIES Panel w/ Eight Inc, Bosch.IO & JLL

The global pandemic has impacted every industry, but one industry that will face more impact than most is the Real Estate industry.

In this podcast, we’ll look at the pandemic’s impact on the Future of Buildings from the Design, Build and Operate perspectives.

Guests:

Tim Kobe

Founder and CEO, Eight Inc.
Founder and Chairman, x8ventures
Author of the new book, Return on Experience

Thomas Jakob

Regional President, Bosch.IO Asia Pacific

Susheel Koul

Division President - Corporate Solutions, JLL Asia Pacific

Show Notes

02:00 Intro to the guests, their companies and the role they play in the Future of Buildings

03:30 What’s something that the pandemic has fundamentally changed with your business?

08:40 Once you got over the initial shock of the pandemic, what opportunities did you identify that your companies should go after?

14:20 Let’s say that I am your customer. Not only am I trying to ensure that I can create a safe and secure environment for my employees, customers and citizens to return to, but also an environment they WANT to return to. What advice would you give me?

21:15 You each sell products & services to corporate clients, but people are the end users. How do you incorporate the consumer - or employee - or citizen experience into your work?

27:50 One positive that has come about as a result of the pandemic, is that governments have used the time to fast-track their sustainability initiatives - which will hopefully lead to more green & energy efficient buildings in the future. How has this increased focus on sustainability impacted your company and your clients?

33:25 You each possess a vision for what is possible - even if the market isn’t ready for it. Tell me about something your company has the capabilities to deliver, but you’re still waiting for someone to say, “yeah, let’s go for it”.

38:20 The pandemic has forced companies to care more about the welfare of their employees. The question is, will this corporate empathy last when we shift into the post-pandemic world?

43:00 What is your key takeaway that the audience should remember for the post-Covid future?

47:00 Fast and fun round of questions

What’s your prediction for when we get back to business as usual - or will we?
Tell me something about the future of work that will be fundamentally different post covid.
Work from home - will it last in a post-covid world?
Tell me something your company has done during the pandemic that makes you proud.
In pre-Covid days, we all spent much of our time travelling around the world for our work. But those days are long gone. What’s the best - and worst - thing about not having the crazy travel schedule?