AFTF 2020
Wozniak: you need a chief disruption officer
23 October 2020
Your company needs a Chief Disruption Officer, Apple cofounder and legendary technologist Steve Wozniak says. And in a post-COVID world, it might be more important than ever.
About five years after first proposing the idea, Wozniak says the need for new and groundbreaking ideas in modern businesses is so important it deserves its own place of leadership within the c-suite.
Speaking at the ANZ Finance & Treasury Forum 2020, in a webcast conversation with ANZ Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott, Wozniak said modern businesses need to strike a balance between people who can build things and inventors who think of creative, new ideas.
“Some of those ideas may not fly with what the company is currently doing, but might be good,” he said. “The oversight of that sort of thing needs to be a higher manager or executive, or a Chief Disruption Officer.”
Wozniak said such roles should be dedicated to keeping a business across “what technologies are just barely starting that, if they grew… what would it mean for our business? How would it impact us?”
“Let’s be ready in case the disruption comes.”
You can see edited highlights of the conversation on video below.
In a wide ranging conversation, the two executives spoke about the growing influence of technology on every aspect of business.
Elliott said technology had become so ubiquitous that, regardless of industry, all companies had effectively become technology companies.
“We’re a big bank in Australia but actually, we have more engineering talent and people working in technology then we do working in our branch network,” he said.
ANZ Finance & Treasury Forum 2020
In 2020, the ANZ Finance and Treasury Forum went virtual, looking ahead to the new decade and the opportunities for senior finance and treasury professionals across Asia Pacific and beyond.
The market-leading event, featuring a host of international thought leaders, picked apart the themes currently dominating markets, analysed the outlook in an uncertain time and provided insights into a truly unprecedented era for doing business.
All of our ANZ Forum 2020 sessions are now available on demand. Please contact your ANZ representative if you did not attend and would like to experience the event in full.
The conversation also touched on the strength and application of artificial intelligence and empowering staff to make decisions. Watch the video above to find out more.
Shane White is Content Manager at ANZ Institutional
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