ABB Motion
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to a new episode of KT Talks. Today we're joined by Ahmed Radwan,
00:05Lead Business Manager at ABB Motion Business in the MIA region.
00:10Ahmed, thank you so much for being with us today.
00:12It's a real delight and a real pleasure to be with you here today.
00:16So we want to, if you could please share a bit about your background,
00:19the different markets that you operated in,
00:22and what really keeps you connected to ABB for the last 18 years?
00:26Well, I've been with ABB now for almost 18 years,
00:29heading towards my 19th year in the company,
00:33and I feel really proud of everything I do in the company.
00:36I started in Egypt and I did a lot of different roles within the company,
00:42mainly around business development, sales, account management.
00:46What's really common and keeps me going is all the roles that I've been doing in ABB
00:52is in the front-end operations, in the markets, closer to the customers.
00:56And this is really my passion.
00:58If I reflect on my journey and the nature of the markets where we operate in at the moment,
01:03and the nature of the Middle East and Africa region,
01:06I think my own learnings is mainly around people and customers.
01:12This is what's going to make you successful, right?
01:15If you take care of the people, if you're people and you take care of your customers.
01:19And our region is very diverse, with a very wide geographical footprint.
01:25Every market is different, every customer is different,
01:29I would say every single opportunity is different.
01:31So you need to be very, very flexible
01:33on how to deal with the different scenarios you have in the market.
01:37The Middle East and Africa has its own unique set of challenges.
01:41At the same time, it offers you a lot of different opportunities.
01:45It's all about how you look positively to this
01:48and how you do the right things from customer perspective
01:51to capture the maximum out of these relevant opportunities.
01:55Something very unique about ABB that keeps me really going full speed ahead
01:59is this kind of very inclusive organizational culture that we have.
02:04So we offer a very inclusive and diverse, I would say,
02:08platforms, communities to our teams, to our people,
02:13to maximize the performance.
02:17One more thing that I've been also experiencing over the years
02:21is the unique learning and development culture and opportunities we have in ABB.
02:27So we invest a lot in our people so they can grow, develop,
02:32and also pay back to the company with outstanding performance.
02:36So I would refer to these three elements.
02:38It's all about people and customers.
02:40We are very unique with the people we have.
02:44We wake up in the morning getting more passionate about serving our customers
02:49with our innovative technology, the inclusion,
02:52and the inclusive culture that we have in the organization,
02:55and also really the outstanding learning and development opportunities.
02:59One more critical success factor for us is the global scale and coverage.
03:03So we firmly believe that the closer we get to our customers,
03:06the more successful we are.
03:08We're a global company, but we act local,
03:10because we know the business is local, right?
03:13So we strategize and think from a global perspective,
03:16but we drive actions closer to the customers in the markets,
03:21in the local markets where we operate,
03:23because we understand also culture makes a big difference.
03:27Amazing. I think being customer-centric is very essential,
03:30and understanding the local market is more important
03:33than having a global strategy.
03:37Everything we build, we build around our customers, right?
03:40The starting point is to understand the customer needs, challenges,
03:45so you can help them addressing this by developing solutions
03:49that would match the customer expectations.
03:51Very interesting. Thank you.
03:53So with your experience and your background,
03:56what recent innovations are you most excited about?
03:58If you could tell us, please.
04:00Well, the entire world is speaking about energy transition
04:02and how we can really make the future more sustainable.
04:06I have a lot of passion, and this is a topic which is very close to my heart,
04:11how we can hand over the planet to the next generation
04:13in a much better condition.
04:15We in ABB stand for productivity in a low-carbon society.
04:20At the heart of this is the energy saving, right?
04:23And how we can reduce emissions by saving energy.
04:27In ABB, we say the best power is the power that you don't use,
04:32or the best energy is the energy that you don't use.
04:35The demand on power will be doubled up to 2050,
04:38and also the population is going to reach close to 9.7 billion by 2050.
04:44And everything is going electric.
04:46Before we start producing more electricity,
04:49it's better to look on how we can optimize the utilization of the energy platforms
04:54that we have at the moment and save energy.
04:57And that's why I'm extremely passionate about the new technologies
05:00and energy-efficient products that we in ABB produce.
05:04We have state-of-the-art and cutting-edge motors and drives,
05:08energy-efficient products that would help customers, industries,
05:13and societies to reduce energy and cut emissions.
05:17So I'm proud that every day we push the boundaries of the technology
05:22to help our customers become more sustainable and greener in the future.
05:27It's important to know that the International Energy Agency
05:31qualifies energy saving as the first fuel against climate change
05:37and the first fuel towards a more sustainable energy system in the future.
05:43That's very, very exciting, and we can't wait to use your products.
05:48If you could please tell us how AI and digital connectivity
05:51transform the industry landscape.
05:53Let's start with digitalization,
05:55and we try to make it a bit of a simple piece of information.
06:00Getting the industrial assets connected to the Internet of Things network
06:06will help customers run it in a more efficient and reliable way,
06:12save energy, cut emissions.
06:15On the other side, you can run it at a lower maintenance cost
06:20and avoid a lot of unplanned shutdowns.
06:22So there is a twin benefit in how digitalization could really serve the industry.
06:28It's all about analytical data that you get out of these assets
06:32to make the right decisions at the right time.
06:35So you can save maintenance costs, avoid downtime,
06:43reduce energy consumption, reduce gas consumption.
06:47So it's kind of an ideal or optimum.
06:50It's going to help building an ideal and optimum operating model
06:54so you can make the best use of the assets.
06:57That's on the digitalization side.
06:59The potential of artificial intelligence for the industry is very clear,
07:05and we in ABB understand that very well.
07:08As we speak in ABB, we have 250 artificial intelligence-related projects ongoing,
07:15and we do that closer to our customers so we can make a bigger impact.
07:20A very good example is our partnership with Amazon Web Services.
07:26We support them to build data centers that run 24-7
07:31in a much more energy-efficient way.
07:34Wow, that's very interesting, actually.
07:36I mean, who wouldn't want to save costs and optimize performance?
07:42I think that's very interesting.
07:44If you could please tell us what are the strategies that you found
07:47most effective for driving profitable growth
07:49while maintaining high customer satisfaction?
07:53Well, my own view, according to my experience in the front-end organizations,
07:59being always close to customers.
08:01So the first one is always think from customer perspective.
08:05This kind of external in-view is extremely important for any business organization
08:11to understand the dynamics out there in the marketplace,
08:15and then you tune your strategic thinking, your processes,
08:19all what you can do according to what's happening in the market
08:23so you can really bring a completely different value to your customers.
08:26That's first.
08:27Second, it's about commitment.
08:29So you need to honor your commitments and deliver what you promise to customers.
08:34That's equally important.
08:37Third thing is, I would say, exceptional service positions
08:42in the markets where you operate, closer also to your customers,
08:46which means that you need to provide the right level of support
08:50and the right level of service, on quality, on time,
08:54at the right investment cost needed.
08:57And I would end up with partnerships, right?
09:00We partner with our customers.
09:02We have too many different channels in the ways we go to the market.
09:06Partnership for growth is an important pillar for success in the future.
09:11How do you ensure seamless operations leading cross-border business transactions?
09:17Well, this is one of the most interesting pieces in the business we do
09:23and one of the most powerful strengths within ABB.
09:27I would again refer to this kind of global scale and coverage.
09:31So we are here to stay, and we get closer to our customers
09:36in all the attractive markets where we really need to operate.
09:40And so we built a lot of common communities,
09:45platforms with the unique domain expertise that we have
09:49and bring it closer to our customers.
09:52We have the right engagement forums across the organization
09:55because, as I said, it's a global company with unique knowledge and domain expertise.
10:01To harness the power of this knowledge,
10:04you need to bring it closer to the markets and closer to the customers
10:08so you can bring really a completely differentiated value.
10:11And so within the organization, we build a lot of common forums,
10:15common communities, common platforms,
10:19which is customer-focused in a way to make sure that we collaborate
10:25and we team up in a very professional way closer to our customers.
10:30I think building community is very essential.
10:32People want to always feel like they are part of something bigger,
10:36so I think this is very important.
10:38And what is critical for the success of these kind of common communities,
10:41platforms, is the information flow and access to information,
10:47access to know-how and technology and unique domain expertise.
10:51This is what our customers also expect from us.
10:54That's why we are bringing these kind of experiences closer to our customers
10:58so we can manage these kind of cross-border transactions with the needed speed.
11:06Of course, speed is very essential.
11:09What trends do you foresee shaping the future of motion solutions in the region?
11:14Well, we have too many trends, but I would vote first for decarbonization.
11:22Enabling low-carbon society is one of our core values,
11:26and we see an increasing demand and momentum for all of our customers.
11:31Through our innovative products, solutions, and also our people,
11:34we are involved in the entire value chain,
11:37from supporting renewable power generation sources
11:41into supporting special and emerging applications into the industry,
11:47up to the support of improving the grid stability.
11:51The second trend from our own perspective is right over the circular economy,
11:56and there is a lot of talks around that.
11:58Circularity is the alternative of the classic linear production, consumption,
12:02and disposal process.
12:04And in ABB, we speak about energy efficiency, sustainability, decarbonization,
12:10and circularity all together, not in isolation.
12:15So we understand fully the critical need to innovate new products
12:22and drive energy efficiency,
12:24but we also understand that the resources across the globe are limited,
12:29and we need to make the best use of the resources wisely and with respect.
12:35This is how we think that we need to drive towards a more resource-efficient future
12:40by applying best-in-class practices when it comes to the circular economy.
12:45As the industry continues to develop more AI-driven solutions and technologies,
12:50what do you see ABB's role evolving, and how do you see it in the coming years?
12:57ABB is one of the largest engineering, electronic, and electrical manufacturers
13:05across the globe with around 140 years of history
13:10with a proven track record of supporting customers with products, solutions,
13:16and software-driven solutions so they can optimize their operation
13:21and make the best use of the energy and drive towards a more resource-efficient future.
13:28We help our customers optimize, electrify, decarbonize their processes
13:34while maximizing productivity and making the best use of every single unit of the energy
13:40while lowering the waste as well.
13:42On top of the above, our innovative products and pioneering technology
13:48is going to help the customers also outside the traditional sweet spots
13:53and the traditional applications, which is going to help the decarbonization
13:57as one of the future trends.
13:59These kind of things like hydrogen, electrical heating, and carbon capture.
14:07So I think we have the technology needed for the future today,
14:12and this sits at the core of energy transition.
14:17So as we speak, we have the technology needed for the future,
14:22and this fits perfectly with the new trends to drive towards a more sustainable future.
14:28Amazing. We can't wait to see the future of ABB and where the future will lead us.
14:35Thank you very much.
14:36Thank you so much.