We are in an 'emergence era' defined by new digital reality, GE's Beth Comstock tells Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit

Abu Dhabi, UAE, March 28, 2017

Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, GE, told delegates to the inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) that we are in an “emergence era” defined by a new digital reality, which will transform how companies do business. 

She defined this emergence as “when seemingly separate and random events and different behaviours converge and create a totally new sub-structure”. These events, she said, include information being everywhere, the world moving at a faster, pace and people themselves being more mobile.

 “This change is only further accelerated by the instantaneous digital nervous system that is effectively reorganising our people, our money and our information,” she told delegates.  “A lot of change we are seeing is coming from different fields: it’s from economics, media, politics, manufacturing and technology, all of which are expressing emergence in very expressive ways. We are collectively and spontaneously reorganising around our digital information.”

She said that leaders and entrepreneurs must accommodate this emergent trend. “First and foremost it is everyone’s job to get digitized. Whether you are a leader in a business or country, your job is to encourage a culture of change,” she said.

While she agreed that the fact that increasing digitisation is making traditional jobs less defined and secure, she said leaders need to accommodate that, and reject bureaucratic way of working. Instead, she said, they must listen to diverse flow of information, wherever it comes from data, employees or other sources.  “Absorbing feedback is a very important component of this, wherein you need to seek feedback and be receptive to it as well,” she said.

She concluded: “We must encourage the collaboration of minds and machines together. While there are challenges there are also incredible opportunities.”

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The inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit is taking place at the Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, UAE, until March 30, 2017, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The Summit, which is co-chaired by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), is the world’s first global gathering for the manufacturing community, bringing together 1,200 decision-making leaders from governments, businesses and civil society organisations to shape a vision for the sector’s future.

The Summit is a global platform for participating attendees to learn from best practices from across the world. This unprecedented global gathering will spark new ideas and set the stage for debate and action – addressing ways in which manufacturing can shape and reshape the world, integrating activities between developed and emerging markets, and delivering on social responsibility towards future generations. Leaders from the public and private sectors, along with representatives from civil society organisations, will gather to discuss global challenges within the manufacturing sector, looking specifically at six themes: technology and innovation; global value chains; skills, employment and education; sustainability and environment; infrastructure; standards, and stakeholder alignment.

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About the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit 
As the world’s first cross-industry forum, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit is a global gathering for manufacturing minds. It is a voice and a venue for global manufacturing transformation. More than 1,200 delegates will attend, including world leaders, industry CEOs, policy-makers, specialist researchers and academics. The Global Manufacturing and Industralisation Summit will deliver (i) a voice for transformational ideas, (ii) a venue for the generation of new networks and cross-industry partnerships, (iii) a showcase for pilot projects arising from cross-industry research,

Global Agenda on the Future of Manufacturing 
The conference will focus on the role of manufacturing in reconstructing the global economy and restoring global prosperity. Leaders from the public and private sectors, along with civil society representatives, will gather together to discuss global challenges facing the manufacturing sector. The discussions will focus around six themes: technology and innovation; global value chains; skills, employment and education; sustainability and environment; infrastructure; standards and stakeholder alignment. The participants will form working groups to identify concrete action plans and recommendations that outline potential solutions to global issues, as well as showcase best practices and case studies from across the world. To highlight an example of global issues, the inaugural conference will focus on the issue of economic migration, with the aim of establishing a manufacturing platform that will bring together countries facing emigration or immigration challenges with regional countries that seek to support economic reconstruction. These countries will work together with manufacturers and the wider United Nations network on restoring global prosperity. 

The Manufacturing Expo 
Capitalising on the huge presence of the global manufacturing community under a single meeting venue, the Manufacturing Exhibition will offer space to corporations looking to showcase their products, services and latest innovations or technologies that can further contribute to promoting global economic development. The Manufacturing Expo consists of four components: an exhibition showcasing the manufacturing capabilities of the host country; international pavilions showcasing the manufacturing capabilities and economic incentives of each participating country; an innovation exhibition that demonstrates the latest fourth industrial revolution technologies; and an event for SMEs to present their products and solutions to potential customers.

The Global Value Chain Market 
The Global Value Chain Market (GVCM) is a business matchmaking platform dedicated to increasing regional and international partnerships and opportunities. The platform will provide networking and sourcing opportunities both online and onsite via pre-scheduled meetings with the vision of forging investment opportunities, commercial partnerships, and encouraging technological transfer and knowhow. The platform will enable countries to identify and meet global manufacturers to promote industrial development, and familiarise global manufacturers with targeted industrial activities in various countries. The GVCM will become a source of valuable information for global investments, providing insights on legislation and regulations, sovereign risk, political stability, and physical and logistical infrastructure.

For additional enquiries contact:
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller 
[email protected]

Mohammad Shaban
[email protected]

© Press Release 2017