WHAT INNOVATION MEANS FOR VEHICLE SAFETY

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS FOR VEHICLE SAFETY 

by Alan Desselss Leaders Speak

"Cars are driven by people: the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo therefore is - and must remain - safety." These words of Volvo's founders form the basis of our Mobility 2020 vision, a vision whereby no person will be seriously or fatally injured in a Volvo by the year 2020.

We don't take this challenge lightly, and while it may lead us into uncharted waters, it does give Volvo a clear target to aim for and a firm direction for the future. What's more, it's an initiative no other manufacturer is working towards.

Ultimately, success will come through a combination of new safety innovations, being developed as we speak, along with Volvo's tried, tested and true technologies, which have established the brand as the industry's leader in safety.

Since the early 1970s, Volvo has been collecting crash data through its own crash investigation team, documenting every accident involving a Volvo within a 200km radius of its Gothenburg facility in Sweden as well as other sites around the world. The database currently houses over 36,000 accident reports, and what we learn out there in the real world is translated back into the design and development of our vehicles, and has been for many years. It's why we believe we have 'safety beyond the stars'.

The developments are honed at Volvo's state-of-the-art safety centre, providing an opportunity to test and measure impacts of any type of accident.

For Volvo, innovation has and will always be paramount to its continued success in the safety arena. Innovation is the foundation on which its leading stance on safety has been built and it continues to be our guiding principal. It is this commitment to innovation that will ultimately lead to Volvo's success in achieving its Mobility 2020 vision.

- Alan Desselss, Managing Director, Volvo Car Australia

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WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO AIRLINES

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO AIRLINES 

 

by Korakot Chatasingha Leaders Speak

Each year, 600,000 visitors travel from Australia to Thailand. We carry 60 per cent of them. Our key areas of innovation focus around hospitality and service.

Thailand is now well positioned to take advantage of the growth in travel to Asia and to that end Thai Airways, with the support of the Thai government, is rapidly expanding the international airport at Bangkok. Phase 1, increasing capacity to 45 million passenger movements, is now complete. Phase 2, to take that further to 60 million capacity, is underway, and Phase 3 - 100 million capacity - is planned. This would make Bangkok one of the busiest airports in the world.

With regards to service, we are now offering an in-the-air massage service on Royal Silk Class as well as on the ground in our premier lounge. Our first class lounge was voted best in the world. All of our 777-300 aircraft are equipped with inflight video entertainment which enhances the travelling experience for both business travellers and families.

We work closely with wholesale tourism operators and are now driving a program to establish Thailand as a luxury destination as well as a traditional tourist destination. Thailand is known as a value-for-money destination; now we are promoting ourselves as a premium travel destination, with the aim of attracting high net worth customers. We are also promoting Bangkok as natural stopover place and the starting point and return port of call for further exploration into Vietnam and Cambodia.

With the Thai government, we are also embarking on an initiative to establish Bangkok as a first choice for conferences and conventions in Asia, while in Australia we have recently established an e-ticketing link with Virgin linking Thai Airways to thirteen destinations in Australia.

- Korakot Chatasingha, General Manager Australia, Thai Airways

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WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO BUSINESS

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO BUSINESS 

 

by Wayne Kayler-Thomson Leaders Speak

One of my core beliefs is that we are all increasingly interdependent and that, in this context, business is an integral part of the community. The economy, the environment and the community are not separate, mutually exclusive, mutually antagonistic spheres - it is possible to have win-wins and even superior outcomes by paying due regard to all three.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) has its origins in 1851 as the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce; we have been around for 155 years and we have had to innovate to survive.

For example, we have had to transform from an industrial organisation to a broader services one as labour markets deregulated. The old 19th century capital/labour divide is also diminishing quickly, and the community overwhelmingly recognises the need for a healthy business sector. However, at the same time, the community expects a broader social and environmental focus from business and its leaders, so we are creating training and support programs to assist business improve in areas such as sustainable practices.

Two career aspects help me now in working to innovate more. The first is living through periods of change in a variety of places and roles - tourism, manufacturing, government and the private sector. I believe in cross-pollination of ideas, and the informed action which follows.

The second is the context of VECCI, the chief lobby group for business in Victoria. We must play a dual role across politics and business, across a wide range of business sectors and subjects. Such a position urges a constant search for new solutions and structures. So, what might be viewed as a whirlwind of potentially conflicting demands can also be seen as an ideal setting for innovative thinking. It's a question of perception. A new area of inquiry is being labelled social innovation - it addresses improved performance in areas such as government policy, health and safety. We are fortunate to be positioned in the middle of this cross current of ideas and opportunities.

- Wayne Kayler-Thomson, Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO DIGITAL SECURITY

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO DIGITAL SECURITY 

 

by Lionel Phang Leaders Speak

To be innovative in the digital security realm, you need to be able to predict the future. It requires a passion for safety and security to provide true technology which enhances safety with information exchange.

The only way this can be done is via collaboration with major network vendors like Cisco. Through collaborating and communicating with these vendors, we all understand the future developments that will be incorporated in networks and prepare for the security needs these developments will unveil.

When I look at my own family, my children have some of their access to the internet restricted. There are a lot of bad things on the internet and they need to be protected from them. However, if the constraints are too limiting, I also place them at a disadvantage in future life as there are many things they can learn and friends they can make with the abilities of a digital world.

Work and life are melding together and employers need to understand the benefits and risks this produces. With employees using their digital devices for personal as well as business use, they become exposed to the full complexity of risks that the digital world offers. At the same time, while employees are working longer hours thanks to the flexibility of technology, they are also opening their networks to all external risks.

The problem is that with the broad range of personal and commercial information collected these days, hackers are going to gain access to some of it via spyware. They won't let you know they are doing it and companies don't want to let anyone know it has been done on their network. Vulnerabilities will always happen to a certain degree, and this creates problems when this information is used for illegal purposes.

This brings me to my original point. The only solution for innovation in digital security is to have a passion for eradicating security problems. Everyone needs to be educated that there are problems and bad things within our digital world, just as there are in the natural world. If we all work together collecting information to provide solutions that minimise the impact of these security risks, then there will be more potential to benefit from what our digital world has to offer into the future.

- Lionel Phang, Vice President APAC Region, Trend Micro

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WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO PRIVATE BANKING

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS TO PRIVATE BANKING 

 

by Mark Ellis Leaders Speak

The importance of investment banking is going to diminish, while the focus on capturing wealth is going to increase. In Australia, while there has been significant growth in investment in superannuation, the private banking sector has remained largely undeveloped.

Generally, we identify customer requirements through a regular quality survey, and this helps design the right wealth tiers and products appropriate to those tiers. Right now, we have 10,000 clients but with a total market size of up to 160,000 private banking customers in Australia there is significant growth potential in the Australian market place.

Best practice in private banking is found offshore. We have learnt to emulate some of these practices by analysing our client base more deeply. For example, someone earning $250,000 a year has a significantly different wealth and investment profile and requirements compared with an individual who earns $2 million per annum. So it's all about understanding our customers better, understanding the various wealth profiles and creating the right investment vehicles for the different wealth tiers.

Similarly we have found that investor traits are affected by geography. Clients in Western Australia have significantly different investor requirements to clients in New South Wales or Victoria. Likewise, in Australia we find that our clients are different from private banking clients in the UK, where customers want everybody to know that they bank with a private
bank. In Australia, it's different. Customers want a Coutts standard of personal service without the extravagance. With this in mind, we have developed a private banking suite in Double Bay with a world class ratio of four bankers to 30 clients. The suite was created after comprehensive market research and focus groups, and it creates a significant point of difference for ANZ Private Bank from its competitors.

- Mark Ellis, CEO, ANZ Private Bank

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