Çalık Holding Chairman Ahmet Çalık shared his views on digital transformation at the “125 Years In the Light of Change” meeting on occasion of General Electric’s (GE) 125th anniversary in the world and 70th anniversary in Turkey, which the Holding has enjoyed a long-standing and close relations.
The digital transformation experienced in industries and companies as well as the economic-cultural effects of this transformation were addressed at the meeting hosted by Canan Özsoy, President and CEO of GE Turkey. In addition to the panel entitled “Inspirers of Digital Transformation in Turkey”, where Ahmet Çalık gave a speech, presentations were also made by Sabancı University Finance Chair President Prof. Özgür Demirtaş titled “Technology, Economy, Future and You” and by CNN Türk Program Producer Emin Çapa titled “From Banana Age to the Digital Age.”
In his speech, Çalık Holding Chairman Ahmet Çalık said: “Globally, Digital transformation tops the agendas of all companies. The best companies combine their digital activities with their strong leadership to achieve technological transformation. The global economy is expected to raise by USD 2 trillion in additional growth over the next three years in the event that the digital competencies and technologies are utilized properly. Digital transformation may provide significant opportunities in the areas which the Turkish economy has sought to resolve for many years.”
Citing examples from the Holding’s practices, Ahmet Çalık underlined that by digitalization changing, they not only meant using next generation information technologies but also altering and transforming their models of doing business, and continued: “We consider digitalization an important opportunity to become competitive in the transforming world, and to move our Group companies to the forefront in this process. That’s why we established Çalık Dijital together with GE Digital. Together with Çalık Dijital, we are creating a structure that will better understand our businesses, keep process, culture and human factors ahead, and add technology to these areas with its vertical industry know-how. Çalık Dijital will focus on our companies’ digital transformation while opening to the global market. It will be our top initiative in 2018. I see a tremendously good period coming for our country, the world, and humanity.” Emphasizing on the necessity of strong leadership and vision to manage digital transformation, Ahmet Çalık said: “How fortunate we are to have a very strong partner that enables us to reach our target.”