Ladies and Gentlemen, Tuan-tuan, dan Puan-Puan yang dihormati, Assalamualaikum.
I have the honour of introducing for you today two distinguished gentlemen, Mr Mark Lankester who will be delivering today’s Keynote Luncheon Address; and Mr Brian Koh, who will be running the brief Q&A session after the Address. The topic of today’s Forum is Innovation … and the transformational effect Innovation has on the Enterprise.
So you may be wondering … why have we invited a Hotelier to talk to us today about Innovation? Maybe he’s here to talk to us about the Hotel 2.0? Or maybe about how the Internet has disintermediated the hospitality industry, how Hotels can harness the power of the Internet to sell direct to the end users? I mean … what was the last “sexy” innovation to come from the hospitality industry?
Well let me tell you. It is my humble opinion that Mr Lankester is second to none in this region, as an expert on the transformational effects of Innovation. After all … he has over 10 years of experience working in an industry that has been ravaged by the effects of disruptive technologies.
Any Guesses where he comes from? He comes from the Music industry.
Mr Lankester became the CEO of TuneHotels.com after a stint in the New Media industry from 2003 to 2009 and after holding a number of senior positions in Warner Music from 1992 to 2002, culminating in a 4-year appointment as the Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Publishing Asia in 1998 to 2002.
Mr Lankester is no stranger to the disruptive power of technology, having been at the helm of an Asia Pacific Music distribution operation right at the height of the popularity of the Napster file sharing network. To me, this would have been a time of great “Crisis” in the entertainment industry. Now … “Crisis” … that is an interesting word …
When written in Chinese, the word “Crisis” is composed of two characters.
One represents Danger, and the other represents Opportunity.
And most sane people I know run at the sight of danger. And usually in the other direction. With Mr Lankester he instead embraced the unknown and plunged full-throttle into the New Media industry, working to convert threats into opportunities and innovating to develop new business models to monetize entertainment assets in new digital portfolios.
During his time running Warner Music, Mr Lankester identified the need to package the “Old world” of CD’s and music albums and home video products with new technologies born of the Internet in order to create a competitive advantage in a difficult, changing and chaotic market place.
And it is perhaps this valuable trait of his … his tenacity to innovate in the face of disruptive technology … which I now turn to him for his insights as to how I can best harness innovation for the transformation of the Enterprises I lead, I advise and I have an effect on. Ladies & Gentlemen! Give it up please … for Mr Mark Lankester!
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