Graziadio Hosts Digital Innovation Conference
If the 2013 Digital Innovation @ Pepperdine Conference and introduction of the Digital Innovation and Information Systems (DIIS) MBA concentration in fall 2013 are any indication, Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management is at the forefront of how technology is revolutionizing the way that business is conducted. Sponsored by Internap, the Digital Innovation @ Pepperdine Conference featured chief information officers and executives from organizations such as SpaceX, Data.gov, Disney, Sears, and Medavie Blue Cross.
Venky Kulkarni, chief information officer and vice president of digital health at Medavie Blue Cross of Canada, defined digital innovation as technology-enabled innovations that drive change and create new business opportunities, resulting in a ripple effect that forces companies to innovate.
Leading innovation with respect to the customer experience, Disney has plans to implement brightly-colored digital wristbands that give customers instant access to places such as Disneyland and their hotel rooms, according to vice president of global business technology strategy at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Allen Fazio. Fazio also unveiled a new tool that enables users to create a custom plastic action figure of themselves as their favorite Disney character.
Digital innovation has even permeated government initiatives. Jeanne Holm, the United States White House evangelist, outlined the federal government’s plan to make all non-classified data available to the public through Data.gov. Through the release of even the most esoteric and mundane information, Holm explained that Data.gov has the power to help people make better decisions in business and in their lives.
Not to be outdone, several Graziadio School alumni also spoke, urging business students to reexamine their goals and translate theories of digital innovation into practice to create new opportunities. Graziadio School alumni presenters included: Sashi Edupuganti, director of software solutions at NBCUniversal; Brooke Aguilar, vice president of global business development at Fluid, Inc.; Ted Hooten, senior sales leader at Internap; and Pandora Ovanessian, former vice president of management information systems at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
