The DNA of Success

"People say that relationships don’t matter in business anymore, I am here to tell you they do.”

On the 31^st of October, I had the privilege of being a panelist at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. This year’s theme was “The World Reboots.” My panel: The DNA of Success. During our discussion, I laid out the two consistent themes I see emerging for Dawn and our future – the increasing value of insights and how relationships are still vital to business success.

 

We are seeing businesses transform at a lightening pace. Throughout the two-day conference the world’s leading CEOs consistently spoke of business transformation, global collaboration and the ongoing technology innovations needed to stay ahead of the competition. While disruption is nothing new in business, the speed of change that we are seeing is unprecedented.

In its nearly 100-year history, Dawn has undergone multiple transformations. From donut shop to ingredient manufacturer and now manufacturer and distributor, we have evolved to stay competitive and maintain differentiation in the market.  We are once again going through a period of transformation, as are the people and businesses we work with.

While we have long placed a premium on insights and data, its value has never been so important. At Dawn, we are proud of the partnerships we have with our customers, leveraging that knowledge to ensure we deliver the products and services that ensures their success. Our future is reliant on us building on this knowledge, investing in collecting new insights that ensure we can continue to innovate and be the very best partner. Digital platforms are going to play an ever more vital role in collating and analyzing this information and, in alignment with our expertise in the bakery industry, will position us for long-term success.

While the future of AI, machine learning and mass data is exciting, at Dawn we never underestimate the role of relationships. For almost a century, Dawn has built unparalleled relationships in the bakery industry. We know that understanding and working collaboratively with our customers is vital to our success. Personal connections, despite rapid digitalization, is still a hugely valuable touchpoint and we are going to continue to invest in our people to ensure we have the very best in the industry.  Every Team Member is a representation of our brand and each positive engagement with a customer drives their choice to work with us.

Throughout the Forbes Global CEO Conference, the tone was positive. CEOs from around the world have an optimistic outlook and see significant opportunities for businesses like ours to thrive in the transforming global environment. I too am optimistic about the future of Dawn and its key role in Inspiring Bakery Success.