On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .
. . . GET TO KNOW . . .
Olivier Croly , Senior Vice President , Barco APAC
wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?
It ’ s going to show my age ! I started my career in GE ’ s IT department . Back in the early 1990s , they announced plans to deploy a global email platform , so their 20,000 employees could communicate freely and transparently . I was 27 and they put me in charge of it . We ’ re talking pre-Internet , so we had to build our own TCP / IP network , including in developing countries like China , and all in under two years . Pulling that off was quite a stretch and it really piqued my interest in the transformational power of technology .
What first made you think of a career in technology ?
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
As a leader , you have to be forward thinking , anticipating what ’ s going to happen in the world and being strategic about where you focus your efforts . I strive to communicate my strategy effectively to the team , so everyone ’ s aligned . Execution is also critical and to do it well you need a performance culture . Some people might say I ’ m demanding but it ’ s always with a clear goal . It ’ s a lot of fun when everyone is committed and working collaboratively .
What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?
Like many people of my vintage , I came to it by chance , rather than design . I studied business at university but ended up doing some telecoms and IT subjects . That led to a job in ICT . In those early days , I did a little coding but it didn ’ t excite me . What did excite me was seeing how ICT could be applied to business problems , and matching use cases with the optimum technologies . Back then , awareness of the industry was very low – not many people had the idea it could offer good jobs and a great career .
Historically , the audio-visual industry was focused on enabling great experiences for people who were
Back then , awareness of the industry was very low – not many people had the idea it could offer good jobs and a great career .
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