Ahmad AlGhamdi's Profile

Interesting read Michelle. I find the disruption to the porn industry to hold many parallels to the disruption in the media industry as a whole. The key difference being that the adult entertainment industry has done a very poor job in protecting it’s intellectual property when compared to the movie, news, and music industries. I’m not sure why that’s the case but it would be interesting to see if they take some lessons from their (better behaved) siblings.

Brave post Brian!

I think the Kodak case is quite interesting in that it shows how success can be fleeting in the absence of innovation. The innovation that was missing here was not simply converting to digital, rather looking at how to overhaul a very successful company’s business model. In hindsight, it’s easy to criticize Kodak’s decisions, but I’m not sure I would have done better (perhaps after we do the Kodak case I might!). Imagine telling someone in CocaCola that the future is in ice-cream? It would be a tough sell.

Thank you for the interesting read Alex! I can certainly relate with how the current price climate has put pressure on producers to find innovative ways to drive down costs. One unfortunate consequence of the cyclical nature of oil prices is that investors tend to shy away when prices are low. This can have a negative effect on these digitization efforts given the capital required to implement them. Nonetheless, the companies who do make those investments will be well positioned to reap the rewards once prices pick up again.

Thank you for addressing this very important topic Luke! I find the changes to the workplace that technology has introduced have had overwhelming results and I couldn’t agree more with your assertion regarding the importance of adapting new cultural norms that reflect today’s workplace. It is simply not enough to implement new technologies without taking a critical look at how they may have a negative impact on employees. An example from my previous workplace was how company cell phones were treated. Employees did everything they could to avoid getting a company phone since there was a (somewhat justified) perception that once you had one you were on call 24/7. This led to lower productivity, particularly on business trips as employees tried to avoid using their personal phones and had no alternative. Without the proper norms established, slack and other platforms could simply turn into “noise”.

Interesting article Corina! I find the concept quite innovative particularly in light of how the energy industry is looking more towards decentralizing power grids. It appears as if the Swiss market is showing an appetite to experiment with these new models, but my concern is whether, even if it proves successful in Switzerland, it is a representative sample that can be replicated in more energy intensive economies. With it’s small size and relatively low energy consumption (per capita) compared to GDP, Switzerland can afford such experiments and the underlying subsidies that they entail. Until a major energy consumer (think US, China, Germany) takes a bold step in this direction, I’m not sure it will gain traction (although I hope it does!)

Great article Adam! It seems to me that given the relatively small number of major players that dominate the global shipping industry, it would make sense to coordinate efforts in order to “help” draft new regulations in partnership with the relevant international bodies. I’m aware of similar efforts in the energy industry, do you know of any in the maritime industry?

Great article Kei! Fuel cell technology is a very interesting field that has witnessed many advances recently. How do you feel about the manufacturing process of fuel cell batteries? Do you think the technology is there to go mainstream or will typical batteries beat it to market?

Great post Piriya! Really interesting to see how the hospitality is taking on the challenge of sustainability. Do you know if they rank their hotels based on sustainability metrics? If they did they could impose an internal equivalent of a carbon credit that incentivized hotels to become more sustainable. Perhaps that could help hasten the process.

Great article Eunji! Very interesting to see the boundaries being pushed on how the agriculture industry can deploy technology to improve yields. Would also love to see how this can be used to help rural farmers in undeveloped areas. These places often have no network connections yet are vital in terms of the global agriculture industry.

Great piece Karan! It would be interesting to see if any analysis has been done that takes into account the anticipated global slowdown in energy demand. With efficiency measures and new price scenarios, would existing energy plays encounter utilization issues and perhaps affect the economics of new energy investments?