San Francisco 2006
The 2006 seminar was a turning point — not just professionally, but also personally. It was about people, technology, and culture, and how everything is connected. It was the first time I understood how deeply digitalization is affecting the way we think — not just the subject itself, but our lives. Not just a place, like San Francisco, but a "place of mind." Presence.
Day 1
The first day focused on understanding why Silicon Valley became the world’s leading innovation ecosystem. The lecturers provided insight into how collaboration between academia, entrepreneurs and investors created a culture of sharing knowledge and learning from failure. It was the day when theory met practice – and innovation gained a human face.
Day 2
The second day in San Francisco showed us how technology and insight are interconnected. This was where we truly began to see the emergence of data-driven innovation – long before terms such as “AI” and “digital twin” became part of everyday language.
Lecturers from IBM, Oracle and the Institute for the Future discussed the relationship between customers, culture and systems. For me, it was a reminder that technology never stands alone – it only works when people share knowledge and trust.
Day 3
The third day focused on open innovation and entrepreneurship. Henry Chesbrough showed how collaboration across companies creates faster development. Jerome Engel pointed out the importance of interdisciplinary teams, while Erik Willums highlighted how capital can actively contribute to growth. It was the day theory became method.
Day 4
The penultimate day explored how technology, data and customer experience come together in modern commerce.
Craig Stevenson from IBM showed how seamless customer journeys and shared data create competitive advantage, while Dr Kirthi Kalyanam described the growth of e-commerce and “The Long Tail” effect. It was the day when digital strategy became customer strategy.
Day 5
The final day brought the threads together with Professor Florian Zettelmeyer from UC Berkeley. He showed how data and customer insight are transforming marketing from communication into strategy. The concept of information-intensive marketing described the emergence of today’s data economy – where insight, rather than intuition, drives innovation.
Summary
Some seminars become just subjects. Others become a turning point. San Francisco 2006 was both.
Over five days, we saw how technology, people and culture merge into a driving force for innovation. Here, innovation was not about ideas alone, but about interaction – between people, knowledge and trust. It was not just a place, but a "place of mind".
