We asked Marius Jundulas, the CEO of the Gjensidige insurance company in the Baltics and a former participant of BMI’s Innovation & Digital Transformation (IDT) programme, what digital transformation challenges his company faces and why it is worthwhile getting a better grasp of this ever-changing area.
Why did you decide to deepen your knowledge in the field of digital transformation and innovation? And what led you to choose the Innovation & Digital Transformation programme at BMI?
As the CEO of Gjensidige in the Baltics, I’m responsible for the company’s strategy. Digital transformation has been a top priority for us for several years now. In recent years, the insurance industry has moved significantly towards digital services, but traditional ways to serve clients still prevail. BMI’s Innovation & Digital Transformation programme offers professionals a quick and concentrated workshop-style opportunity to find answers in a structured way.
Did you have specific challenges that you hoped new knowledge from the IDT programme would help you resolve?
Long-standing companies often start going digital by replicating conventional products and processes in a digital environment. But they soon realize there’s a need to simultaneously develop new technology, employee competences and even a new corporate culture. We have been developing digital solutions for our clients for a long time. Nevertheless, we are only now at the point of breakthrough and gaining a scale. For managers, it’s always a challenge to decide where and how to invest resources in the optimal way. The Innovation & Digital Transformation programme inspired me to make changes in the organizational setup to support not only the development of technology but also collaboration between people in an agile way.
Have you been able to apply the knowledge gained during the programme in practice?
One of the “eureka” moments for me in the programme was understanding the concept of digital offerings. Now digital offerings are listed among the initiatives of our internal digital transformation project.
Why would you recommend the Innovations & Digital Transformation programme?
This programme is a good opportunity to meet professionals from different industries and find answers to practical questions raised within your own digital transformation journey.
Digital transformation in a company – what is that, in your opinion? What are the most important digital transformation processes and goals in your company right now?
“Gjensidige” provides insurance services in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for more than 500,000 private and commercial clients via agents, brokers, partners and digital channels. One of the key challenges is to ensure superior client experience by using a variety of traditional and digital channels.
What do you think are the most common digital transformation challenges that companies are currently facing?
Digital transformation usually requires a systematic and project-driven approach. In addition, it creates a need for data management and analytical skills in the different parts of an organization. You can buy technology. But if you need to create a digitally driven culture in the organization, you have to develop professionals in the digital area. I believe this is the main challenge companies are facing today.
