The COO Exchange: Bridging the gap between IT industry and business academia

As post-COVID reality dawns on the world, employers are on a continuous pursuit of resources with specialized skills, which can help them keep abreast with the accelerated pace of digital transformation. To comprehend the magnitude of the digital future, there is a dire need to bridge the gap between the IT industry and business academia.

To get on the road, Asif Akram, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Systems Limited will be initiating a dialogue through a web series called “The COO Exchange”. It will be a discussion between two C-level executives revolving around a particular topic and answers to questions raised by students.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2021, Asif Akram and Ghazanfar Ali, Country General Manager for IBM Pakistan & Afghanistan, went live from Systems Engineering Garage at our Lahore campus. They initiated an insightful and thought-provoking conversation around Change Management and its impact during COVID-19.

The session kick-started with Mr. Akram and Mr. Ali sharing their thoughts on this rapid change brought onto us by COVID. Mr. Ali then applauded the recent wins of Systems and the company as a proud partner of IBM. They talked about how COVID was a strong force behind rapid digital transformation, as what would have taken a couple of years to happen, happened in a couple of months due to COVID.

The world that recent graduates and fresh employers are stepping into is fundamentally different. Change is rapid, and the environment is unpredictable; the key is to be adaptive, flexible, and resilient if you want to rise above the challenges.

When asked about work-life balance, Mr. Ali pointed out the conversation has shifted to work-life integration now. As an answer to another insightful question, he further stated, companies are redesigning their office spaces, and adopting tools and technologies that enable employee connectivity and boost productivity.

Mr. Akram and Mr. Ali agreed that we must prepare for a world that is constantly evolving but as long as people – especially fresh graduates, aspiring leaders, and technical experts – are driven by their motivation, adapting and absorbing change is not an obstacle.

In the end, Mr. Akram shared that Systems Limited’s export grew by 40%, which is a testament to endless opportunities in the Pakistani IT industry. This session was nothing short of a cross-over between thought leaders behind progressive business strategies in these uncertain times and brilliant minds of academia who are aspiring to understand the tech industry better.

To know more about Change Management and its impact during COVID- 19, watch the entire session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsZIaSBu3w&t=27s&ab_channel=SystemsLimited