François Candelon
Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Director of the BCG Henderson Institute
Paris
Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Director of the BCG Henderson Institute
Paris
François Candelon joined Boston Consulting Group in 1993. He has worked in several European countries, led BCG’s global telecommunications work from 2008 to 2012, and spent seven years in China where he worked with the most advanced tech companies.
He is now located in Paris where he leads BCG Gamma’s AI@Scale effort for technology, media, and telecommunications companies and has served as global director of the BCG Henderson Institute since 2019.
His research is focused on AI and digital as a source of competitive advantage for businesses and national economies. His work has been published in several prestigious reviews (Harvard Business Review, MIT, and Sloane Management Review), and he has been a speaker in global conferences like TED, Web Summit, Global AI Summit, and Wuzhen Internet Conference. Most recently, he coauthored the 2020 BCG-MIT AI report on how organizations can expand financial impact with AI.
If companies are not willing to share their data, ecosystems die on the vine.
Consumer preferences are changing rapidly, outpacing companies’ traditional abilities to track and respond to trends. Data and AI can provide new eyes and ears.
Companies must use AI not only to cut costs but also to generate more revenue by improving forecasting and making decisions in real time.
To overcome climate inaction, we must understand the rationale for individuals’ behaviors, identify the groups that could change those behaviors, and work with those groups to transform the vicious cycle into a virtuous one.
To survive, and thrive, in the new reality, telecom companies must put artificial intelligence at the heart of their digital transformations.
Industrial players have no time to lose. They need to catch up in digital by committing to a dramatic transformation.
Its leaders must quickly implement policy reforms that will enable EU companies to deploy AI at scale.
For the large firms, working closely with the EU means avoiding a stalemate and gaining long-term competitive advantage.
Western governments planning for the economic rebound should look to the East. Businesses will need to both support government actions and enhance trust for employees, customers, and value chain partners.
Mitigating climate change will require a way to scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for good. A few companies have the right incentives to launch that effort today.
The complexity of this crisis can be paralyzing. But by approaching it methodically and with data, companies can act decisively as the business landscape evolves.
Shifts in global supply chains, changing consumption patterns, and the increasing prevalence of remote ways of working—trends that were underway long before the COVID-19 crisis—will accelerate. AI can help companies thrive in this new environment.