ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When the three of us met for the first time in 2010, writing a book was not on our agenda. What happened, however, was a meeting of minds. All three of us had a passionate belief that new forms of digital innovation—mobile devices, analytics, embedded devices, and social media—were going to be a big deal for business and management innovation. We three believed that beyond the companies that do technology for a living, there must be large corporations around the globe doing exciting things with digital technology and getting impressive business benefits from it. But no one was talking about these companies. So we set out to look for them, research them, and engage with their leadership teams. As we shared our findings with senior executives around the world, their enthusiasm and feedback convinced us that we needed to write a book about digital transformation.

A book of this nature is always a collective endeavor. In this particular instance, it became a truly global operation. Acknowledging the many people who contributed to Leading Digital is a tall order. We’ll never be able to name all the individuals who gave their time and insights to make this book possible. However, you all deserve credit, and we are forever indebted to you all.

Some individuals deserve a special mention. Capgemini CEO Paul Hermelin was a source of constant encouragement and challenge on the impact of technology on business innovation. Claire Calmejane, Maël Tannou, and Mike Welch each spent a year to help with the research that led to this book: Claire with initial interviews and framework development, Maël with survey research and deeper dives on key ideas, Mike with another survey and keeping us on track as we wrote the book’s first draft. Nick Carrier managed the process of finalizing the book through revisions, editing, and permissions. Patrick Ferraris, Frank MacCrory, and Jerome Buvat from Capgemini Consulting, and Gregory Gimpel and Deborah Soule from the MIT Center for Digital Business, provided great inputs and contributions throughout.

Xavier Hochet, CEO of Capgemini Consulting, and Pierre-Yves Cros, Group Development Director at Capgemini, not only provided financial support for the research but also gave freely of their time and ideas to make it better. Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, made this joint research project possible. David Verrill, the center’s Executive Director, provided constant encouragement and Zen-like management throughout our efforts.

We owe immense gratitude to all the vice presidents and consultants at Capgemini Consulting who shared their insights and who connected us with their clients to test ideas. Thanks to Marc Burger, Adam Gerstein, Imke Keicher, Stephan Paolini, and Barbara Spitzer for many fruitful conversations about the people side of digital transformation, and to Scott Clarke, Jeff Hunter, and Ravouth Keuky for sharing their expertise on digital strategy and customer experience. Michiel Boreel, Lanny Cohen, Philippe Grangeon, Pierre Hessler, Bob Scott, Olivier Sevilla, Simon Short, Ron Tolido, and Ken Toombs read early drafts of the book and provided valuable suggestions.

We are grateful also to Michael Fitzgerald, David Kiron, and Martha Mangelsdorf of MIT Sloan Management Review for partnering in a survey, publishing their own cases and interviews, and volunteering for many conversations about the topic. Thanks also to executives Kamal Bherwani, Katrina Lane, and Jean-Pierre Remy, who made time for frequent exchanges about the digital transformations they were leading.

Our book agent, Carol Franco, helped us translate our original ideas into a clear narrative, connected us with an amazing publisher in Harvard Business Review Press, and offered constant encouragement when the going got tough. Anahid Basmajian and Justin Lockenwitz worked their magic to coordinate the go-to-market plan for the book.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the great team at the Press. Thanks to Jeff Kehoe, our senior editor, for trusting us in the first place and for being a great partner and mentor throughout. Thanks to four anonymous reviewers who not only encouraged the publication of this book, but also provided helpful feedback to improve the content. We are also indebted to Sally Ashworth, Liz Baldwin, Erin Brown, Julie Devoll, Stephani Finks, Erica Truxler, Sarah Weaver, Tracy Williams, and the many others at the Press who edited, produced, and marketed our work.

Beyond the individual acknowledgements, we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the myriad global business leaders who shared their experiences (good or bad) of conducting digital transformation and who were tolerant of our constant questioning. Some were Digital Masters, and others were just starting their journeys, but all contributed deeply to making this book possible. You are the real heroes of digital transformation. We are grateful to you for showing us the way, and we wish you great success as you navigate your journeys.