Episode 3: Fusion Strategy and the Industrial Future with Venkat Venkatraman

How can asset-heavy industries reinvent themselves in the age of AI and real-time data?

In this episode of Transformation 2.0®, we welcome back Professor Venkat Venkatraman to dive into his latest work, Fusion Strategy - a practical framework for navigating digital transformation in traditional, physical industries.

Co-authored with Vijay Govindarajan, Fusion Strategy explores how companies can integrate digital and physical capabilities to unlock new value, rethink competitive advantage, and reshape their industries from the inside out.

From manufacturing to healthcare to logistics, the message is clear: digital transformation isn’t just for tech companies. It’s for every business with a physical footprint and a future to protect.

Whether you're in operations, strategy, or innovation leadership, this episode will help you understand what it takes to thrive in a fusion-driven world.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Traditional companies must shift from product portfolios to capability ecosystems

✅ Winning in the future means fusing physical assets with digital intelligence

✅ AI, sensors, and real-time data are reshaping the scale, scope, and speed for every business

✅ Transformation happens in three zones: automation, augmentation, and amplification

Resources & Links:

🔗 Learn more about the work we do at Anthosa: https://www.anthosa.com 

🔗 Get Venkat’s book Fusion Startegy 

🔗 Connect with Venkat Venkataraman on LinkedIn

About Our Guest:

Venkat Venkatraman is Professor Emeritus of Information Systems and an acclaimed authority on digital transformation and business strategy. With a distinguished academic career spanning over three decades, Venkat has deeply explored how established companies adapt to disruptive digital technologies.

Venkat earned his Bachelor of Technology from IIT, followed by an MBA, and completed his PhD in Strategic Management in Information Systems at the University of Pittsburgh. His academic journey included roles as an Associate Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a notable 30-year tenure at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business as the David J. McGrath Jr. Professor of Management.

His groundbreaking insights, first presented in his influential 2016 book, The Digital Matrix: New Rules for Business Transformation Through Technology, are now evolving further in a forthcoming book focusing specifically on digital transformation in asset-heavy, information-rich industries such as automotive, logistics, healthcare, and agriculture.

He has co-authored another influential book, Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future, alongside renowned strategist Vijay Govindarajan. Venkat continues to shape the conversation around digital strategy, guiding business leaders through the complexities of digital disruption.

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