October 16, 2024 • 26 mins
Discover how IBM and KPMG are rewriting the rules of business partnerships with the power of trust and technology. Join us as we sit down with Mark Fitzgerald from KPMG and Mani Dasgupta of IBM from the Harvard Club of New York. Together, we unpack their groundbreaking collaborative efforts during pivotal global events like the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. Through their unique blend of IBM's technological prowess and KPMG's regulatory acumen, they are setting a new standard for addressing today's pressing challenges, from navigating complex regulations to pioneering environmental sustainability.
Unveil the potential of "coopetition" as these industry giants reveal how competitive and cooperative strategies can harmonize to create unprecedented value. We'll explore how AI and technology are revolutionizing business transformation and sustainability, exemplified by IBM's Turbonomic software that redefines energy efficiency in data centers. Our enlightening discussion also highlights the essential role of private sector alliances in global sustainability efforts and how embracing diverse perspectives can drive meaningful change. Be inspired by Mark and Mani's vision of a collaborative future where businesses lead the charge toward sustainable innovation and growth.
#ideagenglobal #globalpartnerships #IBM #KPMG
Mani's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manidg/
Mark's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fitzgerald-3aa30b8/
Learn more about IBM Strategic Partnerships here: https://www.ibm.com/strategic-partnerships
Learn more about KPMG International Development Assistance Services here: https://kpmg.com/xx/en/what-we-do/industries/government/international-development-assistance-services-idas.html
Watch the entire Global Partnerships Summit here: https://www.ideagenglobal.com/2024-global-partnerships-summit
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the IdeaGen Global Partnership
Summit.
Live at the Harvard Club of NewYork on the sidelines of UNGA
and Climate Week.
I am deeply honored to havewith me today Mark Fitzgerald
from KPMG.
Mark welcome, thank you, alwaysa pleasure, always a pleasure.
And Mani Desgupta from IBM,again incredibly honored to have
(00:34):
you here with us.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Thanks, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
You know, both of these folks have a storied
career, and I could go on and onabout their careers, but I'd
like to start by asking Mark andMani tell us a little bit about
where you've come from andwhere you're going.
How have you landed here,please?
In this case at IBM.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Great, happy to.
So I'm VP of AdvisoryPartnerships at IBM.
I manage our 360 relationshipwith the big four strategy
consulting, tax and audit firmsglobally.
You know it's very excitingwhen you're doing sell to and
you're doing sell through.
It's mundane.
But when you do sell with whichis truly partnering and getting
(01:15):
beyond the rivalries andgetting into a fluid, open
ecosystem approach, I thinkthat's very rewarding and
exciting to be working on thisone with Mark.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Thank you, mark Fitzgerald.
I'm the global lead partner forKPMG to the United Nations,
hence my focus on Ongo Week andright throughout the year.
I also work with all thedevelopment banks, the World
Bank being the biggest andprominent one.
I also lead all our non-profitpractices around the world, so
(01:48):
my focus within the firm isalways purpose-led, not
profit-led, and the only way wecan do that is attach ourselves
to the mission, to thosepurpose-led objectives of our
clients, and do so inpartnerships with entities and
companies like IBM.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Fantastic and so inspiring to hear about your
backgrounds and what you'redoing, and certainly your
purviews.
Now, what is it that'shappening between this
partnership with KPMG and IBM?
What is it that makes it sopowerful?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
and IBM.
What is it that makes it sopowerful?
You know we both are 100 plusyears.
You're probably 150.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Wait 150 years 125.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
125, 110 plus.
And so you know, between thetwo companies there's a long
legacy of trusted relationshipswith our clients.
We are very complementary.
So the good thing is thesimilarities on the trust, the
brand that both of the companiescommand with our clients.
But there are complementarycapabilities.
(02:55):
Ibm's technology, ibm'sresearch, KPMG's audit, tax, the
regulatory reporting,understanding the dynamics
behind the companies and IBM'splatform engineering kind of
come together, then it's magic.
So if you see, it's like end toend and I'm sure Mark is going
(03:16):
to talk a little bit more aboutthat but if we can truly
understand the dynamics of alarge global organization, what
goes into it from a processstandpoint, from a regulatory
standpoint, and advise it on howto work better, smarter with
technology, less footprint onthe environment, figuring out
(03:38):
how to do more with less andlead to profits, it's a
win-win-win for all.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
That was pitch perfect, so I'm not going to
repeat that.
Let me zoom out, though, andput things into context for this
week, george, you've alreadymentioned, there's about
700-plus events around UNGA,we've got Summit of the Future,
we've got the World EconomicForum here, we have Gold's House
, we have Climate Week.
There's a variety of things allhappening in New York this week
(04:06):
, but I want to pick up on acouple of key themes that I have
kind of heard myself that willreally tie in what we've just
heard in terms of how our twocompanies work with each other.
So, if you take SDG 17, whichliterally is focused on
partnerships, there are twoelements within SDG 17, data and
technology.
There are many others, but Iwant to highlight on those two.
(04:27):
First, one of the key themesthis week is all about the
impact maybe good, maybe not,maybe perilous, maybe not around
AI.
This is clearly an area thatKPMG and IBM work closely on.
We're both heavily invested, as, indeed, most companies of our
nature are.
The issue that I'm picking up,though, as a theme this week is
(04:53):
not so much trying to createbarriers for what it could
potentially do as apparel, buthow do we create an opportunity
whilst also concurrently dealingwith those clear issues.
A couple of issues that we haveto be very clear about.
One AI will only really presentthe rewards and the positivity
(05:15):
and benefits if you have data touse of scale.
To create that data at scale,you're going to create a carbon
footprint that is multiples ofwhat we see today.
So you cannot create the datacenters without also having a
concurrent conversation aroundgeneration of electricity.
So we should just put that outthere and be pragmatic.
(05:36):
It's not one or the other, it'sboth at the same time.
So where we can come in isadvise our clients and very
often our clients both identifyas an energy company or a data
center company and how they usetools like Watson, et cetera, to
make that a more efficientproposition.
How you look at it in terms ofthe baseline insights that you
(05:58):
can provide, in my case, togovernments, that's where you
can start to generate the powerof AI.
That's what I'm hearing mostlyfrom world leaders this week.
So you've got to have both.
You can't just sugarcoat thepositivity without understanding
the challenges.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And just to give an example of how it could be done,
which is a very pragmatic,simple to understand for
everybody.
So you talked about datacenters.
The amount of power that isconsumed by our data centers is
just enormous, right?
And everybody says, hey, go tocloud.
The cloud runs on someone'sdata center somewhere, right?
So now you're looking at all ofthis technology and
(06:36):
infrastructure and the thingsthat are required to keep it
running.
There are stuff that doesn'tneed to run at all points of
time.
Ibm has a software calledTurbonomic that can go in and
find these zombie servers thatdon't need to be running and
shut them off.
How simple is that?
To just switch it off and savesome power, right?
So very simple, very pragmatic,but technology can actually
(07:00):
overcome a lot of the challengesthat companies are facing and
save them some money in the endof the year.
You're saving power, you'resaving money.
It's a win-win.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
So you're going to have practical solutions like
that to generate the power,create the data.
Then you put the tools on topto get the insights.
Let me give you a quick exampleof something that kind of
really was noteworthy.
I was in an event yesterday andthe New York Commissioner for
Health was presenting and hesaid a child today who was born
(07:30):
in the Upper East Side has alife expectancy of 11 years.
More than fill in the blank.
You're probably going to go toan emerging market no,
brownsville in New York City 11year gap today.
So his premise was how can wecreate more timely, more
(07:51):
targeted insights using AI in away that will promote the
partnership of all the actors inthis case, healthcare to work
better so they use more of whatthey have in a more efficient
way?
So most of our clients reflectthat, so they come to us to be
able to provide those basicinsights to start with, but then
(08:12):
the use of those insightsbecome the critical output and
that's where we partner together.
At the moment, we have about300 projects active in 24
countries across all sectors.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Wow, 300 plus projects.
That's incredible.
You hit on a personal issuethat I like to talk about with
colleagues, friends, which iswhat you just alluded to, which
is how can one person in a zipcode literally right next to you
(08:46):
have such a different lifeexpectancy?
And if you're all working tosolve toward that and AI can
help or whatever, it's a hugeway for us to move forward to
change the world right.
I mean, that's a massive.
I mean, when you think about 11years, I mean just to use that
example, it's startling, I think, for everyone that's either
(09:08):
watching this program on TV orin person, to think about the
direct disparities right there.
And it's just a luck of thedraw, you were born into that
zip code, so maybe you won'thave access to the resources
that the person in the other zipcode now has or area.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
We have a common client in that industry, in that
sector, and through the use ofAI, we've identified that those
impacts in terms of somebody'shealth is 80% influenced by
their environment and socialkind of surrounding and
background.
Only 10 to 20% is impacted bytheir access to healthcare
(09:51):
services, which is quitestartling.
You would think it would be theother way around, and that's in
a US context.
Nevermind when you go intoemerging markets.
So that's in a US context,never mind when you go into
emerging markets.
So that's what we work ontogether in terms of how we
complement each other in termsof social issues, sustainability
issues and then obviouslyrelated to each individual
sector.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Technology is a great leveler, and I have a
15-year-old back home and I tellher this it doesn't matter how
tall you are, how strong you are, what you have in terms of
technology or machines, Even ifyou go back one level down,
empowering you beyond what youcan do today is just huge.
(10:34):
And so use technology, use itto the right benefit and use it
to take these disparities out.
If you think of how theheadwinds that we are seeing
today I mean look at thegeopolitical issues, look at the
inflation, the rise ininflation, and companies like
ours, which are public companies, are expected to perform in the
(10:54):
market every single day.
This is the last week ofSeptember.
It's quarter close for us,Right?
And so that's top of mind forme right now, and I'm thinking
how can we use technology towork better, work smarter and to
make the lives of people better?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Moving on.
I think the other thing that weconnect with a lot is that we
have common teams doing commonprojects, and I think everyone
has noted this last couple ofweeks.
Amazon, for example, have nowmandated go back five days a
week into the office, I thinkfrom the 1st of January.
We've just launched an IBMwe're part of this survey, a CEO
(11:33):
outlook that we've run since2015.
And part of that, there wasfive top themes that came
through.
One of them was our own talentand future work, and this is
where we collaborate a lotbecause we see it in our own
workforces.
We have 270 000 people.
There are multiple hundreds ofthousands as well, all around
the world.
What is the best answer, notonly for our own people but for
(11:56):
our clients using technology?
And this is where there hasbeen a bit of caution about the
impact of AI, but interestingly,ceos have said about 70% of
them do not feel it's going tolead to redundancies.
92% of CEOs feel they're goingto actually increase their
workforce in the next threeyears.
(12:17):
So that kind of jars againstwhat we're hearing in the public
domain.
But when you look at the detail, it's about the skill and the
competency and the focus of thatworkforce.
That's where it gets into thenuance.
But it's a changing and dynamicarea.
We feel it ourselves with ourown teams.
(12:39):
But the answer is in there.
We just haven't teased it outexactly yet.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Well, and I think that's where this partnership is
.
So I want to applaud you bothfor being able to describe the
intersect of where you all aremaking a difference, and then
for me, I mean, it's beyondenlightening to think about the
implications of that, not onlyfor your workforce respectively,
but also for the communitieswhere you actually are having
(13:09):
that giant impact across theworld.
And that's what this is as well.
This is a global partnership.
It is this isn't a localpartnership.
This is the example, and what Ialso find, you know, really
just fascinating is the brands,the length.
You know, that reputationalelement here, where it's like OK
(13:33):
, ibm has been around for howmany years?
Again, one hundred, so, andKPMG, you know, you've got
centuries of experience andtrust that have been built up
over time, and I think you canonly change the world, whether
(13:53):
it's me and one other person, orme and an organization, if
there is trust.
That's the essential element tothis.
And how do you build trust?
Do you build it online or doyou build it by doing what we're
doing today, by having aconversation?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Let me give you a quick example and I got to focus
on the UN, given the week thatwe're in.
If you are a UN entity that isresponsible for responding to
humanitarian disasters, forexample one, you need to know
where the disaster happened, butyou also need to know what
population was impacted.
(14:31):
Five years ago, we would nothave been able to look at a data
set and be fully accuratearound the displacement of
people in a certain location dayby day, by day.
We can do that now.
Obviously, there's picturescoming down from satellites
every day and those are updateddaily.
But the use of AI and we have acommon client that does this
looks at the analytics of thatdata and looks at what maybe the
(14:55):
land registries say there are10,000 people in this location,
but when you look at the pictureand you apply generative AI on
top, there are 25,000 people inthat location because they're
unsettled or they have temporaryaccommodation, et cetera.
So that's your real answer.
If you're a UN agency trying toidentify your supply chain
(15:16):
logistics for disaster response,your supply chain logistics for
disaster response, that's whereit can be trusted to be more
responsive and more accurate.
So we give them the insights.
They then implement.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Human beings are inherently, our base instinct is
to trust.
When you're sharing something,or you're going to a bank, or
you're just withdrawing moneyfrom an ATM and you're on the
street, you know our lives aredependent on trust, or the
ability to trust, and you know,when we see companies like IBM
(15:51):
and KPMG work together,sometimes you may think, oh, is
it competitive, is it?
It is coopetition that is thenew term.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
We're competitive people.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
We are profit-making organizations literally.
But there is so much more valueto be had if you can just learn
to work together, if you canjust figure out what's the joint
value proposition.
Where are these complementarycapabilities?
Of course, we can be adultsabout it and say, okay, there
(16:24):
are a couple of areas where weboth would like to work, that's
fine, but there are many moreareas where we could collaborate
to create better value.
So to your question around trustit doesn't get built in the
first day, but we're inherently,we'd like to be trusted and
trust.
And so when you work day to dayand when you have the longevity
(16:45):
that these two companies haveof having the experience of
working together, it buildstrust and it strengthens the
foundations even more.
So that, to us, has been likeit's a day to day, it's a
marriage.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
You've got to wake up and you know make it work every
single day you've got to wakeup and, and you know, make it
work every single day.
So I heard a nice quote theother day that for us to achieve
progression with the sdgs wehave to have a bias towards
optimism, and I feel that in ourcollaboration, our partnership,
the opposite is, of course,having a bias to putting up
(17:16):
barriers, being risk averse, toa point where you do not do
anything right.
And that's the last thing Iwould probably highlight that
I've heard this week is yes,there are so many significant
challenges right across theglobe, across all sectors.
They're impacting allindividuals.
We know that.
Give us the solutions.
(17:37):
How are we going to make someprogress to mitigate those
issues going forward?
And that's why partnerships areso strong, so powerful and so
needed right across the spectrumof collaboration.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Well, let me remind everyone that the United Nations
came together in 2015 andunanimously agreed to these 17
global goals.
They've now agreed to the pactfor the future.
It's a step toward the futuregoals, whatever those are going
to look like, and there'soptimism, and I think what you
(18:12):
came up with, mark, what you'vejust coined which is your
euphemism for changing the world, a bias towards changing the
world ultimately right, a biastoward optimism, and this is
what this partnership is.
And so is there an example of apartnership that's gone beyond
(18:35):
your partnership, in other words, something that's emanated out
of it that you could highlight.
I know, mani, you work withthis every day, but there are so
many 300 plus.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
There are many, many, so I'll give you some examples
to help illustrate the point.
When we work together, what wehave seen is often we are able
to see a new product is beinglaunched by a client in the
market.
It could be a consumer goodsproduct, it could be a banking
and financial services kind ofan institution that is reaching
(19:06):
out to consumers daily.
When companies like ours worktogether, we are able to
decrease the time to market forthat particular successful
product launch.
Sometimes we are able tode-risk the transformation
journey.
So many a times you have astrategy and you think about it,
you put it on PowerPoint andthen, when you have the
(19:26):
technology implementation, thereis a big chasm between the two
and often your vision doesn'treally get translated into a
day-to-day outcomes, aday-to-day how you're working.
That is what this kind of apartnership solves the
translation between yourstrategy to action, to how
(19:47):
quickly you can get yourconsumers and to how quickly you
can realize that that bottomline impact is what our
partnership is able to do.
So we talked a little bit aboutsustainability.
There are many projects that weare working around trusted AI,
around AI governance.
Again, when you talk about AI,like Mark talked about, there
(20:07):
are some risks to it, but thereare ways to mitigate those risks
.
So if your AI wants to solveevery problem in the world in
one software it is usuallypretty, you know gives into
hallucinations and things likethat.
However, if your models aretrained for a particular
business outcome they arepre-trained.
(20:29):
They, you know the parametersthat you're feeding into the
models are actually towardssolving a writing code or, you
know, making your supply chainsrun, run better.
So when you do that kind oftraining, it is much more
accurate, it is way moreimpactful and it's way faster.
So I think those are the thingsthat we're working on
(20:50):
identifying how can you make thetechnology work better for you
and how can it in turn, impactthe company's bottom line and
top line growth?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Incredible, incredible, and that's optimism
right there, mark, tell us alittle bit about what you're
seeing.
You mentioned a little bitabout the UN, but, specifically
in your work with the UN, whatother optimistic elements can
you share with us today for whatwe're seeing here in New York
during ongoing Climate Week?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I'd highlight two.
The summit of the future isreally bringing together all
different stakeholders tounderstand what could the role
of the UN be going forward.
Some may call it reform, somemay call it just a reflection
point, but ultimately, if the UNdidn't exist, we would invent
it.
We need to have a way tobroadcast, to discuss the issues
(21:42):
of common interest, and be ableto do so in a way that doesn't
judge, as we would see asprevalently so at the domestic
level.
It's not without judgment.
I'm not that naive, but therehas to be some way to present a
global issue.
Related to that, and what reallystarted to become apparent in
(22:04):
the 2015 goals, was theinvolvement of the private
sector.
We're not the answer foreverything, but you have to
involve the private sector toget to the scale and the urgency
and the pace to deal with thechallenges that are already
self-identifiable.
That is going to accelerateeven more than it ever has
before, so I'm optimistic aboutthat engagement.
(22:25):
I'm very optimistic that theprivate sector are now leaning
in in a way that we have notseen in the past, and there's
trust there now.
I could not have said the same20 years ago with the MDGs, and
there's always actors that youcould say could be a little
better in their behavior.
But generally I think thecollaboration is a really solid
(22:48):
basis for optimism.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Fantastic.
That's incredible perspective.
So we're optimistic and leaningin on optimism.
To close, I'd like to ask you aquestion that we always like to
ask, which is your currentglobal leaders.
You're functioning at thehighest level of your companies.
What advice do you have thatyou can share to future global
(23:10):
leaders?
It's relevant right now, righthere on the sidelines of ONGA.
What's that advice?
Ai's coming at us.
You're a student.
You're young, you're trying tolook at the future.
You're being told who knowswhat your job is going to be.
What's your takeaway from thisin terms of advice?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I could give you the coined answer, which is very
highbrow and very high level,but I'm not gonna do that, thank
you, because I always come backto the individual.
What would the individual do ifa circumstance was presented to
him or her?
And I think about the peoplewho work for us right around the
world.
We have 140 different memberfirms around the world.
(23:52):
I've mentioned to you before,george, that the SDGs to me are
like a code of ethics forhumanity.
So let's have a bit morehumanity at the individual level
and if you do that enough, itwill have the same humanity and
human dignity at the nationaland then the global level on any
issue.
(24:12):
I know that's a kind of a pipedream, but I truly believe that
the individual is much strongerthan they believe they are.
I think there's a bit offeeling that they're
disenfranchised.
Sure, I am optimistic that wecan change that.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
That's incredible.
That's incredible and Mani.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, I you know.
I think this is a curious timein the history where businesses
are showing the things that arepossible to people.
So my advice would be, fromwhat we have learned over our
years of collaboration and nowworking globally across this, if
partnerships are more valuablethan they are, hard if there is
(24:59):
so much difference and peopleare so divided.
Today, we can't seem to agreeon ideologies, we can't seem to
agree on the vision for future,we can't seem to agree on
anything, and we kind of try tostick to what we know is true,
without really learning what ishappening on the other side.
(25:20):
And if anything, what ourpartnership has taught us, which
I'd like to share with ourglobal community, is that be
open and receptive to hearingwhat the other person has to say
and more often than not, youwill find areas which are
complimentary.
More often than not, you willfind areas which can create more
(25:41):
value than you would have alone.
So work together, find thosepartnerships, would be my
message.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Well, that closes our interview with inspiring
insights and perspectives.
Mark Fitzgerald, kpmg, greatfriend and leader, global leader
changing the world.
And Mani Desgupta, ibm, also aglobal leader changing the world
.
Thank you so, dsgubta, ibm,also a global leader changing
the world.
Thank you so very much to bothof you.
Mani DSGUBTA, thank you, thankyou.
Welcome to the IdeaGen Global Partnership
Summit.
Live at the Harvard Club of NewYork on the sidelines of UNGA
and Climate Week.
I am deeply honored to havewith me today Mark Fitzgerald
from KPMG.
Mark welcome, thank you, alwaysa pleasure, always a pleasure.
And Mani Desgupta from IBM,again incredibly honored to have
(00:34):
you here with us.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Thanks, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
You know, both of these folks have a storied
career, and I could go on and onabout their careers, but I'd
like to start by asking Mark andMani tell us a little bit about
where you've come from andwhere you're going.
How have you landed here,please?
In this case at IBM.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Great, happy to.
So I'm VP of AdvisoryPartnerships at IBM.
I manage our 360 relationshipwith the big four strategy
consulting, tax and audit firmsglobally.
You know it's very excitingwhen you're doing sell to and
you're doing sell through.
It's mundane.
But when you do sell with whichis truly partnering and getting
(01:15):
beyond the rivalries andgetting into a fluid, open
ecosystem approach, I thinkthat's very rewarding and
exciting to be working on thisone with Mark.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Thank you, mark Fitzgerald.
I'm the global lead partner forKPMG to the United Nations,
hence my focus on Ongo Week andright throughout the year.
I also work with all thedevelopment banks, the World
Bank being the biggest andprominent one.
I also lead all our non-profitpractices around the world, so
(01:48):
my focus within the firm isalways purpose-led, not
profit-led, and the only way wecan do that is attach ourselves
to the mission, to thosepurpose-led objectives of our
clients, and do so inpartnerships with entities and
companies like IBM.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Fantastic and so inspiring to hear about your
backgrounds and what you'redoing, and certainly your
purviews.
Now, what is it that'shappening between this
partnership with KPMG and IBM?
What is it that makes it sopowerful?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
and IBM.
What is it that makes it sopowerful?
You know we both are 100 plusyears.
You're probably 150.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Wait 150 years 125.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
125, 110 plus.
And so you know, between thetwo companies there's a long
legacy of trusted relationshipswith our clients.
We are very complementary.
So the good thing is thesimilarities on the trust, the
brand that both of the companiescommand with our clients.
But there are complementarycapabilities.
(02:55):
Ibm's technology, ibm'sresearch, KPMG's audit, tax, the
regulatory reporting,understanding the dynamics
behind the companies and IBM'splatform engineering kind of
come together, then it's magic.
So if you see, it's like end toend and I'm sure Mark is going
(03:16):
to talk a little bit more aboutthat but if we can truly
understand the dynamics of alarge global organization, what
goes into it from a processstandpoint, from a regulatory
standpoint, and advise it on howto work better, smarter with
technology, less footprint onthe environment, figuring out
(03:38):
how to do more with less andlead to profits, it's a
win-win-win for all.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
That was pitch perfect, so I'm not going to
repeat that.
Let me zoom out, though, andput things into context for this
week, george, you've alreadymentioned, there's about
700-plus events around UNGA,we've got Summit of the Future,
we've got the World EconomicForum here, we have Gold's House
, we have Climate Week.
There's a variety of things allhappening in New York this week
(04:06):
, but I want to pick up on acouple of key themes that I have
kind of heard myself that willreally tie in what we've just
heard in terms of how our twocompanies work with each other.
So, if you take SDG 17, whichliterally is focused on
partnerships, there are twoelements within SDG 17, data and
technology.
There are many others, but Iwant to highlight on those two.
(04:27):
First, one of the key themesthis week is all about the
impact maybe good, maybe not,maybe perilous, maybe not around
AI.
This is clearly an area thatKPMG and IBM work closely on.
We're both heavily invested, as, indeed, most companies of our
nature are.
The issue that I'm picking up,though, as a theme this week is
(04:53):
not so much trying to createbarriers for what it could
potentially do as apparel, buthow do we create an opportunity
whilst also concurrently dealingwith those clear issues.
A couple of issues that we haveto be very clear about.
One AI will only really presentthe rewards and the positivity
(05:15):
and benefits if you have data touse of scale.
To create that data at scale,you're going to create a carbon
footprint that is multiples ofwhat we see today.
So you cannot create the datacenters without also having a
concurrent conversation aroundgeneration of electricity.
So we should just put that outthere and be pragmatic.
(05:36):
It's not one or the other, it'sboth at the same time.
So where we can come in isadvise our clients and very
often our clients both identifyas an energy company or a data
center company and how they usetools like Watson, et cetera, to
make that a more efficientproposition.
How you look at it in terms ofthe baseline insights that you
(05:58):
can provide, in my case, togovernments, that's where you
can start to generate the powerof AI.
That's what I'm hearing mostlyfrom world leaders this week.
So you've got to have both.
You can't just sugarcoat thepositivity without understanding
the challenges.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
And just to give an example of how it could be done,
which is a very pragmatic,simple to understand for
everybody.
So you talked about datacenters.
The amount of power that isconsumed by our data centers is
just enormous, right?
And everybody says, hey, go tocloud.
The cloud runs on someone'sdata center somewhere, right?
So now you're looking at all ofthis technology and
(06:36):
infrastructure and the thingsthat are required to keep it
running.
There are stuff that doesn'tneed to run at all points of
time.
Ibm has a software calledTurbonomic that can go in and
find these zombie servers thatdon't need to be running and
shut them off.
How simple is that?
To just switch it off and savesome power, right?
So very simple, very pragmatic,but technology can actually
(07:00):
overcome a lot of the challengesthat companies are facing and
save them some money in the endof the year.
You're saving power, you'resaving money.
It's a win-win.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
So you're going to have practical solutions like
that to generate the power,create the data.
Then you put the tools on topto get the insights.
Let me give you a quick exampleof something that kind of
really was noteworthy.
I was in an event yesterday andthe New York Commissioner for
Health was presenting and hesaid a child today who was born
(07:30):
in the Upper East Side has alife expectancy of 11 years.
More than fill in the blank.
You're probably going to go toan emerging market no,
brownsville in New York City 11year gap today.
So his premise was how can wecreate more timely, more
(07:51):
targeted insights using AI in away that will promote the
partnership of all the actors inthis case, healthcare to work
better so they use more of whatthey have in a more efficient
way?
So most of our clients reflectthat, so they come to us to be
able to provide those basicinsights to start with, but then
(08:12):
the use of those insightsbecome the critical output and
that's where we partner together.
At the moment, we have about300 projects active in 24
countries across all sectors.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Wow, 300 plus projects.
That's incredible.
You hit on a personal issuethat I like to talk about with
colleagues, friends, which iswhat you just alluded to, which
is how can one person in a zipcode literally right next to you
(08:46):
have such a different lifeexpectancy?
And if you're all working tosolve toward that and AI can
help or whatever, it's a hugeway for us to move forward to
change the world right.
I mean, that's a massive.
I mean, when you think about 11years, I mean just to use that
example, it's startling, I think, for everyone that's either
(09:08):
watching this program on TV orin person, to think about the
direct disparities right there.
And it's just a luck of thedraw, you were born into that
zip code, so maybe you won'thave access to the resources
that the person in the other zipcode now has or area.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
We have a common client in that industry, in that
sector, and through the use ofAI, we've identified that those
impacts in terms of somebody'shealth is 80% influenced by
their environment and socialkind of surrounding and
background.
Only 10 to 20% is impacted bytheir access to healthcare
(09:51):
services, which is quitestartling.
You would think it would be theother way around, and that's in
a US context.
Nevermind when you go intoemerging markets.
So that's in a US context,never mind when you go into
emerging markets.
So that's what we work ontogether in terms of how we
complement each other in termsof social issues, sustainability
issues and then obviouslyrelated to each individual
sector.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Technology is a great leveler, and I have a
15-year-old back home and I tellher this it doesn't matter how
tall you are, how strong you are, what you have in terms of
technology or machines, Even ifyou go back one level down,
empowering you beyond what youcan do today is just huge.
(10:34):
And so use technology, use itto the right benefit and use it
to take these disparities out.
If you think of how theheadwinds that we are seeing
today I mean look at thegeopolitical issues, look at the
inflation, the rise ininflation, and companies like
ours, which are public companies, are expected to perform in the
(10:54):
market every single day.
This is the last week ofSeptember.
It's quarter close for us,Right?
And so that's top of mind forme right now, and I'm thinking
how can we use technology towork better, work smarter and to
make the lives of people better?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Moving on.
I think the other thing that weconnect with a lot is that we
have common teams doing commonprojects, and I think everyone
has noted this last couple ofweeks.
Amazon, for example, have nowmandated go back five days a
week into the office, I thinkfrom the 1st of January.
We've just launched an IBMwe're part of this survey, a CEO
(11:33):
outlook that we've run since2015.
And part of that, there wasfive top themes that came
through.
One of them was our own talentand future work, and this is
where we collaborate a lotbecause we see it in our own
workforces.
We have 270 000 people.
There are multiple hundreds ofthousands as well, all around
the world.
What is the best answer, notonly for our own people but for
(11:56):
our clients using technology?
And this is where there hasbeen a bit of caution about the
impact of AI, but interestingly,ceos have said about 70% of
them do not feel it's going tolead to redundancies.
92% of CEOs feel they're goingto actually increase their
workforce in the next threeyears.
(12:17):
So that kind of jars againstwhat we're hearing in the public
domain.
But when you look at the detail, it's about the skill and the
competency and the focus of thatworkforce.
That's where it gets into thenuance.
But it's a changing and dynamicarea.
We feel it ourselves with ourown teams.
(12:39):
But the answer is in there.
We just haven't teased it outexactly yet.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Well, and I think that's where this partnership is
.
So I want to applaud you bothfor being able to describe the
intersect of where you all aremaking a difference, and then
for me, I mean, it's beyondenlightening to think about the
implications of that, not onlyfor your workforce respectively,
but also for the communitieswhere you actually are having
(13:09):
that giant impact across theworld.
And that's what this is as well.
This is a global partnership.
It is this isn't a localpartnership.
This is the example, and what Ialso find, you know, really
just fascinating is the brands,the length.
You know, that reputationalelement here, where it's like OK
(13:33):
, ibm has been around for howmany years?
Again, one hundred, so, andKPMG, you know, you've got
centuries of experience andtrust that have been built up
over time, and I think you canonly change the world, whether
(13:53):
it's me and one other person, orme and an organization, if
there is trust.
That's the essential element tothis.
And how do you build trust?
Do you build it online or doyou build it by doing what we're
doing today, by having aconversation?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Let me give you a quick example and I got to focus
on the UN, given the week thatwe're in.
If you are a UN entity that isresponsible for responding to
humanitarian disasters, forexample one, you need to know
where the disaster happened, butyou also need to know what
population was impacted.
(14:31):
Five years ago, we would nothave been able to look at a data
set and be fully accuratearound the displacement of
people in a certain location dayby day, by day.
We can do that now.
Obviously, there's picturescoming down from satellites
every day and those are updateddaily.
But the use of AI and we have acommon client that does this
looks at the analytics of thatdata and looks at what maybe the
(14:55):
land registries say there are10,000 people in this location,
but when you look at the pictureand you apply generative AI on
top, there are 25,000 people inthat location because they're
unsettled or they have temporaryaccommodation, et cetera.
So that's your real answer.
If you're a UN agency trying toidentify your supply chain
(15:16):
logistics for disaster response,your supply chain logistics for
disaster response, that's whereit can be trusted to be more
responsive and more accurate.
So we give them the insights.
They then implement.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Human beings are inherently, our base instinct is
to trust.
When you're sharing something,or you're going to a bank, or
you're just withdrawing moneyfrom an ATM and you're on the
street, you know our lives aredependent on trust, or the
ability to trust, and you know,when we see companies like IBM
(15:51):
and KPMG work together,sometimes you may think, oh, is
it competitive, is it?
It is coopetition that is thenew term.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
We're competitive people.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
We are profit-making organizations literally.
But there is so much more valueto be had if you can just learn
to work together, if you canjust figure out what's the joint
value proposition.
Where are these complementarycapabilities?
Of course, we can be adultsabout it and say, okay, there
(16:24):
are a couple of areas where weboth would like to work, that's
fine, but there are many moreareas where we could collaborate
to create better value.
So to your question around trustit doesn't get built in the
first day, but we're inherently,we'd like to be trusted and
trust.
And so when you work day to dayand when you have the longevity
(16:45):
that these two companies haveof having the experience of
working together, it buildstrust and it strengthens the
foundations even more.
So that, to us, has been likeit's a day to day, it's a
marriage.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
You've got to wake up and you know make it work every
single day you've got to wakeup and, and you know, make it
work every single day.
So I heard a nice quote theother day that for us to achieve
progression with the sdgs wehave to have a bias towards
optimism, and I feel that in ourcollaboration, our partnership,
the opposite is, of course,having a bias to putting up
(17:16):
barriers, being risk averse, toa point where you do not do
anything right.
And that's the last thing Iwould probably highlight that
I've heard this week is yes,there are so many significant
challenges right across theglobe, across all sectors.
They're impacting allindividuals.
We know that.
Give us the solutions.
(17:37):
How are we going to make someprogress to mitigate those
issues going forward?
And that's why partnerships areso strong, so powerful and so
needed right across the spectrumof collaboration.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Well, let me remind everyone that the United Nations
came together in 2015 andunanimously agreed to these 17
global goals.
They've now agreed to the pactfor the future.
It's a step toward the futuregoals, whatever those are going
to look like, and there'soptimism, and I think what you
(18:12):
came up with, mark, what you'vejust coined which is your
euphemism for changing the world, a bias towards changing the
world ultimately right, a biastoward optimism, and this is
what this partnership is.
And so is there an example of apartnership that's gone beyond
(18:35):
your partnership, in other words, something that's emanated out
of it that you could highlight.
I know, mani, you work withthis every day, but there are so
many 300 plus.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
There are many, many, so I'll give you some examples
to help illustrate the point.
When we work together, what wehave seen is often we are able
to see a new product is beinglaunched by a client in the
market.
It could be a consumer goodsproduct, it could be a banking
and financial services kind ofan institution that is reaching
(19:06):
out to consumers daily.
When companies like ours worktogether, we are able to
decrease the time to market forthat particular successful
product launch.
Sometimes we are able tode-risk the transformation
journey.
So many a times you have astrategy and you think about it,
you put it on PowerPoint andthen, when you have the
(19:26):
technology implementation, thereis a big chasm between the two
and often your vision doesn'treally get translated into a
day-to-day outcomes, aday-to-day how you're working.
That is what this kind of apartnership solves the
translation between yourstrategy to action, to how
(19:47):
quickly you can get yourconsumers and to how quickly you
can realize that that bottomline impact is what our
partnership is able to do.
So we talked a little bit aboutsustainability.
There are many projects that weare working around trusted AI,
around AI governance.
Again, when you talk about AI,like Mark talked about, there
(20:07):
are some risks to it, but thereare ways to mitigate those risks
.
So if your AI wants to solveevery problem in the world in
one software it is usuallypretty, you know gives into
hallucinations and things likethat.
However, if your models aretrained for a particular
business outcome they arepre-trained.
(20:29):
They, you know the parametersthat you're feeding into the
models are actually towardssolving a writing code or, you
know, making your supply chainsrun, run better.
So when you do that kind oftraining, it is much more
accurate, it is way moreimpactful and it's way faster.
So I think those are the thingsthat we're working on
(20:50):
identifying how can you make thetechnology work better for you
and how can it in turn, impactthe company's bottom line and
top line growth?
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Incredible, incredible, and that's optimism
right there, mark, tell us alittle bit about what you're
seeing.
You mentioned a little bitabout the UN, but, specifically
in your work with the UN, whatother optimistic elements can
you share with us today for whatwe're seeing here in New York
during ongoing Climate Week?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I'd highlight two.
The summit of the future isreally bringing together all
different stakeholders tounderstand what could the role
of the UN be going forward.
Some may call it reform, somemay call it just a reflection
point, but ultimately, if the UNdidn't exist, we would invent
it.
We need to have a way tobroadcast, to discuss the issues
(21:42):
of common interest, and be ableto do so in a way that doesn't
judge, as we would see asprevalently so at the domestic
level.
It's not without judgment.
I'm not that naive, but therehas to be some way to present a
global issue.
Related to that, and what reallystarted to become apparent in
(22:04):
the 2015 goals, was theinvolvement of the private
sector.
We're not the answer foreverything, but you have to
involve the private sector toget to the scale and the urgency
and the pace to deal with thechallenges that are already
self-identifiable.
That is going to accelerateeven more than it ever has
before, so I'm optimistic aboutthat engagement.
(22:25):
I'm very optimistic that theprivate sector are now leaning
in in a way that we have notseen in the past, and there's
trust there now.
I could not have said the same20 years ago with the MDGs, and
there's always actors that youcould say could be a little
better in their behavior.
But generally I think thecollaboration is a really solid
(22:48):
basis for optimism.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Fantastic.
That's incredible perspective.
So we're optimistic and leaningin on optimism.
To close, I'd like to ask you aquestion that we always like to
ask, which is your currentglobal leaders.
You're functioning at thehighest level of your companies.
What advice do you have thatyou can share to future global
(23:10):
leaders?
It's relevant right now, righthere on the sidelines of ONGA.
What's that advice?
Ai's coming at us.
You're a student.
You're young, you're trying tolook at the future.
You're being told who knowswhat your job is going to be.
What's your takeaway from thisin terms of advice?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I could give you the coined answer, which is very
highbrow and very high level,but I'm not gonna do that, thank
you, because I always come backto the individual.
What would the individual do ifa circumstance was presented to
him or her?
And I think about the peoplewho work for us right around the
world.
We have 140 different memberfirms around the world.
(23:52):
I've mentioned to you before,george, that the SDGs to me are
like a code of ethics forhumanity.
So let's have a bit morehumanity at the individual level
and if you do that enough, itwill have the same humanity and
human dignity at the nationaland then the global level on any
issue.
(24:12):
I know that's a kind of a pipedream, but I truly believe that
the individual is much strongerthan they believe they are.
I think there's a bit offeeling that they're
disenfranchised.
Sure, I am optimistic that wecan change that.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
That's incredible.
That's incredible and Mani.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, I you know.
I think this is a curious timein the history where businesses
are showing the things that arepossible to people.
So my advice would be, fromwhat we have learned over our
years of collaboration and nowworking globally across this, if
partnerships are more valuablethan they are, hard if there is
(24:59):
so much difference and peopleare so divided.
Today, we can't seem to agreeon ideologies, we can't seem to
agree on the vision for future,we can't seem to agree on
anything, and we kind of try tostick to what we know is true,
without really learning what ishappening on the other side.
(25:20):
And if anything, what ourpartnership has taught us, which
I'd like to share with ourglobal community, is that be
open and receptive to hearingwhat the other person has to say
and more often than not, youwill find areas which are
complimentary.
More often than not, you willfind areas which can create more
(25:41):
value than you would have alone.
So work together, find thosepartnerships, would be my
message.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Well, that closes our interview with inspiring
insights and perspectives.
Mark Fitzgerald, kpmg, greatfriend and leader, global leader
changing the world.
And Mani Desgupta, ibm, also aglobal leader changing the world
.
Thank you so, dsgubta, ibm,also a global leader changing
the world.
Thank you so very much to bothof you.
Mani DSGUBTA, thank you, thankyou.
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