Innovation

AboitizPower makes strides towards exponential transformation through ExO Works Sprint

June 02, 2022

AboitizPower recently completed a 10-week ExO Works Sprint, an initiative led by the Aboitiz Group, in the bid to leverage disruptive technologies and increase business agility, accelerate digital innovation, and further cultivate a future-ready mindset within the organization.

The ExO Works Sprint is designed to guide AboitizPower and its select high-potential team members through the process of creating repeatable innovation initiatives and processes resulting in exponential gains or up to 10 times return on investment, through a series of workshops and coaching sessions from reputable ExO advisors, AP mentors, and domain experts.

This initiative is another step forward as the Aboitiz Group makes its way towards becoming the Philippines' first techglomerate and is anchored on AboitizPower's digital transformation program or DigitaLeap in a move to remain relevant in today’s modern energy landscape.

Four teams across different AboitizPower business units were chosen after a rigorous selection process to participate in the immersive program and were tasked to research, test, and finally pitch their original innovation projects for funding and implementation.

“This is just the beginning of an even better and stronger culture of innovation at AboitizPower,” said AboitizPower CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio in his opening remarks during the ExO Works Sprint culminating activity.

At the end of the Sprint, each team presented cutting-edge solutions to address some of the foreseen disruptive trends in 2022 like food security, retail electricity facilitation services, and agriculture, among others. The five standout pitches presented by AboitizPower teams that are ready for implementation are as follows:

• A Digital assistant and an enterprise-wide information and data management platform designed to effectively and efficiently organize company data and connect them to employees as they need it
• Microenterprise program driven by objectives and key results, empowering Aboitiz employees to create small, independent, and innovative ventures under the company to create value for customers
• A project harnessing the potential of vertical farming to address issues on food security
• A digital twin planning and asset management solution for AboitizPower’s distribution utilities, allowing real-time update of assets and process visibility from power source to customers
• Platform allowing consumers not limited to big industries the power to choose their power supplier

“The Sprint strengthens AboitizPower’s innovation DNA by launching audacious core and edge initiatives with exponential impact”, said Carlos Aboitiz, AboitizPower Chief Corporate Services Officer and the Executive Sponsor of the company’s Exo program.

50% of the team members’ time was divided between working on the Sprint and their responsibilities at the office.

Carlos Aboitiz also recognized the efforts and dedication of the team members as they persevered to complete the program on top of their business as usual tasks.

According to AboitizPower VP for Innovation and Digital Transformation Chat Balita, AboitizPower’s Innovation DNA was at work during the Sprint. “They unlocked the ideas through the Future Thinker’s mindset component of our DNA and coupled this with data storytelling and digital first approach to further incubate these ideas.”

She added that these projects went through the network mindset where reputable international innovators and AboitizPower mentors were consulted.

“All of these exciting activities were done in just 10 weeks, thanks to the team's demonstration of agile execution,” said Balita in her closing remarks.

ExO CEO and Sprint Head Coach Emilie Sydney-Smith congratulated the participants for completing the program and for successfully pitching their audacious innovation projects.

“What you see here are ideas that are genuinely able to make a difference and are thought through in terms of what the return on investment might be,” she said.

Aside from the exponential growth the ExO Sprint brings to the company, the team members have also gained a lot from the program. They claim to have experienced growth and transformative change in terms of how they look at the world and how they do their day to day work.

“I’m really into processes, but the ExO Sprint disrupts your mind to help you come up with really innovative solutions for the company.” said one of the participants.