Hospitals are increasingly joining forces in networks of different types, sometimes with other healthcare players. This is an unmistakable trend, but forming networks is also an important strategic decision. How can hospitals ensure the right decisions are taken, both today and tomorrow, guaranteeing a robust, resilient and versatile organisation in the long run? Changes are rapidly succeeding one another, but who knows what healthcare will be like fifteen years from now and what the best set-up would be for these networks? No one can predict the future. However, despite all the uncertainties, a scenario analysis can help in the decision-making process.

In this double interview, Michael Anseeuw and Professor Bjorn Cumps explain the open-banking study by BNP Paribas Fortis and Vlerick within the Chair Partnership. In the first phase, ten directors and board members are interviewed, after which an ‘open-banking lab’ will be set up where the bank and non-banking players will explore their roles on a joint platform model.

Not enough companies are sufficiently aware of the risks of hacking, or know how to prevent it to the greatest extent possible. A study conducted by KPMG revealed that 80% of the respondents’ systems were infected with malware and 60% even with crimeware. According to Professor Öykü Isik an approach that focuses exclusively on IT is simply not enough. “You need a corporate strategy for that! After all, your customers and your reputation are under threat!”

Professor Robert Boute invited Bart Cauberghe, Managing Partner & Head Smart Industries from our Chair Partner Gimv, to present the Punch Powertrain project to our full-time MBA students on 17 January. During a 90-minute lecture Bart took his audience on a bumpy and at times hilarious journey, explaining how in just seven years a low-performing supplier of automatic transmissions was turned into a highly attractive company worth 1 billion euros. “Not by financial ‘tricks’, but by operational improvements.”