The German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce (AHK) in partnership with the IEDC-Bled School of Management and with the support of the AmCham Slovenia is organizing the German-Slovene Economics Day 2021 titled "Building resilience in a digital-first world" on March 18, 2021 online.

Participation for members of the IEDC Alumni Clubs community is free of charge, as well as for the members of AmCham and AHK. 

About the event

According to the Germany Trade & Invest Agency (GTAI), the corona pandemic has led to a digitalization surge among larger companies in Germany. Three quarters of large companies in Germany are increasing their digitalization investment commitments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic according to the preliminary findings of a report conducted by Bitkom Research and Tata Consultancy Services. Of the 955 companies with 100 or more employees surveyed in May and June, almost no companies (0.2%) believe that the Covid-19 crisis has not had an impact on digitalization plans.

80% of companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector have increased investment in digitalization according to Bitkom, followed by the banking and insurance sector (66%). Almost half of all chemicals & pharmaceuticals and banking & insurance companies surveyed are respectively accelerating their business model digitalization efforts.

According to the KfW Business Survey 2020, SME digitalization projects in Germany were stagnating immediately prior to the coronavirus crisis. 61% of companies surveyed between December 2019 and March 2020 indicated a desire to implement projects that use digital technologies for the first time or improve their application over the next two years – down five percentage points on the previous year’s levels.

Given the strong connection and interdependence of the Slovenian companies with the German companies the German-Slovene economic day last year highlighted how important it is for the Slovenian companies to embrace the digital transformation. Therefore, this year we would like to continue the discussion that reflects the current level of readiness of Slovenian consumer business and industrial companies for the digital transformation. Has COVID-19 pushed Slovenia companies over the technology tipping point—and transformed business?

Program

MC Host: Tina Drolc, M.Sc.

08:30 – 09:00 Virtual networking

Hosts:

1. SIEMENS - Mrs. Medeja Lončar, CEO, Siemens Slovenia and Croatia and President of the Managers' Association of Slovenia
2. BAYER – Mrs. Katarina Beravs Bervar, Head of Market Access and Pricing Cluster Alpe Adria Countries & Hungary at Bayer Slovenia, Market Access Liaison Oncology EUII
3. DB SCHENKER - Ms. Valerija Špacapan Friš, Vice President of the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Managing Director at DB Schenker d. d.
4. BSH - Mr. Wolfram von Ohain, CEO, BSH Hišni aparati d.o.o.
5. RIKO - Mrs. Tanja Rupnik, Business Development Manager Europe, Riko d.o.o.

09:00 – 09:05 Welcoming speech            

• Mrs. Gertrud Rantzen, President of the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce

09:05 – 09:20 Opening addresses

• Prof. Danica Purg, President of the IEDC-Bled School of Management
• Mr. Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Republic of Slovenia
• H.E. Mr. Franc But, Slovenian Ambassador to Germany

09:20 – 10:10 Current trends in transatlantic trade relations and how they affect Germany and Slovenia?

• H.E. Mr. Adrian Pollmann, German Ambassador to Slovenia
• Mrs. Ajša Vodnik, CEO, AmCham Slovenia and Vice President, AmChams in Europe
• Dr. Danilo Türk, former President of the Republic of Slovenia
• Mr. Boštjan Gorjup, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia and director of BSH Hišni aparati d.o.o.

Moderator: Mrs. Jerca Zajc, Head of marketing, PwC Slovenia

10:10 - 11:00 Covid-19 Leading to Company Digitalization Push in Germany – How do Slovenian companies react?

• Mrs. Medeja Lončar, CEO, Siemens Slovenia and Croatia and President of the Managers' Association of Slovenia
• Mr. Michał Wronka, Managing Director Bayer Slovenia, Country Division Head Cluster Alpe Adria Countries & Hungary
• Mrs. Valerija Špacapan Friš, Vice President of the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Managing Director at DB Schenker d. d.
• Mr. Wolfram von Ohain, CEO, BSH Hišni aparati d.o.o.
• Mrs. Tanja Rupnik, Business Development Manager Europe, Riko d.o.o.

Moderator: Mr. Marko Derča, Vice president, Head of Digital Transformation, Eastern Europe, A.T. Kearney and IEDC Alumni

Registration

UPDATE 16.03. 2021: REGISTRATIONS HAVE BEEN CLOSED.

Registrations are open until March 15. For IEDC Alumni Club members the registration form is available on this page.

*Registration for non-members of the IEDC Alumni Club or Amcham and AHK is possible at the page of the event at the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce. Participation fee for non-member is 100 EUR + VAT.