As part of the Innovation e-Workshop organised by the Valencia CF Business Club, a roundtable discussion with the theme ‘Innovation in the Company’ was held at Mestalla. The idea was to speak on the importance of constant innovation in a changing world, and adapting as quickly as possible to the needs of the market, regardless of the sector.

Sergi Bisquert (Product Development Director for

CaixaBank Payments & Consumer)

“We all live in a time of uncertainty and volatility, with the awareness that at any moment we will have to reinvent ourselves. Some knowledgeable people believe that 50% of the products that will be consumed within ten years have not yet been invented; his means that we cannot rest on our laurels. Our companies and our proposals have to be constantly reviewed. You have to question the basics, challenge yourself to rediscover your own business and identify where your vulnerabilities are -which is not easy, because many times your client has changed their habits and cannot agree with you. We have to be wide awake to be able to continue being relevant to society and not disappear, because there is a lot of talent in the world.”

"You have to feed curiosity and constructive criticism. If you have an idea that you think is good, do not hesitate to pursue it and have resilience. In many cases the path is made for you to fail, but you have to keep going, because good ideas bear fruit in the end. We have to be very consistent and always try to be open, and accept that things are always going to be changing. If you accept it, it is easier to have that detachment to continue innovating and finding that thing that will make you different from the rest.”

Rosario Montaner (Assistant Director for Idai Nature):

“Innovation is part of our DNA; everything is linked to innovation. We were born as a startup ten years ago, in the midst of an economic crisis, and succeeded with an innovative product that responded to the growing market demands for sustainable, ecological and chemical-free products.”

“In a world in a constant state of change, a company that does not adapt its innovations to the market eventually dies. In our case, we are continually innovating in a constantly growing market like agricultural biocontrol. We release an average of two new products a year, in addition to applying the principle of continuous improvement to the products we already have in our catalogue. We consider that innovation is the means and the end to be able to remain in the market and be the world number one in biocontrol, which is our objective.”

Nacho Ramos (Marketing Manager for Lamburguesa)

"We would all like to create a new product that was fantastic, or make a fusion that did not exist before, but what we seek most when it comes to innovation is daily improvement. We search for consumer trends, we try to anticipate to offer based on what people are going to want. For Lamburguesa, innovation is the pursuit of trends. Generally, an idea comes out of a need; we are in a time of much change and innovation helps us to look for these trends and the needs of consumers.”

Zulima Sáenz (Service Design & Innovation Lead for Jeff)

"Innovation is understanding the needs of our users in depth, since we work in areas where business is totally different and in different markets, so it is very important to understand the context of the user to design a good experience for the end consumer. Innovation also helps us to be able to accompany our partners throughout their entrepreneurship journey, giving them the best tools for decision-making. We use technologies based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, in addition to improving business performance.”

 “It is important to be attentive to opportunities at all levels and to explore different alternatives, because a very interesting future opportunity may arise from there. Be attentive and listen to the market in search of new opportunities in a changing context, be attentive to new trends. I believe that it is also very important to incorporate different perspectives within the company and teams, both from the business technology perspective and the more human side -which is an area that the user understands.”