The future of digital platforms
Impact, Regulation, Talent
15th April 2021
15th April 2021
An initiative by Launchworks & Co
Platforms and their ecosystems are now part of our daily lives. They are redefining the way we work, the way we learn, how we innovate and how we collaborate. As a community of platform leaders, how do we ensure that the full potential of these digital ecosystems is realised for all?
What is Platform Leaders?
Platform Leaders brings together entrepreneurs, policy makers, academics and practitioners to exchange insights and best practices on the future of digital platforms and ecosystems. These communities don’t always talk to each other, yet are collectively building the platform economy. Platform Leaders provides strategic insights into key topics and allow experts to share complementary perspectives to shape the debate so that the potential of digital markets can be unlocked for all.
Niklas Östberg
Niklas Östberg
Niklas Östberg is Co-Founder & CEO of Delivery Hero. He began his journey of building the world’s leading local delivery platform back in Sweden in 2007 when he co-founded Pizza.nu.
Delivery Hero is the largest global platform for online food ordering outside of China, operating in over 40 international markets, partnering with hundreds of thousands local restaurants and processing up to 5 million orders a day.
Annabelle Gawer
Professor AnNabelle Gawer
A world-class academic pioneer in platform strategy, Annabelle is a thought-leader and expert advisor on the business of digital platforms and platform-based innovation ecosystems. Annabelle is the author of 30 articles and 4 books, including The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power with M. Cusumano (MIT) and D. Yoffie (Harvard Business School) (2019, HarperBusiness). She advised in 2018-2021 the European Commission on the regulation of online platforms as an Expert Member of the European Commission’s Observatory of the Online Platform Economy. Her latest report for the European Parliament on Online Platforms: Economic and Societal Effects will be launched on 30 March 2021 in an event organised by the European Parliament.
Annabelle has also advised the UK Government, UK Parliament House of Lords and the OECD. She is a sought-after strategy advisor in a private capacity and consults for major international corporations on how to formulate and implement digital platform strategies, platform business models, ecosystem-building strategies, and ecosystem governance strategies.
Oliver Bethell
Head of Competition EMEA, Google
Oliver Bethell
Oliver is Head of Competition EMEA at Google where he leads a large multidisciplinary and cross functional team covering Policy, Legal, Economists, Product, Eng, Comms.
He was previously in private practice at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Brussels before moving to Google’s in-house team in London in 2008.
Oliver is a graduate of Oxford University, BPP Law School and King's College. He is a member of the Bar of England and Wales.
Oliver was named Competition Individual of the Year, 2018 (Global Counsel Awards); Competition Individual of the Year, 2018 (European Counsel Awards); and Corporate Counsel of the Year, 2012 (Global Competition Review).
Annemie Ress
Annemie Ress
Annemie is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at innogy Innovation Hub and the Founder of PurpleBeach. At the innogy Innovation Hub Annemie sources, evaluates and manages investment opportunities in early and later stage start-ups in the FinTech, VOIP, digital marketplaces, Future Energy, IoT, Smart Cities & Mobility space across Europe, the US, Israel, Singapore, Mexico and South Africa. PurpleBeach is a people and innovation consultancy and we help businesses of all sizes to constantly reinvent themselves and unlock new sources of growth.
Annemie draws extensively from her experience as Global HR Director at Skype, Global Head of People Innovation at eBay, Senior HR Director at eBay & PayPal Europe, and previous roles as Head of HR at The International Petroleum Exchange and her time at PepsiCo.
Peter C. Evans, PhD
Peter C. Evans, PhD
Peter C. Evans has over 20 years of experience leading teams in identifying, framing, assessing, and communicating high-priority marketplace trends and disruptions that support business planning and investment prioritization. He has held senior strategy, innovation and market intelligence roles at large global enterprises including General Electric, KPMG and IHS/CERA. Recognizing the strategic significance of platforms more than a decade ago, he led and published the first global survey of platform companies. Most recently, he is the author of “Preparing the Next Generation of Platform Leaders” and the weekly stubstack publication: Platform Professional. He has served as co-chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit since 2016. Peter is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the board of the National Association for Business Economics. He frequently mentors platform startups. Peter received his BA from Hampshire College and his master’s degree and PhD degree from MIT.
Louise Plantin
Louise Plantin
Louise Plantin is an illustrator. She speaks through her drawings.
Louise studied illustration and comic art at the École Estienne in Paris and at the École des Beaux Arts in Angoulême. She works with large companies, start-ups and publishing houses.
Veena Marr
Veena Marr
Veena Marr is a member of Russell Reynolds' Technology Sector and the Global Customer Activation & Growth Practices. Based in London, Veena works closely with industry-leading clients to recruit top talent, assess leadership teams and advise organisations on change management and growth
Veena joined Russell Reynolds Associates from eBay, where she was Senior Legal Director and Global Head of IP, as well as a member of the Global Brand Council. Veena also helped establish eBay’s Women’s Initiative Network in Europe. She was with eBay for more than a decade, beginning her tenure as Commercial Counsel on the UK Legal Team and working in global regulatory and legal management before focusing on IP. Previously, Veena was a commercial lawyer for Osborne Clarke. She began her career working in legal and business affairs for UKTV.
Veena holds an LLB Law from Brunel University, and her LPC Law from the London College of Law. She is an Impact Advisor to global human rights charity, iProbono, and a growth advisor for IMI plc.
Benoit Reillier
Benoit Reillier
Benoit Reillier, CEO of Launchworks & Co, specialises in strategy and corporate development for innovative high growth companies and platform businesses/ecosystems. He has been advising the boards and top management teams of many blue chip companies as well as regulators and Governments for more than 20 years. Prior to founding Launchworks Benoit was Director of Economics and Regulation at KPMG where he focused on Telecommunications, Media and Technology clients globally. Benoit is a guest lecturer in a number of top business and engineering schools and is in charge of the executive Platform Strategy module of the HEC Paris MBA. He is a graduate from IMT Business School in Paris and holds Master degrees in Management, Economics and Law. Benoit is also a graduate from Columbia University in New York and London Business School (MBA).
He is the co-author of Platform Strategy: How to unlock the power of communities and networks to grow your business.
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin MEP
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin is a Member of the European Parliament (Renew Group), Vice-President of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and substitute member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), on the Fisheries, (PECH) and of the sub-committee on taxation (FISC). She was rapporteur for the 2019 annual competition policy report. She is also Chair of the delegation for relations with Canada and a member of the delegation for relations with the United States.
Stéphanie is also a member of the Calvados Departmental Council. Prior to her election as an MEP in 2019, she was Mayor of Saint-Contest, and a Vice-President of the urban community Caen la Mer.
Prior to that, Stéphanie worked as an advisor on international affairs in the office of Bruno Lasserre, former President of the French Competition Authority. She was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2004, specialising in competition law, and worked in international law firms. She also worked as a legal expert for the European Commission.
Stéphanie holds a Master's degree in law from the Universities of Caen and Bristol, and a Master's degree in European Business Law from the Institute of European Studies.
She is 47 years old, married and mother of two children. She is President of the association "Caen les femmes" created in 2011. She has been a regular contributor to the international political section of the journal Concurrences.
Max Beverton-Palmer
Max Beverton-Palmer
Max Beverton-Palmer is Director of the Internet Policy Unit at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. His work focuses on digital government, the global governance of tech, content and online harms, and democracy tech and participation. He was previously Head of Digital Policy at Sky, leading policy in the UK and EU on online advertising, internet safety, and online regulation, as well as working with technology and product teams on ethical responsibility of design. He started his career at the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, working on broadcast regulation, net neutrality, broadband infrastructure and spectrum.
Laure Claire Reillier
Laure Claire Reillier
Laure Claire Reillier is Co-founder and COO of Launchworks & Co, the leading experts for designing and scaling marketplaces & platforms. Formerly a senior exec at eBay Europe, she has 20 years’ experience in developing, managing and marketing products and services for digital, e-commerce, and platform companies. Laure Claire was appointed in 2019 as one of the 8 experts on digital platforms at the World Economic Forum. She is also the co-author of Platform Strategy: How to unlock the power of communities and networks to grow your business.
Olivier Van Calster
Olivier Van Calster
Olivier Van Calster is GM & VP, Europe at StockX. He launched the European business back in October 2018 and has overseen its expansion to a multi-language, multi-country success story. Prior to StockX, Olivier held leadership roles at eBay, Ancestry.com and Talmix. A Belgian national based in the UK, he holds dual Masters in Economics and Engineering and an MBA from INSEAD, France.
3:30PM – 3:35PM
WELCOME TALK
Introducing Platform Leaders.
3:35PM – 3:50PM
KEYNOTE
Keynote from Niklas Östberg Co-Founder & CEO of Delivery Hero. Delivery Hero is the largest global platform for online food ordering outside of China, operating in over 40 international markets, partnering with hundreds of thousands of local restaurants and processing up to 5 million orders a day.
3:50PM – 4:35PM
PLATFORM REGULATION
Digital platforms are increasingly attracting the attention of regulators and competition authorities around the world. While platforms are already subject to competition law as well as a range of regulatory obligations (including for example data privacy) some policy makers are now arguing that more may need to be done. How could regulation restore trust between platforms and participants? How to ensure platforms can continue to innovate? What are the new emerging regulatory models? This panel will explore the challenges associated with the regulation of platforms and ecosystems, and discuss the latest thinking of policy makers in Europe and beyond.
4:40PM – 5:20PM
TALENTS FOR THE PLATFORM ECONOMY
Unlike traditional businesses platforms orchestrate complex ecosystems and co-create value with their participants. Platform leadership requires new management skillsets and capabilities. What are the characteristics of platform leaders? Where is platform strategy taught? How to find, recruit and train new platform talents? This panel will explore the challenges associated with the recruitment and training -at scale- of a new breed of digital leaders.
5:20PM – 5:30PM
CONFERENCE WRAP UP
Closing remarks and key insights from the event by our conference co-chair.
The event will be illustrated live with drawings from Louise Plantin.
