The Optimist – Conversations with the leaders and industries shaping Europe’s digital future

• How can Europe lead the car-tech revolution, Frank Göller?

  The European automotive industry is under massive pressure — falling demand, shifting relations with the U.S. and strong competition from China. But what if that pressure is the perfect driver for transformation? In this episode, Frank Göller outlines why Europe still has what it takes to lead — from reinventing its production mindset and betting big on electrification to mastering AI.

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• What does it mean to be a tech leader, Thomas Saueressig?

  On the fourth episode of The Optimist, we take you into the highest ranks of Europe's most valuable company: our guest Thomas Saueressig is a member of the executive board at SAP SE, directly responsible for 38.000 colleagues – and customer services and delivery. Thomas shares insights from his latest customer meetings, explains why working with universities is crucial for talent sourcing and retention alike, and how a large transformation he went through could be a blueprint for many European companies in times of increasing challenges. Follow Thomas's own journey at SAP that began more than two decades ago, and learn how modern leadership in a fast-growing industry looks like – with a humans-first approach.

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• Are AI agents our new colleagues, Kathrin Schwan & Tobias Regenfuß?

  The third episode of 'The Optimist' takes you into the new world of work. Kathrin Schwan und Tobias Regenfuss, both Managing Directors and AI leaders at Accenture, explain the emergence of “Agentic AI”, where not only single tasks, but entire teams and organizations are supported or run by artificial intelligence. So what do these AI agents actually do? How do they work together and create revenue? And what are the skills needed by us humans to orchestrate and direct agents in the near future? Follow Kathrin and Tobias all the way from the office to the battlefield, from WhatsApp to Signal, and from U.S. to European Agentic AI - and re-shape your own future of work along the way.

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• Andrej Levin, how do we benefit from AI?

  The second episode of The Optimists welcomes an AI optimist: the Global Lead AI at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Dr. Andrej Levin. Andrej is also Managing Director and Partner at BCG’s Hamburg office, and he shares how his team builds an internal AI lab, trains so-called “Black Belts” in AI and works on turning AI into a revenue stream for its clients. Andrej shares how he automates some of his own workflows, and why he is optimistic about AI taking over the “ugliest four hours of the day” for many knowledge workers. It’s not too late for Europe, he concludes, to become an AI superpower.

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• Rolf Schumann, why do you want digital sovereignity?

  The inaugural episode of The Optimists welcomes a digital optimist and coder at heart: the Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits & CDO at Schwarz Group, Rolf Schumann. He discusses why he hosts the very first TECH by Handelsblatt Conference at the IPAI in Heilbronn and explains his optimistic views on digital sovereignty and Germany‘s and Europe‘s tech potential: “I’m convinced we will become a leader in cyber security, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.“ Enjoy The Optimist, Episode 1!

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