VEON
else ,” he says . “ Not about your competition , just the customer .
“ See what the customer really wants , then look at what ’ s impacting the customer and what affects their choices . Is it a competitive thing which is influencing them ? The internet , their freedom ? What is going to make up the customer ’ s mind on what to choose and what not to choose ?
“ Clean-sheet thinking is something like the automotive industry moving towards a completely electronic car . An electronic car is nothing but a computer on wheels and Tesla figured that out .
“ It ’ s very hard for the incumbent big auto manufacturers to make a hybrid car . They are building on the same chassis , they ’ re constrained by the engine room , by the back room . But Tesla clean-sheeted – they wanted space , a beautiful dashboard with everything visible like a computer screen …
“ That ’ s key when you transform . Keep the customer , understand the forces acting on them . Forget about the rest . Then find a way to provide the best solution for the customer while being sustainable and competitive in the marketplace .”
Leading technology transformation Malik and VEON ’ s leadership clean sheeted their entire organisation and pivoted it around the needs of their customers . For a company with over 235mn customers across a wide variety of territories , embarking on such a comprehensive reformation was certainly bold . But Malik is adamant that VEON represents more than a rebrand - the company ’ s mission , identity , and culture are ready for the future and the rebrand is a ribbon on the package .
“ VEON is a company where on one hand we have extremely big size and diversity - but not only that , we have a great pioneering spirit . Amongst the diversity and the scale , we are able to pioneer new frontiers , and that makes us very , very special ,” he says .
“ Now the CTO role for me is extremely important in this journey . It ’ s about moving from conceptual
38 December 2017