THE FUTURE, - Solvay

16
INTERVIEW > The jury and its president
Solvay live – How has the spirit of
innovation evolved within the Group
since the last SIT in 2006?
Jacques van Rijckevorsel – Personally, I
see a greater awareness of the importance
of innovation for the lasting success of a
business. The Group has deployed the
three main directions of growth identified
by the Executive Committee: new products
and applications, new technologies
and new countries. We see that this awareness
is touching more and more people,
in our offices, labs and plants. Overall,
28% of Group income in 2008 came from
Jacques van Rijckevorsel,
General Manager of the
Plastics Sector and Group
Innovation Sponsor.
The crisis?
A call for innovation
With the fifth edition of the solvay innovation trophy (sit)
noW in full sWing, With 406 proJeCts entered and
100 preseleCted, JaCques van riJCkevorsel, general manager
of the plastiCs seCtor and group innovation sponsor,
shares his thoughts.
products, applications, technologies and /
or geographical positions which did not
exist five years ago. The practice of setting
innovation objectives, both for teams and
at the individual level, is gradually spreading.
SL – Is the economic crisis we are
experiencing having an impact on
innovation management at Solvay?
JvR – This crisis is a clear indicator that a
certain model of how our world works has
reached its limits. So we need to reinvent it,
at least in some aspects. We certainly find
28%
of group income
in 2008 came
from new products
and technologies
(developed in the last fi ve years), compared with 22%
in 2007. the target for 2009 is 30%.
The jury
Outside judges
Bruno van Pottelsberghe
A professor at the ulB
university (Belgium), he is
a specialist in the
evaluation of innovation
and science policy
(European and national).
He teaches the
management of R&D
programs and intellectual property at the
Solvay Business School (Belgium). He was
formerly Chief Economist at the European
Patent Offi ce.
Jean-Marie Solvay
Independent Board
member of Solvay,
member of the Solvay New
Business Board and owner
of real estate companies in
Berlin. Previously CFO of
Iridian Technologies
(Switzerland) and CEO of
Helitradewinds and Winco Helicopters, both
helicopter surveillance companies based in
Portland, uSA. Aircraft and helicopter pilot and
instructor.
Ludo Van der Heyden
Holder of the Solvay Chair
in Technological
Innovation at INSEAD
(France), he has taught at
this prestigious school
since 1988, where he
currently directs the
Advanced Management
Program for senior executives, and was
several times nominated as outstanding
professor. He also teaches at the Solvay
Business School (Belgium).
ourselves at very special moment in the
history of civilization. Thus, at a company
like ours, I see especially in this crisis a call
to be more innovative in all areas of our
responsibility: in managing our priorities,
our operating costs, our industrial equipment,
our approach to our markets, our
collaborations both internal and external...
A combination of curiosity, strength of