Fernando Gonzalez, our global CEO, sent out this message last week
Dear Colleagues,
Earlier this year, we launched our Smart Innovation Process to further empower innovation across our organisation. This initiative complements our CEMEX Innovation Model, which integrates —under a single framework— CEMEX Ventures, our digital strategy, and now the Smart Innovation process.
One key element of this process is the global Smart Innovation Challenge. We have achieved the first milestone in Smart Innovation: working as One CEMEX to boost employee participation in search of disruptive, transformative innovation—not just in our core business, but across our industry’s entire value chain.
In this first Challenge, we received more than 1,250 ideas from employees and suppliers across each of our regions. From this extensive pool of ideas, a diverse group of experts from CEMEX has identified 120 ideas with high innovation potential for possible testing or execution.
As we continue this process, we will test some of these ideas through agile, disciplined, and equitable execution that offers the freedom to fail. Likewise, we will continue to work as One CEMEX, providing visibility and support to our functional areas, centers of excellence, and CEMEX Ventures.
I am excited about the high level of commitment and participation in this first Challenge. I would like to recognise and congratulate the finalists from each region for your creativity, skill, and conviction in pitching your ideas, especially our winner of the 2019 Smart Innovation Challenge.
I invite you to meet the finalists and this year’s winner in this video: [link]
Working together, we all share in the success of our commitment to innovation and cultural change.
Congratulations to you all! Fernando