Leadership and Culture as the Real Drivers of Transformation

A Gathering in the Alps

Sometimes you need to step away from the city to create space for truly meaningful conversations. At the end of August, we gathered 25 tech leaders in the breathtaking setting of Maiensässhotel Guarda Val in Lenzerheide.

For two half-days, executives from across industries immersed themselves in thought-provoking talks, personal exchanges, and alpine inspiration. The program wasn’t just lectures—it was e-bike tours through the valley and a valuable chance to exchange business lessons from other tech leaders.

The deliberately intimate format, just 25 participants, meant that when the formal sessions ended, the real conversations began. As one participant put it: “When you slow down, breakthroughs happen.”

What’s Up with AI?

The event opened with a keynote from Francesco Ferra (Google Cloud) exploring the state of AI. His presentation traced AI’s evolution from classic rule-based systems to generative and now agentic AI, a shift from reactive tools to autonomous, problem-solving systems.

But alongside the opportunities came critical warnings. A recent MIT report highlights that 95% of AI pilots fail, not due to technology itself, but because of organisational and leadership shortcomings.

Ferra’s takeaway: the success of AI transformation is not only about algorithms and infrastructure. It is about culture—creating trust, fostering growth mindsets, breaking down silos, and above all, leaders who champion the vision.

That set the tone. Again and again, the pattern became undeniable: transformation success is determined not by code, but by culture.

Words From Our Speakers

Lukas Sieber: Market Dynamics

Lukas Sieber (Greater Zurich Area) framed the discussion with market dynamics between Switzerland and the US. Same technologies, different outcomes. The difference? Organisational DNA. Ecosystems and culture shape success far more than technical capability alone.

Francesco Ferra: AI & Culture

Ferra reinforced that technology is only part of the story. Agentic AI opens extraordinary opportunities, but its adoption depends on leadership clarity, cultural readiness, and ethical responsibility. His call to action was simple: leaders must be the ones who carry the AI vision.

Enkelejd Zotaj: Resiliency & Transformation

Enkelejd Zotaj (Luminor Group) brought the human dimension into sharp focus. He shared war stories from managing IT projects during the Ukraine conflict, where his team had life-or-death clarity. Everyone knew exactly why their work mattered.

That shared purpose cut through bureaucracy and silos faster than any agile framework could. Resilience, he argued, comes from purpose-driven leadership.

Simon Scheurer: AI Readiness Benchmark

Simon Scheurer (Serial Entrepreneur & Advisor) presented his AI readiness benchmark. The verdict? Too many organisations obsess over GPUs and models while their leadership and strategy remain stuck in 2019. His research showed that readiness is far more about culture, alignment, and communication than about technology maturity.

Dr. Philipp Gneiting: Venture Clienting

Dr. Philipp Gneiting (Plug & Play Tech Center) explained the Venture Clienting playbook. Corporate-startup collaboration succeeds not when companies buy shiny tools, but when they create cultures capable of absorbing change. Ninety percent of corporates say they practice open innovation, but only 40% see results. Why? Because innovation is blocked by culture, not technology.

Markus Sontheimer: The 8-Spoke Framework

Markus Sontheimer (ISS World Services) presented his 8-Spoke IT Transformation Framework. While it includes infrastructure, sourcing, and security, most of the spokes were about people and process. His case study—digitising 350,000 employees with the MyISS platform—proved the point. Success came not from deploying features, but from answering each employee’s question: “What’s in it for me?”

Reto Lämmler: Vibe Coding

Reto Lämmler (Founder & Investor) offered a creative lens with Vibe Coding. More than rapid prototyping, it’s about tearing down silos between UX, engineering, and compliance. The magic lies in getting diverse teams talking to each other from day one, creating flow states where collaboration fuels innovation.

The Real Threat Emerges

By the second day, the pattern was crystal clear:

• AI transformation fails when leaders treat it as a technology problem. It succeeds when they treat it as a culture problem that happens to use technology.

• The companies winning in AI aren’t the ones with the largest GPU budgets. They’re the ones where leadership creates psychological safety for experimentation, where teams have shared purpose, and where communication flows faster than code deployments.

As one participant summarised: “You can buy any tech stack in the world, but you can’t buy culture. You need to live it.”

An Alpine Takeaway

The Alps reminded us of something essential: technology is temporary, but culture endures. AI will keep evolving, but the organisations that thrive will be those where leaders share vision, foster dialogue, and build environments of trust.

At CREATEQ, this resonates deeply. We believe transformation is not about the next algorithm, but about the quality of relationships, clarity of purpose, and the courage of leaders to work on soft skills as hard as they work on tech stacks.

So, as we descend from the mountains and return to our organisations, the call to action is clear: work on your soft skills as hard as you work on your tech stack.

Inspire with vision, align with mission, and empower with trust. That’s how transformation takes root and how innovation truly flourishes.