Fergal McHugh

Fergal McHugh is Head of Strategy at Arekibo. Fergal is responsible for overseeing Arekibo’s innovation and growth strategies. Fergal also works with Arekibo’s customers in Ireland and Europe, advising them on how to integrate and scale digital innovation into their organisations.

With a background in software development Fergal subsequently pursued roles in solution architecture and business development before moving into digital business strategy. Leveraging this background Fergal brings a sensitivity to the complexity and cost of implementing genuinely transformative digital strategies to the design of digital programmes that deliver real value for stakeholders. Before joining Arekibo Fergal was Managing Director at Clearscape, a Dublin based digital design agency.

In addition to his role at Arekibo, Fergal is interested in research exploring the impact of digital on everyday life. He publishes and presents internationally on a range of topics related to creativity and ethics. Fergal has previously held an Irish Research Council postgraduate fellowship and a UCD postdoctoral fellowship.

Title: Real Digital Transformation: Challenges and Strategies

Synopsis: It is essential for teams working on digital transformation programmes today to win “hearts and minds” inside the customer organisation. Getting B2B firms to take digital seriously requires addressing recurring challenges: stakeholder scepticism, lack of consensus on strategic and business aims and barriers to adoption and employee empowerment. With a specific focus on digitally maturing B2B firms, Fergal talks about strategies that can help meet these challenges.