Ettore is co-creating solutions with diverse teams to digitally transform a flexible energy system

My name is Ettore Ferranti, and I lead our Service & Digital Solutions R&D organisation. In my role as Global Tech Manager – Service & Digital Solutions, I lead distributed software teams in India, Poland, and Switzerland, and we are responsible for the creation of software solutions for our services and digital domain. 

My days are never the same, and I could be working on the strategy on how to best digitalise the product portfolio of our customers in the morning, discuss agile development and software architecture in the afternoon, and fight for a budget increase the next morning. Outside of work, I believe it still best to have time for family, friends, or hobbies.

I love that we are providing all sorts of services to our customers, like remote monitoring of their assets, data analysis, remote patching, and cybersecurity services to name a few. These make the electrical grid more resilient and power grids become more flexible and adaptable to change. This helps when we need to rely on and integrate more renewable energy sources. We are giving our customers the peace of mind they need to really focus on what they do best, and leave the maintenance, patching, protecting, and monitoring to us. I feel like this is how we are contributing to a better environment, and I love every bit of it.

An empowered team with a clear vision

I believe that an organisation can only perform well if the people have a clear sense of purpose, are experts in what they do, and have the freedom to reach a goal in whatever way they see fit.  After all, only happy people can make customers happy. My objective when supporting my team is to communicate a clear vision of our future digital platform and generally remove obstructions from their way, so that they can focus on what they do best, which is creating great software. 

Being able to experience the right mix of teamwork and independence is what makes working with teams around the globe so special. There are times where I don’t really need to add anything to someone's work, and I can focus on something else. That level of trust and productivity is what I always aim for and what I use as personal goal in anything I do. 

People-centered development with diversity and inclusion

It makes me proud to have the opportunity to lead in an organisation where every person is welcome and their differences valued, because this is what makes us stronger. I feel that it can be difficult to make progress when you are taking yourself too seriously. That is why we always find time for a kind word or for a smile. 

I am happy to be part of championing the introduction of the post-COVID New Norm in the company. Giving more flexibility such as work location or working time and offering more digital and collaborative work opportunities. Not to mention this also supports reducing our carbon footprint, with significantly reduced travel. It feels great to be working for a company deeply committed to a better future for our environment, and to fighting climate change. I am proud for being a part of all of this.