28/10/2014

Pedro Navarrete: «Business Strategy Has to Adapt to Each Specific Moment in Time»

Pedro Navarrete, the former Senior Vice President of Sony Europe, gave a lecture on business strategy on Monday, 22 September 2014, to students in the final year of the Business Administration programme.

Navarrete began by reflecting on the present moment, in which "markets and consumers are quickly and constantly changing". This is due to changes in the environment, competitors, suppliers and technological advances.

According to Navarrete, in this situation, "companies have to change constantly to survive". For this reason, when a strategy is defined, i.e. the method of going from point A to point B, "it will keep changing over time because everything around it is also changing, so the strategy has to adapt to each specific moment in time".

Navarrete also made it clear that a company strategy "is essential" not only because it provides order when doing things, but also to ensure it is always clear "what should be done to achieve the company's objectives". He added that it is a good idea when planning strategies not to have more than three, because "you have to be able to control them all".

In addition to strategy, innovation is also very useful in the business world. "It's essential for the company to make room for itself on the market", Navarrete said.

The session was held within the context of the subject Economics and Business, which is taught by Profs. Carlos Rey and Marta Mas and forms part of the Department of Management by Missions and Corporate Governance.