PILAR MOLINA

What was the reason that led you to the world of science and technology?

My father was a civil engineer. Since I was a child, he used to take me to construction sites and explain things about layout and concrete. I always wanted to be an engineer. I find it exciting and a good way to contribute to the betterment of humanity.

Since your finished your studies in Telecommunication Engineering, your professional career has remained linked to the University of Zaragoza, as a teacher and researcher, but also as an entrepreneur with the birth of Epic Power Converters S.L., a spin-off of the university, in 2012. Tell us how you combine teaching, research and business, and which one you prefer the most.

I combine them like a juggler with five balls. Sometimes some of them fall to the ground… Above all, since I love all three facets and they contribute to me, I manage to do juggle them with many hours of work, a lot of organization, fantastic people around me, a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and not hesitating to ask for help when I can’t take it anymore. I have learned to disconnect completely in some moments that help me to recharge my batteries to the fullest.

During your professional career, you became president of the Spanish Section of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) professional organization. What kind of initiatives did you carry out during that period?

I believe that professional associations are key to make 1+1 become more than just 2 and I try, as far as I can, to contribute to promote the cooperative culture. The IEEE is an international association of engineers, with more than half a million members worldwide and I was for two years the visible head in Spain. During the time I was president we collaborated with other institutions such as professional associations (very similar in some respects to the IEEE but at the national level), we did initiatives with business schools such as IE Business School, we convened in Madrid IEEE meetings of all EMEA, one in particular of students, which was great, above all, to promote the exchange of such disparate cultures and diversity.

Increasing the female presence in the field of engineering is one of your focuses of interest; in fact, you are the author of the book: El mundo necesita ingenieras ¿Quieres ser una? Do you think that the lack of references and recognition of female talent are key reasons for women being a minority in technical studies? What is the role of the strong gender bias in education in the lack of female technical vocations?

I was always surprised that, being such a magnificent profession, there were not more women. So I have dedicated part of my efforts to try to find out why there are fewer with the aim of reversing this trend. After years of efforts together with my colleagues from AMIT – Aragon (Association of Women Researchers and Technologists in Aragon) we have realized that the gap opens at very early ages, even before high school. We organized the first Girls’ Day in Spain and now we are going further down, to primary school, with initiatives such as “An Engineer in every school” and the storybook 1001 Women Engineers, with stories and experiments aimed at the youngest. We don’t realize it, but there are many subtle social biases that keep girls away, first from mathematics and then from science and engineering. And that’s a shame, because there is a lot of value-added employment, because it’s a beautiful profession that contributes to society and, above all, because diversity in teams makes them stronger, more innovative and generates more value for the companies that have it. I recognize that it is difficult for companies in the sector to get more women in this type of technical positions, so we will have to start from the grassroots, and be creative in recruiting and recycling female talent from other sectors/fields.

EPIC POWER

How and why was Epic Power born? Tell us about your growth trajectory during this decade.

As a research group we were doing a collaborative project with an Aragonese company in the sector, which strategically decided not to diversify in this line at that time and passed the baton to us. It is true that what we do, power electronics, is not very common in the sector except for the case of variators and we launched a first product, the ERS (Energy Recovery System) that we really had to redo to make it simpler and cheaper before starting to succeed years after our founding in 2012. Then, thanks to being in the market, we launched the P2S product which allows any new or existing elevator, with any common drive, to be powered from batteries or from solar panels. The first years were hard, we had to reinvent ourselves and save the valley of death, and we were starting with a lot of things already done. From 2015, things really started to take off little by little. We are now a company with more than 20 employees, exporting to 38 countries and boasting of being a company from a “provincial industrial zone”. We have reached this point without outside investors, little by little, through hard work and humility, but always seeking to offer reliable and innovative solutions. We maintain a very active relationship with the University of Zaragoza and others to try to bring to the industry as soon as possible research results that add value to our customers.

Epic Power transforms any elevator to use energy in a smart way, taking advantage of energy storage and solar energy. How do you do it?

The technology that is really inside both the ERS product (which stores the braking energy in supercapacitors) and the P2S product (which powers a permanent magnet motor from either 48V batteries or from solar panels), is what is known as a bidirectional DC/DC (direct current/direct current) converter. It is a power electronics element that requires devices switching, “big” transistors switching between on/off, other magnetic and passive elements, and a very special control, with a lot of supporting knowledge, that allows this energy transformation to perform in a robust, accurate and practical way in the elevator application. Besides, knowledge of the elements that allow energy storage, supercapacitors, batteries of different types with their particular idiosyncrasies is important, making the products we offer easier to install.

You believe in “a future powered by direct current”. What kind of solutions does Epic Power offer to make this possible?

Epic Power has diversified a lot in the last 5 years. We sell DC solutions for many sectors such as intralogistics, energy storage, green hydrogen, electrification of the maritime sector and others, energy communities… our “blue boxes” allow us to transform energy into DC in a bidirectional way, we are a DC transformer and this today has multiple applications. We are looking forward to new innovative development projects in hydrogen cells (fuel cells) for electrification of different sectors and in applications for flow batteries, which are an interesting alternative for more sustainable stationary storage.

 When did Epic Power start in the elevator sector and what are you currently working on to continue improving it through your technology? Do you have agreements with large companies in the sector to integrate your technology in elevators?

Our origin was the elevator, diversification came later. We started in projects for the sector before becoming a company, since 2007 or even before. And there is still a lot to do because until recently, almost nobody gave too much importance to how an elevator consumes energy or how much. You just plugged it into a three-phase power and it was ready to go. And this is changing. We have had to learn a lot about it and this knowledge is what we now call “energy intelligence” of the elevator. There are many new things that energy storage in electrical form can provide, and we are going to try to bring them to this sector, which is generally not very prone to risk or change. In that respect, the IoT, the name of this magazine is key to being able to carry out the introduction of energy improvements in the elevator. We are working on the “real-Zero” elevator. It is something that goes beyond the “net-Zero” concept, a net-zero CO2 elevator can be achieved (I exaggerate a bit) by planting trees around it. We want to go further.

As far as the big companies are concerned, we do what we can, like all the little guys in this market.

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY

Together with Beltrán Ascensores and Nayar as members of AECAE, the Cluster of the Association of Companies of Components for Lifting Devices, you developed in 2022 a monitoring and BigData architecture project in the management of energy consumption in elevators connected to batteries and solar generation systems as a source of energy. What can you tell us about it?

The project is a good example of what an organization like AECAE does, helping three companies in the sector, at different points of the value chain, to collaborate in innovation. Beltrán Ascensores has an important park of battery-powered elevators, enabled by our P2S system. We wanted this park to be monitored and, above all, to solve a major headache: when to change the batteries before they fail, but reaching the end of their useful life.  With the developments of the project, the maintainer can know from home what is the health state of batteries.

You have been a member of the Power Electronics and Microelectronics Group, a reference research group of the Government of Aragon, which focuses mainly on efficient power conversion and transfer. What are the current lines of research in efficient energy conversion that you are working on?

New types of devices, better magnetic components that are more compact and efficient, improvements in the control electronics that allow less losses and more diverse applications, and different AI methods that contribute to applicability and strength. For example, we are now launching a research project for predictive maintenance of the converters themselves while improving their performance to make them more applicable to the green hydrogen sector.

It has been three years since the world as we knew it came to a standstill in the face of the severe COVID-19 global health crisis, worsening almost two years ago with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The economic effects have been far-reaching globally. From the energy point of view, what have been the consequences and how has it affected your business plans?

I would have to say (laughs) that, if the price of energy increases, those of us who oversee saving it, are doing well. In fact, we have seen the payback time of the equipment improve substantially, of course.

Apart from this anecdotal point, these recent crises have accelerated the global energy paradigm shift. There is a need for independence from fossil fuels, but it cannot be achieved only through solar and/or wind power, although these will undoubtedly increase. The return to hydrogen as an energy vector is still far from being an economically viable alternative in many cases, but obviously nothing can be achieved without investing in it. We cannot focus only on how energy is generated, but also, almost more importantly, how and how much is spent. That certainly affects the elevator as well and we hope to have something to offer in this regard.

From your position as a teacher, researcher, entrepreneur and leader of a technology company, how can we contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals established within the 2030 Agenda?

To begin with, investing. It is good that attention is drawn to the SDGs and that today we are all aware of what they are and have them in mind. Almost nothing is achieved at zero cost, and the final burden will fall on companies and users, like almost everything else. And since we pay for it, we will demand it. And that will generate a virtuous circle that will take generations to complete. But come on, I think that, despite its many failures and torments, with a lot of inequality still to be overcome, humanity is enjoying an era that it is historically situated in one of the moments of greatest plenitude, justice and peace. So, we must be doing something right. Maybe it’s just that I always see the glass very, very full.

Do you think that nowadays companies are more aware of the importance of sustainable technology and place sustainability at the center of their corporate strategies to work on it transversally?

Some do, others are just facelifts, or are “forced” to do so. I see everything in the whole gray scale.

What do you see in store for us in the coming years in terms of sustainable technology? What is the future horizon for those technologies focused on the principles of sustainability?

Self-consumption will be widespread, which will bring with it the need for storage, which will have to be simplified and made cheaper. Energy storage will be applied to completely unsuspected things, since only with an energy buffer we can be “energetically intelligent”. As storage will be necessary, new methods will appear, I have even read about small desalinated water reservoirs in height, taking advantage of our orography and taking advantage of the hours of surplus. Of course, we will have to think “out-of-the-box” and invest in order to reduce costs. Just look at the price of lithium batteries or solar panels in recent decades. I am glad to know that Epic Power, as a provider of power electronics solutions, if we do it right, we will have plenty of work to do. And because we enjoy our work, we are looking forward to the next few years.

La entrada Interview with Pilar Molina · IoT&Elevators 8 · CEO and founder of Epic Power se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

ELLIS ALICANTE FOUNDATION BLOCK

1. How and why was ELLIS Foundation Alicante born?

ELLIS (The European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, https://ellis.eu) is a non-profit association based in Germany, created by the European Artificial Intelligence scientific community, with a committed focus on scientific excellence, innovation, and the positive social impact of Artificial Intelligence (hereafter AI). ELLIS’ mission is to contribute to European technological sovereignty in Artificial Intelligence and to make Europe competitive in this strategic area vis-à-vis North America and Asia. As such, ELLIS’ priority is to invest in excellent research talent, creating an environment that is sufficiently attractive to bring, retain and nurture the next generation of excellent researchers in modern Artificial Intelligence.

ELLIS’s strategy aims at accelerating Europe’s AI position regarding its natural competitors on a global scale, and therefore rests on four pillars necessary to reinforce technological excellence and sovereignty in a research field that has so much competitive value in the short, medium and especially the long term:

Pillar I: attract, inspire, nurture and connect Europe’s best doctoral students through a pan-European doctoral program.

Pillar II: connecting the best European researchers through an ELLIS Fellows and Scholars program dedicated to diverse topics, from basic research in theory and algorithms, to AI applications in health and climate sciences and humanistic aspects of AI.

Pillar III: to create a network of ELLIS Units located in prestigious European institutions, or a unit created from scratch, to carry out research of excellence in modern AI in Europe, as primary support for the creation, in the medium term, of ELLIS Institutes, with a more ambitious budget. An ELLIS unit is an excellent research group that commits to be ambassadors of ELLIS and to fulfill the vision, mission and conditions defined by ELLIS (https://ellis.eu/units).

Pillar IV: establish collaborations with entities outside the academic environment, such as companies, European institutions, foundations, venture capital funds and start-ups.

After four competitive selection processes, ELLIS has selected 35 ELLIS units in 14 European countries and Israel. These ELLIS units include some of the best research groups in modern Artificial Intelligence, not only on an European level but worldwide, such as units in Oxford, Cambridge, ETH Zurich, several Max Planck institutes or the Technion in Israel. One of these 35 units is the ELLIS unit in Alicante, which was approved by ELLIS Europe in December 2019. The proposal for the creation of the Alicante ELLIS unit was made possible thanks to the commitment of the Generalitat Valenciana to provide the necessary funding, required by ELLIS Europe.

In order to meet the conditions defined by ELLIS with the aim of creating a globally competitive research environment, ELLIS Alicante was established in May 2020 as a private non-profit foundation, thanks to the non-refundable donations of 35 individuals and one legal entity.

The ELLIS Alicante Unit works in three broad areas of basic research in Modern Artificial Intelligence focused on people:

• AI to understand us, through the modeling of human behavior (both at the individual and aggregate level),
• AI with which we interact, through the development of interactive intelligent systems; and
• AI we trust, by addressing the ethical challenges and limitations of AI systems used for decision making.

Therefore, the nickname of the ELLIS Alicante unit is “Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence”. ELLIS Alicante aims to perform high level research in Artificial Intelligence by and for people. It is the only Artificial Intelligence research Foundation in our country, and one of the few in the world, with this clear focus on working for artificial intelligence to have a positive social impact.

2. ELLIS Alicante Foundation has created a first-class research team on the ethical research of Artificial Intelligence focused on the relationship between people and intelligent systems. In your own words, Nuria, you said that “any powerful technology such as Artificial Intelligence can be used to improve or destroy the world”. So, how are you improving the world at ELLIS Foundation Alicante?

Until early 2022, the main focus of ELLIS Alicante has been to contribute to fight the pandemic through research in Artificial Intelligence. From March 2020 to April 2022, I led a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from different universities and research centers in the Valencian Community, working in four main areas: (1) aggregate human mobility modeling, (2) computational epidemiological models, (3) predictive models of hospital occupancy, ICUs and disease prevalence and (4) a large citizen survey, called COVID19impactsurvey which, with more than 720,000 responses is one of the largest in the world. In addition to having a regional impact through our collaboration with the Presidency of the Generalitat Valenciana, we have had a global impact. Our Artificial Intelligence models for predicting the number of COVID19 cases and for recommending measures were the global winners of the XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge, as well as winners of the award for best scientific paper in applied data science at ECML-PKDD 2021. WIRED magazine described our team’s work in detail in an article published in September 2021 highlighting the pioneering nature of this initiative: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/valencia-ai-covid-data

Since the beginning of 2022, we have been working on additional projects aimed at inventing AI systems that do not discriminate, that preserve people’s privacy and that are interpretable. We are also studying the social impact of AI algorithms that permeate social networks, including the impact of these algorithms on art censorship or the impact of popular beautification filters. We are also studying how Artificial Intelligence can help us mitigate the cognitive biases we humans have that impact our decision making.

3. Keeping people’s well-being is one of your premises, as you carry out research to understand the scope and impact of Artificial Intelligence on people’s lives. Do you think society feels empowered enough to decide their own future regarding AI solutions?

No, I don’t think society right now feels empowered, unfortunately. A key factor for such empowerment is knowledge. It is difficult, if not impossible, to have an informed opinion on unknown topics. That is why it is so important to popularize science and technology and to invest in the training of all people in technological matters. An ignorant or uninformed society is a society that is very vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation.

4. ELLIS Foundation Alicante is a particularly attractive environment for researchers. Which measures have you implemented to attract and retain talent? Is it easy for you to find talent? What do you consider to be the key to recruiting and retaining the best talent?

Expert research talent in Artificial Intelligence is extremely scarce and in high demand, particularly by technology companies, which offer extraordinary working conditions. In addition, ELLIS Europe defines very demanding criteria for scientific excellence as the focus of ELLIS Europe is exceptional talent. Therefore, the biggest challenge for ELLIS Alicante is to create a working environment that is competitive enough to attract this talent. This includes being able to offer internationally competitive salaries, and to define a very agile, non-bureaucratic work culture, with financial stability to be able to carry out medium-long term projects, with intellectual freedom, without teaching load, doing fundamental research with purpose, in a collaborative and international environment.

NURIA OLIVER BLOCK

5. Scientific Director and co-founder of ELLIS Alicante Foundation, Chief Data Scientist of Data-Pop Alliance, Chief Scientific Advisor of Vodafone Institute and a long etcetera. How can you deal with so much at the same time?

With a lot of organization, work capacity and passion, as well as the support of many people, both professional and personal collaborators, my friends, family and especially my husband.

6. The awards and recognitions you gained throughout your professional career are numerous, being the first Spanish woman to win the prestigious Technical Leadership Abie award in 2021, that recognizes the technological contributions of women with a positive impact on the business world or society. The same year you have won the “Rey Jaume I” award in the category of New Technologies; in 2020 you received the “Women to follow in technology” award and in 2019 the “Data Scientist of the Year in Europe” award; you became “Female Engineer of the Year” in 2018 (….); and you are the academic director of the “Women and Engineering” initiative of the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain, which you joined in 2019. How do you think female leadership in the technology sector should be promoted?

The technology sector suffers from an alarming lack of demographic diversity, including a lack of gender diversity. It is estimated that only 10%-15% of the world’s experts in Artificial Intelligence are female. This lack of diversity has an immense impact both economically (estimated at billions of euros per year in the European Union) and socially, as diversity in teams helps to generate more innovative and inclusive solutions. It is therefore an absolute priority to promote female leadership in the technology sector. Some actions that can help achieve this goal include the creation of mentoring networks, the requirement of diversity in the selection and promotion processes, campaigns to give visibility to women working in the technology sector, as well as to break down erroneous stereotypes about who works in technology. Actions such as these are part of the “Women and Engineering” project of the Royal Academy of Engineering, of which I am the academic director.

7. How does it feel to be one of the most cited women researchers in Spain both in scientific articles and in top-level international conferences and journals? How do you get there?

Research is a highly vocational profession, since you work all day long, thinking very intensely about new ideas, solutions to existing problems, reading or writing scientific articles, participating in conferences, etc… In many cases, including mine, researchers combine our passion with our profession.

I feel very grateful for the fact that my publications have been well received by the scientific community and have managed to have an impact in the world. The driving force of my work is always to contribute my efforts to improve the world through AI scientific research.

8. You have indicated on numerous occasions that one of your areas of expertise is modeling human behavior computationally, using Artificial Intelligence techniques. What is the field that most excites you when it comes to improving people’s lives thanks to AI?

Artificial Intelligence has immense potential to help us address the great challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, the energy crisis, population aging or pandemics. This potential of AI to have positive social impact is the major motivation for my work. In addition to working in these areas of positive social impact, I am also very interested in researching the impact of AI on people, both individually and collectively, at the societal level.

BLOCKS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL TALENT

9. What is the biggest misconception about Artificial Intelligence?

Probably two ideas: firstly, that Artificial Intelligence is about robots and, secondly, that Artificial Intelligence is a concept of the future. It is important to highlight that we already interact with Artificial Intelligence systems in our everyday life, since AI algorithms allow us to find information on the internet; talk to our mobile, smart speaker or our car; recommend books, movies or news to friends; detect faces when we take pictures with our mobile, and so on… to give some examples of current life. A couple of years ago I wrote a booklet about Artificial Intelligence, called “Artificial Intelligence, naturally” published by the Ministry of Economy and Digital Society, which could be of interest.

10. Will there be a time when human intelligence will become subservient to Artificial Intelligence?

I think it is important to note that the impact of AI on our lives today – not in the future, but right now – is already immense, and it is an AI considered either inferior or close to human AI. It is therefore vital to understand the impact that AI is already having on our society and our lives. We must also ensure that the AI systems that permeate the apps and digital services we use in our daily lives are aimed at our well-being, and respect basic ethical principles.

11. Are there enough professionals with the necessary training to work in the field of Artificial Intelligence? What professional profile should the person who is dedicated to researching and converting data into knowledge have?

No, there are not enough expert AI researchers. Therefore, it is very important to inspire the next generation to consider studying a technological career. The most common profile to become an AI researcher is to have a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, which is a discipline within Computer Science.

12. How can we prepare ourselves as a society for the transformation brought about by Artificial Intelligence techniques? There are professions that are going to be transformed, others that are not yet developed… How can we reinvent ourselves professionally in the face of this paradigm? How will the rise of AI affect the labor market in terms of jobs?

We already are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution which, similar to other industrial revolutions, is profoundly transforming society. This transformation includes important changes in the productive fabric and the labor market. Different institutions around the world anticipate displacements of millions of jobs due to this IV Industrial Revolution and also predict a net creation of thousands of jobs that will be, to a large extent, technological in nature. Therefore, it is vitally important to have a mindset of constant learning in life and lifelong studying, as we will probably have to evolve or change our jobs several times throughout our lives.

13. In addition to the development of technical knowledge, it is also essential to invest in the development of soft skills such as emotional intelligence, communication and public speaking, teamwork, critical thinking… How important is the development of these skills to succeed in a technological world characterized by constant change?

Indeed, cultivating the skills of our social and emotional intelligences, our creativity and critical thinking takes on great importance, as these skills give us the resilience, adaptability, ability to manage uncertainty and collaboration needed in 21st century society.

14. How do you think a company should approach the recruitment of new technological talent?

Ambitiously and creatively. Technological talent is scarce and in high demand. As a result, talented people in this area are very demanding in terms of their working conditions and the professional growth opportunities that companies can offer. At the same time, the greatest asset that any company has – and by extension society – is its talent. Therefore, it should be a priority to develop specific actions to attract and retain technological talent, as well as to train existing company personnel to acquire technological knowledge.

La entrada Interview with Nuria Oliver · Co-Founder and Director of the ELLIS unit Alicante Foundation se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

La entrada The elevator as an instrument of change se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

La entrada Nayar Systems’ IoT technology conquers the elevator industry in the Asian market se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

It is simple for me. I have been teaching at the University of Barcelona for 40 years and every year I update my materials for the subjects I teach. One of the subjects is “Analysis of financial states” so I always try to find the companies that are at the forefront, although in the last 8 – 9 years I started using technological companies. I liked these companies, so I started looking into them, analyzing their financial states, researching how and what they were doing. At the end of the day, the book is not anything else but representing what I have been teaching in my classes lately, explaining their financial secrets and economic profile that characterizes these companies. Thanks to these references of the economic situation and the economy in general, I can explain how the world is changing, what these companies are seeing, what they are doing, what they are anticipating. In Europe we are a little behind the times and in Spain we are lost. For me the achievement resides in starting to write because I have had the idea, the structure and the materials for years, at least  since 2011 or 2012 when I realized that the world was going in a different direction.

• In your book, you talk about this new disruptive economy that has changed not only our way of living and consuming but the way of conceiving the companies, their finances and their production processes. What is the difference between these technological companies and any other traditional industry company that have dominated the global economy during the last few centuries?

I would say these companies are innovative, so they are innovating every day. And we only see just a part of the innovation. These are companies that dedicate a large amount of resources to Research and Development. These are companies that choose a team with big talent and also with the liberty to evolve. These are companies that look for practical solutions for our lives in all aspects and in all scales. And most importantly, these companies focus on the core of their activity. From what is their core business they look how they can expand their activity and, without realizing and I believe not intentionally, they penetrate other sectors. In this way, at the end there is a symbiosis between service and industry, what we call “servindustry”. These companies look after the shareholders, pay them good dividends, they repurchase shares and they like the economic freedom. Also, companies have a brutal capacity to monetize their know-how. Therefore they know how to turn all their capacities into money and it implicates to know the world, be resilient, know where you are going to and, above all, they have a very clear strategy for the future.

• What lessons could and should Spanish companies learn to join the digital era with success?

In the first place, they should be at the forefront of all the progress, as the progress at the end of the day is what brings us success. Also they have to look up to other companies, companies that are never satisfied with what they have, that think out of the box and look for new business lines, that know how to invest, which is very important in general. Often the investments we make are not investments in knowledge or in technological capital. And this is the challenge of the future. These companies have very “light” operating accounts which means they do not have excessive expenses. The expenses they have are appropriate amount but they establish something important and it is the financial result. There must be results because that is what allows us to make money. And I do not mean it in a bad or harmful perspective but allows us to make money to pay a fair wage to people, to pay good to the shareholder, to have own resources which give us an important strength. These are companies that have a great concept for assets that is the liquidity. It should be pointed out that for some companies like Apple, at the moment 62% of their total assets is cash but 2 years ago it was the 72%. Therefore we are talking about companies  that really are not interested in impossible projects but in effective business investments.

• However this technological revolution comes with a lot of challenges and risks for the business ecosystem and even for some countries. Which factors should they have in mind to be competitive and consolidate these new tech markets?

I think this is unstoppable. What is happening is that there is an inferiority complex in some European countries that they try to fight with fines, taxes and making their live impossible. The problem is that Europe has not progressed. This technological evolution and revolution has been lead by the United States and now by China and while these countries were moving forward, in Europe we were not doing anything. We have been watching them with no capacity to react. So I think countries are afraid now since these companies are gaining power and at the end of the day the real enemy are not the countries but the tech companies. I refer to current information that we receive from the media. There is a hunt against these companies, which will be dominating the world more and more with every day.

• As you know in Europe there is a debate around the so known “Google tax”, a tax for the digital giants. What, do you think, motivates some of the countries within the European Union to introduce these measures? How could this affect Spain?

Negatively. Because also we have to keep in mind that these “Google tax” will be paid by us, the consumers. Obviously the companies will include this tax in the final customer price and it will close the door for us for a market that is very important for Spain which is the export for the United States. Donald Trump and, in particular, the State Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, sent recently a letter to several Internal Revenue ministers in Europe, as well as to our minister Montero, demanding to retract the plan for the “Google tax”  with the threat to impose customs duty of 100% on Spanish goods. This means that the market closes completely for Spanish products – agriculture, industry, all types of products in a market that is very important and fundamental, not only because of quantity but because of quality.

• At present, we live in an era of “economic war” between the United Stated and China which, without a doubt, could destabilize global economy and even change its course. Is this aspect important for Spanish companies which are planning on expanding internationally in China?

China has one of the leading roles at the moment. I always try to explain it in  a humorous or ironic way. They started installing the devices that the US invented, so the technological push came from North America. However China started learning and installing their own devices. Companies such as Huawei and many others are the example. Nevertheless, they have realized that the essence of the development is not only the technology itself but all the process and networks that make possible to transfer, utilize and provide technologies. The key in the future will be the networks. While China is already working on 5G networks, the US is getting behind and Europe is even further away in this process. Today they have a leading role and as soon as they start gaining more power, because they do have greater and greater economic influence, they will win positions globally. This will lead to an even more aggravated conflict between the US and China. Meanwhile in Europe, we are a little distracted. We are confronted with the Americans or Donald Trump has confronted Europe, and, on the other hand, we are reluctant of recognizing Chinese progress. But be careful because we all will be Chinese at the end! I mean that Chinese people come to Europe because they like it a lot and they will end up buying the continent.

• In every process of internationalization, it is crucial to adapt to new markets, local culture, tax systems or politics, among other factors. In general what are the differences between American, European and Asian markets?

The Asian culture is very different compared to ours. Within the cultures in Asia there are differences between the countries and their ceremonies, liturgies, diverse ways of negotiating. The North Americans know they are the leaders of the world, therefore this leadership is very important. At the moment the Unites States is the biggest force in economic terms which is why everyone should be on good terms with the US. I think this is the key factor. Europe is our world and right now we need a generation with a bigger drive. The next 6 months will be crucial, based on Angel Markel’s push. And then, there is this Europe, that truly, we do not know to what extent is the European Union, is not the European Union…giving the circumstances. This is why Europe has to reinvent its spirits.

• R & D is one of the foundations of a country to be competitive in terms of innovation. Which, do you think, is the perfect combination between public and private investments in R & D? Which are the sectors in Spain to invest in to make the most of our potential and strengths?

The R & D is crucial because countries that make the biggest efforts in Research and Development regarding the percentage of their GDP, are the countries at the forefront in innovation. On the top are the Unites States, China, South Korea, countries fromNorthern Europe… and then there is Spain that only invests 1,24% of the GDP in R & D. I think there is no cooperation between public and private sector in Spain. We have underestimated the investment in Research and Development and it is very detrimental, because I have always thought that, the investments in R & D of today are the future benefits, the benefits of tomorrow. Therefore we have renounced these benefits. It is important to highlight another consequence regarding the effort on R & D and it is the emigration of talented researchers. In Spain there is no suitable environment, a breeding ground to grow. I know some of the researchers that are currently working on Covid-19 vaccines. They are working within a network of public cooperation and their salary is about 1.200 euros which is almost the Minimum wage in Spain. These people, at the age of 27 or 28, that have a doctoral degree, receive offers from the United States so they can make the living they deserve, $90.000 – $100.000 a year. This is why here, we have a problem. It would be great if we changed our economic model. Now it is based on services with a low added value and we should go in a direction towards a high added value services. In the health system there has been a failure because of a shortage of resources but even in this situation Spanish doctors and researchers are leaders in the world. To mention a few examples there are a few Spanish specialists who direct studies on Covid-19 vaccine in the United States; the president of the American Oncology Society is Spanish; the president of the European Oncology Society is from Barcelona… So we have a great researchers who cannot find realization and they have to leave the country. This is an unresolved issue and there should be a total collaboration between the private and public sectors. But my question is, from a political point of view, if it is actually important to move forward on this matter. Of course, private corporations that have R & D department and have to develop new projects, often see themselves forced to move out of Spain and find new places to accomplish their goals. Spain is slowly getting behind and in the future we will be left even far behind.

• Giving the vertiginous rate of growth of this new disruptive economy, is Spanish educational system prepared to train high qualified specialists for this new tech era? If the answer is no, how do you think it should prepare?

I think the answer is yes and no. I say yes because I know we have university, training and scientific centers of highest level that, in some way, are creating talents for the big research centers around the world. However, we have a big problem regarding the training because we are not doing what we are supposed to. Unfortunately this issue has been politicized and our study plans have been modified according to each new government. And obviously this is the reason why the level is lower with exceptions such as the researchers. Also this year we have taken a dreadful step which is for students to  all pass the year giving the circumstances. With this what I am saying is that if until now there was not a big effort, it will be even smaller in the future. At the end, insufficient training makes that, eventually, people will have lower income and it will decrease the productivity of the country. And unfortunately we are going this way. Therefore I think education and training should be left outside of any political issues. The politics are always harmful. And we have to look over to Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, where there is a private educational system this is true, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Austria. For example, in Germany and in Switzerland we can see that most of its students pursue a professional studies and not a university degree and the level of life and their per capita income is higher. I think we should keep in mind all of this.

• This technological revolution puts the focus on the digitalization, automation and the Artificial Intelligence processes in companies. How would this affect jobs?

I consider that some positions will disappear. First of all, people without skills will be left outside the market and, especially at this moment when there will be structural changes for some sectors, based on this crisis. For example, if I have not joined Zoom in march and other technologies that allow the digitalization and to stay in contact with the rest of the world, I would have been left outside as well. To begin with, not everybody in this country has a computer and a good Internet connection and the world is going in a direction that everyone needs to be prepared. So I would say there are 2 levels of preparation: the preparation of your knowledge – a degree, studies, specialization but then you have to add your technological skills. I am not an IT specialist but I try to manage myself. So we are about to enter a time when people should be highly qualified  regarding digitalization, automation, Artificial Intelligence and it will gain more importance. And in Spain there is a problem because of lack of training in new technologies and we will pay for this in the future unlike other countries.

• Talking about the future and new horizons is related inevitably to talking about the COVID-19 crisis. What effects would it have on the economy and on Spanish companies?

I believe it will penalize us. 2020 will be a bad year in economic terms and 2021 will be hard as well. If we consider 2020 is the year of the big crash, 2021 will be an ordeal. In 2022 we will be in the purgatory and in 2023 we would start seeing the sky. This will cause changes in the way the world functions, in the way we work, for example “home office” will increase the productivity compare to working at the office, but in general, a lot of things will change.

A good example for a digitalization: previously my doctor had to give me a prescription and I had to collect it personally. But now, the doctor sends the prescription via e-mail or mobile phone, I go to the pharmacy, they scan it and it is all done. Therefore we will go through this profound changes  from now on. I can read a book on a digital format or I can even listen to the book – an audio book. Everything is changing at an unimaginable pace. Now we can observe what happens to mobility. During a certain period of time people will be afraid to travel and this will affect the tourism and everything that requires a close personal contact. The social distancing could be very detrimental in services, since until now, the proximity has been a key element, like the driving force.

• The need to establish assistance for companies is getting clearer. Which do you consider would be the most convenient funding for businesses? Is there a country that could be a model for Spain?

I like the measures that the United States have adopted. I think that here, our government, has not helped on the level they should have to fight the consequences of this economic crisis. There are a lot of measures that should be taken, for example regarding productivity. To increase productivity in Spain we should improve the Human Capital, increase the investment in technology, reorganize the sectors that are the driving force. Other aspect is the unemployment rate. I think this month it will be the highest in Europe, surpassing Greece. Also we have a problem with short-term employment that we have to solve. Other aspect that we have to give priority to is the aging of people, that has a negative effect not only on productivity but on vulnerability before a virus just like the one we have at the moment. It is good to give people a Minimal Income allowance but what we really have to do is give people tools. Also we have to look towards a green economy, a more sustainable economy. And all this will present a lot of challenges. The world as we know it will change, the situation will probably aggravate after the COVID – 19 crisis and will decrease the globalization and emphasize on the digitalization process. At the end, we need to have a prepared public financial system and right now it has been compromised. All these factors determine the changes and structural reorganization Spain has to overcome.

• For the upcoming future there is a debate over the rebuilding the country, restructuring the industry and the possibility of refocusing the strategy to services with high added value (related or not to fabrication). What is your opinion on this matter? What is the role of new technologies in this process?

The bases for the reconstruction of the economy, in first place, should be the health system. We have to prepare what I call the “sanitary wall” to protect us from pandemics and even if they come, our health system could act as a defense wall, so in this way the pandemic would not affect, as it has this time unfortunately the normal economic activity. I think we should be inspired by those plans for economic and industrial development after the Franco regime, lead by Laureano Lopez Rodo or Fabian Estape, that in conclusion ended up in the industrialization of Spain. Now that we have left aside the industry it only represents 11% of the national GDP, we should think in reindustrialize the country and, most of all, take advantage of the opportunity to technify our economy, our industry. Today the industry is not the one with 2.000 workers. It is an industry with lower number of workers who have higher qualification, with robots, with automation… and this will be the industry to be introduced all across territories called “deserted Spain”. Also we have to create suitable benefit from the universities around the whole Spanish territory.

When we talk about industry, we merely talk about the industry as a sector, but we also should talk about another very important industry such as the agri-food, which leads us to the primary sector, a sector that has been fundamental in this hard times we have gone through. All of this goes by the hands of Research and Development, universities, ecological transition, digital transformation and what we need for these ideas is to be executed and implemented. We do not have enough drive, we do not have enough tech specialists to lead what is supposed to be our new economy because otherwise we will drown in these stormy waters.

• Another challenge in the future is the climate crisis for which there would be necessary a big scale transformations in practically every aspect of our life. What could the corporate sector do to face this crisis?

Right now it is a key moment to make the most of this structural transformation in favor of the ecological transition. This is a relevant and favorable moment. The structural transformation go by supporting this transition to what should be a much more sustainable economy. Renewable energy, pure energy, clean energy and so we introduce the chapter of green finances meaning to support financially through financial organizations, banks, state aid programs, to what should be green and clean investments. This must be one of the challenges.

• You have dedicated a big part of your professional trajectory teaching and working to inform on economy and finances. Do you consider there is a good financial culture in our country?

We have built some financial culture but we need to have more models in finances and economy. However the question is that not everybody should be an expert in finances. I am not an expert in engineering or architecture, so if necessary at the time, I will consult an engineer or an architect. But it is also important that people have some basic knowledge since it helps to make decisions and to know what to look forward to. This is something taught in some basic studies or some people take “comfortable” studies in Economics and from there each one goes in a different direction, but has a bit of an idea of everything.

• Finally, what requirements does a country or region has to meet to be attractive and for tech companies to be interested in investing and operating at their territory?

La entrada An Interview with José María Gay de Liébana se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

Nearkey is a system for opening electric doors through smartphones, without the need for Wi-Fi or 3G connection and without canceling other opening systems. Nearkey was born in Nayar Systems Garage, the company’s innovation department, and provides a cloud management of users and groups, guaranteeing maximum security in the facilities. In fact, security is the most important quality that the company attributes to this system, generating keys by means of elliptical curve algorithms, as well as unique and non-transferable access keys.

Operating Nearkey is simple and easy secure access control, as it allows you to open all doors using the same application, without the need for keys or remote controls. Its user has total access control, knowing who enters and leaves a premise; managing permissions from the cloud and immediately granting access. Because Nearkey also allows the user to restrict or grant temporary access, it is an intelligent tool that gives added value to its user.

La entrada Nearkey: an intelligent and secure access control from your smartphone se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

The population growth along with changes in the consumption habits of citizens and organizations have increased traffic problems. It has become the focus of citizens’ pressure and it is motivating the public and private actors to seek alternatives to traditional transport.

Thus far, freight companies had been satisfying customers’ needs effectively, but not always efficiently, making transportation one of the most polluting factors in cities. Due to the difficulty to reduce urban congestion by building new infrastructures, companies are being forced to adopt more agile distribution systems, such as bicycles or small vehicles.

Transport has environmental, economic, and social effects. The European Environment Agency states that air pollution in Europe caused the premature death of more than 400.000 people in 2014. Moreover, prolonged exposure to road and rail transport noise has physical and psychological effects on people.

Due to transport externalities, congestion reduction has become the objective for stakeholders involved in urban transport. However, conflicting interests and different points of view make difficult to implement a common action plan. Civilians conscious of the problem demand less pollution and more green areas. On the other hand, delivery companies demand more loading and unloading spaces and more extended time windows. It seems clear that if changes are not introduced in the sector, the actors implied will assume direct and indirect costs.

Therefore, it is necessary to introduce solutions to lessen pollution, reduce distribution costs and offer better transport services to meet increasing demands such as just-in-time or e-commerce. New technologies applied to the transport could produce economic advantages over the private sector while producing a positive impact on society and the environment. Besides, it could be compatible with public policies to improve the well-being of the population.

The application of the information and communication technologies (ICT) to cities and transport has derived in concepts such as Smart City and Smart Mobility. These have the aim to improve the residents’ quality of life and the resources’ management. Among other things, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) for data collection could improve the efficiency of last-mile delivery, one of the most expensive parts of the logistics process.

Currently, contemporary technologies and the ones that are being developed will change the present scenario, such as autonomous distribution with land and air vehicles. However, the incremental technologies applied to the distribution and its management can make a difference in the cities’ development.

A common problem among distribution companies are the failed deliveries, mainly originated by two causes: the absence of the recipient at the delivery place and the distribution time slots. Consequently, the impossibility of delivering the order, along with reverse logistics, generates operating costs that could be avoided. In this sense, non-assisted deliveries such as mailboxes at convenience places or the deposit of packages in establishments are some solutions adopted. Nevertheless, as a result of the volume of some orders, not all of them are compatible with this option.

Access control devices are an effective solution for failed deliveries. These systems allow the controlled entry to facilities to deliver the order. This enables that freight companies plan their routes optimally, taking advantage of night hours and avoiding traffic rush hours. On the other hand, receivers can generate unique, non-transferable, and time-limited access keys, always knowing who and when access to the facilities.

To conclude, urban logistics must evolve at the same pace as cities have done. Thus, making the development and application of new technologies to the transport sector necessary to reduce the harmful effects on the population.

References:

• European Commission. (2013, December 17). Together towards competitive and resource-efficient urban mobility.
• European Environment Agency. (2017). Air quality in Europe.
• Dell’Olio, L., Moura, J. L., Ibeas, A., Cordera, R., & Holguin-Veras, J. (2017). Receivers’ willingness-to-adopt novel urban goods distribution practices.
• Macharis, C., & Melo, S. (2011). City distribution and urban freight transport.
• Weisbrod, G. E., Vary, D., & Treyz, G. (2001). Economic implications of congestion.

La entrada Urban freight transport: how technology could help decongest cities se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

Your professional career covers two major stages. The first relates to the financial area and its computerization. The second is marked by the birth of AIS. Tell us how you moved from one stage to another.

The two stages have common roots. In the seventies we experienced the beginning of a profound change in the Spanish families’ finances habits. From a save-in-order-to-buy attitude we went to a loans and credit concession culture, which advanced the consumption of durable goods. The credit granted by financial institutions doubled every three years, so banks underwent a paradigm shift in their operations, drastically increasing productivity. The computerization of bureaucratic processes made banks the main buyers of computer systems, and along with the automation of decisions also came the need to apply efficient and fast algorithms for credit granting. Because AIS already offered support systems for decision-making to different areas – industry, logistics, marketing, financial and health – we were very receptive to the creation of new business models in the finances field. Among the solutions that we offered in the early days of AIS, at the end of the 1980s, there were credit scoring systems that offered a fast credit concession response, reducing the time of evaluation from five weeks to three minutes. We also focused on hiring through prescribers or through proactive credit.

In this process, I must admit that I was lucky to have a very diverse and transversal training: I worked as an economist at Servicio de Estudios Económicos, as a systems analyst, as a specialist in operations research, as an investment projects analyst, as a teacher at the Computing Center of UPB … Developing these tasks I had the opportunity to learn from great teachers. Professors such as Dr. Martí Vergés and Dr. José Jané Solà taught me the importance of applying the connection between science, technology in order to create value in the day-to-day of companies.

AIS is a specialist in generating value from data processing using Artificial Intelligence techniques. This is how you help your clients make better decisions and obtain concrete benefits. Given that many of your customers are finances and large consumer-goods companies, what are the main technologies AIS bets for?

We have always been guided by providing the best solution to the problems brought to us. This implies that we do not have any commitment to any specific technology, although we try to be at the forefront of any technology that helps us making decisions. This implies that we operate in three major areas of technology: prediction, optimization and IT systems.

Foreseeing the future, since our beginnings, we shifted from the multivariate / multiequational statistical and econometric methods to Artificial Intelligence methods, especially those from the family Machine Learning such as Artificial Neural Nets, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Classification and Regression Trees, Random Forest, Expert Systems or Hidden Markov Models.

In optimization, we integrate the prediction with the most appropriate decision-making mechanisms: mathematical programming in all its variants, linear / non-linear methods, combinatorial, corner or interior point methods, but also dictating rules or the integration of the opinion of an Expert in the decision “loop”.

In terms of systems, we offer services in SaaS and in-house environments, in the diversity of architectures and languages ​​that this implies. For the platforms we develop, we use Open Source analysis tools such as R or Python, as well as SAS and SPSS. We also use a variety of languages, including .NET and Java.

You were a pioneer in investigating and implementing Artificial Intelligence techniques in the Spanish finances system. You currently combine your work as president of AIS with a high involvement in the company’s R & D department. How does it speed up and/or favor the implementation of new products?

I think it has been one of the strong points of our development that I remain active in some developments. However, part of my mission is to go beyond this role, promoting R & D but also Business Development, leading the generation of new ideas, their analysis and especially their materialization into projects and applications.

The banking industry handles a large amount of data from its customers. Do you think it is a leading sector in terms of investment in Artificial Intelligence?

Without a doubt at the present time banking is the leading industry in digitalization investment. This industry has been a leader in applying methods that combine statistics and Artificial Intelligence, but they are having some difficulties in incorporating the more sophisticated methods of Machine Learning. In brief, although the success rates with these methods are higher, their traceability is not an easy matter, and this hinders inspections and the incorporation of corrective rules to the inherent biases of the algorithmic treatment. These difficulties are particularly sensitive to credit risk, resulting in a certain rejection by supervising departments. It is true that the application of these tools to analyse customer behavior and send out early warnings are progressing, along with its successful application in evaluating mortgage guarantees or property portfolios, which points to a good future for these methodologies in this industry.

What kind of quantitative marketing projects does AIS carry out? Is Big Data the key tool to define marketing strategies today?

Without a doubt Big Data is a key tool, although we have noticed a certain disenchantment in some retail sectors. Big Data offers access to large and unstructured information but, to obtain meaningful results, powerful data mining tools and behavioral modeling and optimization methods are required. In AIS, together with the tools of Machine Learning, we explore some very useful but little known technologies, such as the Statistical Matching and Data Fusion systems, which allows us to connect information sets, without univocal identification, in different levels of aggregation and with a different structure. The most representative product we have developed is called Habits and consists of a database with statistical information on the Spanish population at minimum levels of aggregation, which allows georeferencing profiles of economic and social behavior that are very useful for issues as disparate as the launching of new products, the location of new shops, determining the value of real estate or the detecting pockets of poverty. We are now developing this solution also for Mexico, Argentina and Chile.

What processes should a company in the industrial sector carry out in order to benefit from the solutions offered by Artificial Intelligence?

It depends on the company’s area and its size. Companies that operate with continuous manufacturing processes or companies with assembly lines will respectively require optimal control systems or intelligent robots and artificial vision. Companies with a strong logistics component will find value in optimizing routes and vehicle loading. In this analysis, it is important to be aware that there are no breakthrough scientific advances, but rather a great improvement in the processing capacity of commercial computers. That is to say, the current technological advance allows us to carry out processes much faster than was possible a few decades ago, and as of today the processing speed of computers is half a million times greater than they were thirty years ago. This means that the analysis of an image that today is done in a second, in the past required ten days of processing. This means that processes that in the past were practically exclusive to big companies now can be realized today in SMEs, especially with improved algorithms of AI replacing statistical elements. I believe that the most important process in this field is the analysis of investment opportunities, in terms of costs and in effort. The companies that are in a better position are those that have remained at the forefront, continuously incorporating methodologies that create value. The installation of elevators is a good example.

What Artificial Intelligence solutions is AIS applying to facilitate the day to day of the companies dedicated to the industrial sector?

Our most relevant success story is WINBOX, our in-house corrugated cardboard planning platform, which obeys the commitment to delivery times. It is a program whose first version dates back from the early 90’s and is currently operating in fifty facilities in eight countries. WINBOX is in communication with different machines in order to constantly update the company’s status and stock supplies, with the purpose of optimally controlling or adjusting production plans.

The paradigm shift in the distribution of goods (Amazon, EBay, AliBaba, AliExpres …) has triggered the demand for this type of packaging and also the need to increase manufacturing productivity.

What are the main international markets in which AIS operates? How has the company adapted to the needs and demands of each country in which it is present?

After our start in Barcelona in 1987, we opened branches in Mexico and Argentina in 1993; and in Chile in 2002. The last office that we opened was in Colombia in 2016. From these locations we operate in almost all of Latin America. We are currently expanding our African market, where we already have offices in Morocco, Mozambique and Kenya; and we are developing plans for countries like Ghana, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire.

In general, our production consists of investment goods – “goods that produce goods” – whose value comes from improving productivity when the final demand of our customers increases, which affects the primary demand of manufactures in the real economy (cardboard or litter bins, for example) or in the demand for credit that follows the increase in investments. In this way, emerging economies are more demanding of our products than already stabilized economies. On the other hand, we generate commitment with the countries in which we operate, thus we strive for diversifying products in order to offer our best at every moment. We also develop commercial activities in countries undergoing crisis so that they export services to other neighboring countries. Actually, this has been one of the engines of expansion. This was the solution we used to alleviate the crisis dubbed the “Tequilazo” in Mexico, during which we dedicated the capabilities of our delegation there to sell and develop projects to the Caribbean. Also, during the time of the Argentinean “Corralito”, we reoriented the activity of our headquarters in Buenos Aires to develop new projects throughout the Mercosur region.

What are the future horizons of the AIS Group?

Personally, the generational change, the transformation of the company to empower the younger generation.

As a company, I believe that the energy of the current management team will resume a sustained growth in extension, in turnover, in results and in innovation. I believe that the community formed by all the AIS collaborators has a potential like I have never seen before in this company, in terms of scientific and technological know-how, teamwork capacity, transversality and enthusiasm.

Are there enough professionals with the necessary training to work in the field of Artificial Intelligence? What professional profile should someone dedicated to research have?

Both universities and distance learning programs of our country provide good theoretical knowledge (by extension, I do not want to limit it to ours). However, they are not enough to guarantee a project’s success. AI ​​is composed of extremely elegant algorithms with a great “glamour”, requiring meticulous and imaginative work to calibrate parameters, validate samples, gather information, implement them in organizational structures and integrate expert knowledge that may correct the systematic biases of the used algorithms. This is the real bottleneck, overstressed by an increase in demand for Data Scientist and IT experts, brought by large multinationals in the area establishing themselves mainly in Barcelona.

How does the rise of Artificial Intelligence affect the job market?

There is an open discussion among different expert analysts in this field. I would say that the article that originated this debate was that of Frey & Osborne, which ensured a threat to 47% of the professions in the USA. This article was contested by the OECD which noted two flaws in the method Frey & Osborne used: on the one hand, the OECD affirmed that necessary skills must not be confused with overall professional performance. On the other hand, the OECD said that professional resilience will lead to different formats of the same service. Their criticism led to a major correction in the figure announced in the original study, reducing it to 8%.

Who’s right in this situation? Probably someone predicting an answer in between those figures. However, resilience-capacity manifested in relocation/reinvention is a possibility. In the industrial revolution, craftsmen became industrial workers, amounting to a local and “easier” move if compared to the displacement in the production of goods and their consumption in a globalized world. We allocate an important part of our resources into buying goods produced in the Far East. If these products displace our labor and professional force, we will probably have to consider different forms of income distribution, with all the consequences this brings to the structure of our society.

Will human intelligence become subjugated to Artificial Intelligence?

Although this is a very suggestive topic, in my opinion there are limits to the capabilities of AI today. I would mention the lack of meta-knowledge (common sense, also improvisation), image of self, exploration outside learning sources that still make the human expert fundamental to its creation, control and maintenance.

In my opinion, the participation of the expert in decision cycles is indispensable today and should continue to be so for the next twenty years.

Predictions made through automated data analysis have a margin of error. How is it possible to take advantage of the positive effects of automated data analysis while avoiding the negative consequences of their errors?

Errors can be classified as false positives and false negatives, and each kind of damage creates a different impact (e.g. diagnosing a cancer to someone who does not have it or failing to diagnose it to someone who has it). This is common in many applications. To avoid these biases and errors, we propose a combination of human knowledge with the responses of the corresponding algorithm. There is a set of techniques for this: studying sensitivity to certain variables, estimating probability of belonging to different prediction groups (will someone pay their loans or not, will someone buy this product or that one) thus separating cases with higher probability from the ones that require an individual treatment. All this is materialized in protection rules. In some industrial processes it is clear that this combination must exist. For example, in a combined cycle power plant, we can produce an algorithm with all the information generated by the sensors over a sufficiently long period, but we will not have the data outside the security interval generally established in a Cartesian manner. Therefore, if the optimization algorithms require going beyond the static and Cartesian limits, we will have to build “prime-principle” models or add expert rules as constraints to the optimization model.

What are the most advanced areas in the field of Artificial Intelligence?

In different areas, robotics with the incorporation of artificial vision and intelligence; with a special mention to balanced and autonomous driving; image treatment in all areas such as radiology, facial recognition, as well as static and dynamic analysis, and also human genome treatment; e-commerce marketing, feelings barometer and chatbots; selection of loans with the regulations imposed by supervising bodies such as the Bank of Spain or the European Central Bank, etc.

What is the most off-target idea about Artificial Intelligence?

Mainly two: That the machines will dominate us, replacing human intervention, or that it will have feelings or become creative.

Due to constant data handling, do you think that we are heading towards a world with less privacy?

I think we already live in a world with less privacy. The problem now is controlling what I do not want people to know about me. That is, whichever information that I consider may bring me harm in environments that oppose my own thoughts and feelings – granted that I am not acting against or overlooking the law. In these matters, I always propose the following reflection: how much resistance do we put in denying unimportant apps access to the information contained in our smartphone? I am not advocating extreme liberalization, but a selective regulation of the use of this information and a democratic control available for the population.

Will the future of social networks depend on Artificial Intelligence?

I do not think so. Perhaps we will see networks and platforms surge, disappear, or be replaced by others that may be used to get to know our taste preferences and probability of buying or voting for something. However, in my opinion, these emerge out of needs (stimulated or natural) that are unrelated to their use of powerful AI tools. Having said that, social networks may experience changes, perhaps become obsolete as a result of advances in technology, such as voice or image for instance, but I don’t think social networks should be affected by AI.

How can you avoid data leakage? Is there a legal loophole with respect to the regulation of Artificial Intelligence?

This is an important issue. There is a legal loophole regarding data breaches, and even more in AI. The IT systems in which these technologies rest are fragile. In a paradigm of linear computation developed by an expert, all precautions matter, as there is no absolute guarantee that there won’t be any breach, intrusion or fraud. And there is no reason to think differently with AI.

As an example of the impact in this new field, I will say that with the magnetic resonance imaging to analyse someone’s probability of having Alzheimer’s disease, it is possible to reproduce the patient’s face with complete image fidelity. Therefore, if you have tagged photos, you can get information on who displays early symptoms of this disease and who does not. What at the medical level can be a breakthrough, can pose a substantial risk in case of data breach. Depending on the type of information leaking, its poor protection puts not only one’s personal affairs at risk, but also all blood related individuals in cases of DNA analysis data for example.

Like all technological advances, AI cannot be classified as intrinsically good or bad, only its use.

La entrada Ais Group: An interview with Ramon Trias se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

Corporate IT Security Manager

Corporate CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) at Orange Spain

Telecommunications Engineer, Polytechnic University of Valencia

QUESTIONS:

How did you end up in the world of information security? What drew you to this field?

The Orange Group as we now know it—a number of companies in Spain brought together under the common name of “Orange”—was created in the year 2006.

2006 was also the year in which the figure of a person in charge of Global Security was created. It was a different way of approaching security. Until then, information security had been a discipline only practiced within the field of IT.

This global view of information security, transverse throughout the whole organization and from a global perspective, was something quite new in those days, and yet, the Orange Group was already applying this model to all the countries it was active in.

It was a discipline that had always attracted me, especially because of its ability to analyse computer systems and finding their faults and vulnerabilities in order to protect the systems against them. You didn’t hear much about this subject at the time, and I found the project that was offered to me—creating the whole department from scratch, with a cross-sectional view of the whole organization—very appealing and very promising. It was quite a challenge, but I had the support of a big group in France.

Now, looking back at it differently and having travelled the road, I can safely say that it was a very wise decision.

How did you get the opportunity to start working for the multinational company Orange?

It was back in 2000, after the famous Y2K that turned out to be not such a big deal. During the previous year, I had been working in a financial institution as a consultant, adapting its means of payment so they would keep working normally when the big date arrived.

I was hired by Amena (one of the companies that formed Orange in Spain) as a consultant for the computer department, and the next year they offered me the opportunity to work for them as an employee.

What obstacles did you encounter in your career path leading up to Corporate CISO at Orange Spain?

As I mentioned earlier, the creation of a figure in charge of information security at the corporate level and transverse throughout the organization was a very novel concept at the time. The organizations and people making up the group were not prepared for such a figure; the models were very hierarchical and people worked very much in silos. In order for me to advance in my position, those barriers had to be broken.

Furthermore, the function of information security has changed a lot over time. In those days its field of application was much smaller, applications were hardly ever externalized, and everything was much less interconnected.

However, the fact that the group applied the same structure in all its countries made my job much easier, in addition to all the support I received with regulations and projects.

You look after corporate information security at a giant multinational like Orange Spain. Do you consider yourself a cyberhero?

No, not at all. I do consider myself to be one of few lucky people to have started working in this field many years ago. During those years I had the good fortune of meeting many colleagues who started around the turn of the century. They were pioneers serving as role models for us. The field was much smaller and in all of Spain there were no more than a dozen CISOs. Now I feel proud to be standing alongside them.

• As an expert in information security, can you tell us how to feel safe on the Internet?

That is a good question. As in life, nothing is 100% safe. Internet is like the streets of our cities, the streets of most of the world, so you need to be equally careful and take the same precautions.

The most important thing is to use common sense, which is “the least common of the senses”, and to apply the same rules you would in the real world, to not trust when you have any doubts.

However, the emergence of social media has led people to relax, and they now place all their information in the hands of third parties, not realizing that they are essentially opening up in public.

Some advice:

• Be wary of unsolicited emails, those that have no reply address and those containing unknown links.
• Give your passwords to no one, neither on the phone, nor in reply to an email.
• Surf trusted sites.
• …

How does Orange stay abreast of possible attacks by cybercriminals?

We have a Security Operations Centre, an organized and highly qualified team whose mission is to protect and defend the company’s assets and to continuously improve Orange’s security situation. We work on different fronts: prevention, protection and detection.

Regarding prevention, we help developers of applications and services incorporate security measures in their products by default. We also use elements for asset protection, especially those exposed to the Internet.

What solutions does Orange offer in matters of cybersecurity? Is it one of their strategic priorities?

Currently, our security services are all grouped under the name Orange Security Suite.

Orange Security Suite is a perimeter security solution composed of the following services, which are available independently:

• IPS/IDS
• Web Filtering
• Antivirus

It is a security service offered directly through the net, aimed at companies, that does not require any devices to be deployed on clients’ premises, no software to be installed on their computers, and no specialized computer-security team.

Furthermore, it is a modular package that can cover clients’ security needs selectively without them having to pay for services they do not need.

It is also flexible and can provide reliable protection for data-transfer rates from 2 to 200Mbps without any need for costly hardware acquisition or equipment change. All of this with a security platform updated daily with the latest virus signatures, maintained and operated by our own Orange experts, and either remotely managed by Orange or self-managed.

This is obviously a strategic priority for us, and we are working on expanding our portfolio with the help of our internal SOC (Security Operations Centre), which allows us to offer clients services with a SOC.

Tell us about iSec4IoT (Intelligent Security for IoT – Orange Lab) and the extent to which it promotes excellence in the development and implementation of cybersecurity solutions.

The Routers and IoT centre of excellence was created in reply to the threats that started appearing in this field in 2016. Its initial objective was to protect the routers we provide to our clients, detect security incidents, and perform security tests on routers in controlled environments identical to those of our clients.

On the one hand we have routers, the element connecting clients to the Internet which is, as such, exposed to web threats. Turned on and “exposed” twenty-four hours a day in most cases, they are the potential targets of cyberattacks, either isolated ones or campaigns organized for different purposes, such as denying customers service, or stealing their identity or credentials. There are many recent examples of massive attacks on routers, some of them with serious repercussions.

Orange Spain’s security laboratory replicates typical client scenarios to monitor the activity received from the Internet.

And then there are the IoT devices that are entering our homes and businesses. It is increasingly common to find new devices capable of connecting to the Internet and allowing users to remotely control them from anywhere in the world, but this is just the beginning.

For this reason, in 2017 we expanded our centre to include these devices in order to anticipate the threats of the future. The biggest risk with IoT devices is that in most cases they are designed without security, which makes them very vulnerable and appealing to cybercriminals. Once a device has been analysed and its weaknesses discovered, cybercriminals have thousands or millions of identical targets connected to the Internet that they can launch attacks on.

We want our laboratory to certify IoT devices so they meet at least some basic security requirements, and we also want to design protection and detection measures capable of avoiding attacks and detecting any threat that may affect them.

What is your main mission as a member of GSMA IoT Security? What type of actions do you take?

The GSMA is the association that brings together all the companies in the mobile industry. Orange, as an operator, is a member. It is our understanding that, in order to design and protect IoT devices, we need to work together with the sector, sharing knowledge and defining common rules and regulations that must be applied by default in all devices. Our mission is to support and cooperate with this team to help the different lines advance toward the objective of protecting devices.

The GSMA, together with the mobile industry, has designed a range of resources to guide companies in matters of security to face the challenge of securing the connected future.

A guide with security guidelines has been developed. Drawing on its wide experience in security, the GSMA, together with the mobile industry, has created a set of IoT Security Guidelines, backed by an IoT security assessment framework, to provide a robust, tested approach to ensuring end-to-end security. This guide is free and is available on the Internet at: https://www.gsma.com/iot/future-iot-networks/iot-security-guidelines/

What profiles are currently needed in the information security sector?

There is a shortage of profiles in the field of cybersecurity, in all its branches. Because of the rise in cyberattacks and the proliferation of highly and ever more sophisticated new threats, qualified expert professionals are needed to fill specialized positions in cybersecurity in different types of organizations.

The most in-demand profiles are those with technical expertise or studies. The most difficult to find characteristic is experience; the number of professionals with years of experience is very small.

What would you say to a young person who, through lack of awareness, does not consider a career in the cybersecurity sector? What experience is required?

If they like the subject, this is their moment. If they are unfamiliar with it, the first thing to do is to consult the different associations in Spain that work in the area of cybersecurity, which can give advice and introduce them to the sector. Different conferences are held throughout the year, too, and there is sure to be one close to where they live. This will allow them to get to know this sector better and to consider starting a professional career in it.

What is especially required is people with technical knowledge and a lot of creativity. Those of us working in cybersecurity are forced to be creative, it is the best way to find solutions to the complex problems in our sector. Being able to think laterally and “out of the box” is very important.

Finding professionals with experience in cybersecurity is difficult, so any professional who is an expert in systems and communications and is creative can join this sector. We will take care of training them so they learn the peculiarities of cybersecurity in the environments they are already familiar with.

What is your opinion about the state of corporate cybersecurity in 2018? How do you think it will evolve in the near future?

It is in the initial stages. Compared with other sectors, industrial systems did not have the necessary security measures that computer systems did have incorporated into them. The main risk lies in interconnecting them with the internal networks of businesses or even with the Internet. Fortunately, the sector started paying attention to cybersecurity a few years ago.

The INCIBE has done a great job here with the creation of the National Network of Industrial Laboratories, a platform that brings together industrial laboratories that have the capacity to experiment and research solutions that increase security in our national industrial infrastructures.

We have joined this year, contributing a complementary, differentiating factor: protecting the communications and perimeters of businesses, thereby providing a protection that, together with internal protection measures, raises security levels.

Things are going to be evolving very quickly because companies will start adopting these security and protection measures, which means they will be needing products and services that protect them against Internet threats. The next few years will see constant evolution taking place, especially with IoT devices entering industrial processes as well as the daily life of any corporate process: air conditioning, cleaning, logistics…

Are companies really aware of the importance of protecting their corporate information? Does this field receive sufficient attention?

Nowadays it does. All companies are aware of the importance of the information they possess and that any threat that might affect that information is a risk for the organization. Especially when we are talking about personal data, which are the subject of new legislation that is coming into effect this very month.

The challenge now is to make the change to cybersecurity: it is no longer just about protecting information, but also the interconnected device containing it. The threats we are now facing do not so much attempt to seize control of information as they do of devices, after which they may obtain the information or compromise other devices. This is the goal of cybercriminals who want to monetize their attacks with or without access to information.

What essential cybersecurity advice would you give to companies?

To hire an expert or contact a specialized company to help them protect their assets. Also to draw up protection plans that guarantee a level of security that protects them against the threats that are emerging.

It is an investment on the part of companies meant to avoid an attack that may affect their continuity.

It is often said that knowledge is power. Is information a company’s most important capital?

It is amongst the most important ones, depending on the company’s type and sector. With the emergence of “Big Data”, data have become the new raw material; they are bought, sold, processed and transformed, and they generate services around them, a whole new industry.

Many companies have realized they possess a valuable raw material. Starting from this, they have embarked on different paths, some quickly monetizing information by selling it, others turning it into a revenue-generating service without getting rid of their asset.

What are the main threats and challenges facing companies regarding the security of their corporate information?

The principal threats stem from a company’s exposure to the outside: its communications, email correspondence and Internet browsing are the route of entry from the outside.

Currently, the main threats are malware (including ransomware), attacks on web applications, phishing, spam, denial of service, botnets … All these threats may put the continuity of the company’s activity at risk, causing economic losses.

Companies must develop cyberintelligence capabilities to understand the threat environment they are exposed to and thus anticipate the corresponding risks. Risk analysis must be an essential tool in all business processes. Employees must receive training in cybersecurity and be made aware of its importance.

A security plan must be designed that makes it possible to protect communications, computer systems, email correspondence and web browsing, in addition to mitigating denial-of-service attacks.

Is there such a thing as an invulnerable system?

As in the physical world, no system is invulnerable. Everything depends on the attacker’s level of specialization and the means at their disposal.

What we have to do is to raise the level of protection of our assets based on the threats facing us and have a detection system in place in case it is overcome.

Regarding the Facebook scandal, are you worried about this personal information leak?

What worries me is the ease with which people give their data to these companies. If people didn’t give them their data, these companies wouldn’t have them. So at the source of everything lies this voluntary leak of information where people give information to these companies that offer their services for free.

We need to make society aware of this situation and explain that when something is free, you are the product. Also, this creates problems for the rest of companies that do make responsible use of information.

When a society becomes more and more interconnected, does that make it more vulnerable?

Obviously, the definition of perimeter security has been lost, because today all kinds of networks and systems are interconnected.

On the one hand, this is good and necessary for improving users’ communication and information-access capabilities, and it is a service that we are promoting.

On the other hand, however, systems are being connected that should not be accessible from other points but only from the systems and by the people responsible for them.

We should consider the idea of having independent networks for different processes, of segregation based on services and needs.

The concept of the Internet of Things is becoming ever more deeply embedded in our society. Are our data at risk? What will our lives be like when everything is connected to the Internet?

As we connect an increasing number of devices in our homes, we also raise the risk level, mainly because we are unaware of the capabilities and risks associated with these devices. Then there is the issue of privacy, of how companies make responsible use of the data they gather about us.

To this end we are advocating the creation and application of security certificates for products and services, especially IoT, that guarantee users a level of security sufficiently high so they do not have to worry when installing one of these devices. This is what we are doing in the GSMA, designing to make the future safe. This is going to be a differentiating factor.

The future looks very interesting, with new services and capabilities that will make life easier for us. And all these devices will be safely interconnected. We are working on this already so that when our clients need it, it is available to them.

La entrada Orange: An interview with José Ramón Monleón. se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.

Well, simply because I liked science. It is not something I saw or lived with up close at home, because there were no engineers in my family, but when I was in high school I took a wrong decision that made me realise clearly that I would study science. My mistake was choosing subjects that were, let’s say, mixed instead of pure. Two weeks into the school year I realised that I had made a mistake, it was all so boring and no challenge at all. I asked the school administrators to let me change, but they told me it was too late… only two weeks after starting. I paid a heavy price for my mistake: I had to pass the subjects I had chosen and at the same time, using notes borrowed from other students, some other pure classes whose teachers allowed me to attend, on the condition that their classes did not interfere with my official ones, and with the help of a private teacher at home, I also passed Physics, Chemistry and Math. Those subjects I did find fun to study. This allowed me to get on the right track for the next school year. I made a mistake, but I reacted quickly enough and had the will to change. No, it was not too late.

Then you grow more mature and you choose the subjects that truly satisfy you. I had the good fortune to study in France and there you do not need to choose your major from the first year. The first two years are common to all and this allowed me to better get to know all the fields and thus to know what I liked and what I did not.

How did you get the opportunity to start working for a big multinational like Schindler?

At university we had an exam in which we were faced with a problem that had to do with an elevator. The teacher of that subject would always encourage us to do some research on companies related with the sector of the exercises and problems he would give us. That is how I first heard the name Schindler. When I graduated, 3 years later, I started looking for work and the name, which had been burned into my memory, came up. I looked up their history, values and economic situation on the Internet. They called me a few weeks later, I passed the requisite exam, and here I am, 13 years later.

From your extensive experience in other countries, since your studies in France and Italy, or your long professional career in Switzerland, what do you think are the most noteworthy strengths and weaknesses of the Spanish elevator sector in comparison with other European markets?

Regarding strengths, the Spanish elevator pool is one of the largest in Europe because here we basically live vertically. In addition, the construction sector is very important, and this is essential for the elevator sector. As for weaknesses, I would highlight that during the crisis priority has been given to cost over quality. This is to Schindler’s detriment, because quality runs in our blood, and in fact, during these crisis years we have kept raising our quality and security standards. I believe that as a society we will pay a double price for this: first of all, because we do not have installations that function impeccably, and secondly, because poor maintenance will reduce elevator’s lifespan.

What has it been like for you to hold senior-management positions in other countries and in the elevator sector? What obstacles have you encountered?

Obstacles, few. Challenges, several. One I would highlight is cultural differences. There are countries where “yes” in reality means “no”; others where they always tell you “no”, no matter what you propose; and still others where they always say “yes”, which is equally detrimental. Another thing that is more a lesson than a challenge is the need for permanent innovation. This one is essential for the survival of the company. One has to innovate technologically, this is obvious, but it is not all; there is also services, tools, policies, image…

What would you highlight from the years that you spent working in Switzerland as Schindler Technical Director of Europe North?

I will always be very grateful to Schindler for giving me the opportunity to live and work in Switzerland. It was an experience that changed my life, both professionally and personally. I liked it so much that while I originally planned to stay for two years and a half, I ended up staying for six years, and I do not even ski! If I had to choose one word to define my Swiss period, it would be Opportunity. I was given many opportunities there that allowed me to grow professionally. Remember that I lived there for six years, but I did not arrive there as Technical Director of Europe North; that was my last position there, the last two years. I had the good fortune to encounter great professionals and leaders who were key to my career and, why not say it out loud, my life, who pushed me to jump in the pool while taking care that I did not drown.

What did it mean to you, personally and professionally, to return to Spain as Technical Director of Schindler Iberia?

Professionally, a huge challenge. I stepped into the shoes of a magnificent Technical Director who, because of his great work in several positions in the company, both here and internationally, had become General Director. But I also have to say that I had the wind in my sails because I found an excellent team, extremely competent and highly committed, a wonderful boss, a born leader, a very demanding person, with many ideas and willing to do new things in all the areas of the company, and last but not least, magnificent colleagues who worked together as a real team, which is the only way in which great goals can be met. At the personal level, I was returning home, close to my loved ones, after spending 11 of the previous 15 years studying and working abroad.

What are the keys to occupying positions of great responsibility in a multinational company like Schindler, a company that has more than 58,000 employees and operates in more than 100 countries in a sector that is traditionally occupied by men?

The key is the same I mentioned earlier: Opportunities or, in this concrete case, better said, Equal Opportunities. It is what Schindler offered me: they never stopped giving me new challenges or opportunities for professional growth because of my condition as a woman or, let’s state it clearly, a woman of childbearing age. I have been lucky to work in a work environment that values diversity in all its aspects, and I have not, therefore, encountered any barriers to my professional growth in the company.

What do you consider needs to be improved about the role of women in the elevator sector, which is still predominantly male?

The elevator sector has traditionally been a sector predominantly occupied by men. However, as has happened with other sectors, the number of women that work in this sector, often holding positions of great responsibility or even management positions, has been increasing these last years. We need society to be aware that equality needs to continue to grow so that there are ever more women working in these industries. Then it will no longer be viewed as something strange or exceptional, and there will no longer be questions like this one in interviews because it will be a common thing. That will be the day when we, as a society, can say we have overcome this challenge.

How much positive impact do you think does having a well-balanced senior-management team, with regard to the number of men and women, have on both product and process innovation?

Having a diverse team is always a positive aspect for any company. And I am not only referring to gender diversity, but also to diversity in its widest sense, i.e. opinions and points of view, age, different skills. All of this translates positively into a wider variety of ideas and approaches to the different objectives set by the company. Having many different views enriches any organization and allows us to keep evolving and, consequently, innovating.

What are the noteworthy characteristics in the field of IoT and the predictive analysis of Schindler’s elevators and escalators?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is currently one of Schindler’s main investments where innovation is concerned, as can be seen in its strategic alliances with two big partners like General Electric and Huawei. Its application to our sector—the so-called Internet of Elevators and Escalators (IoEE)—will allow us to permanently analyse data that provide updated information on the condition of installations and help us prevent breakdowns. In any case, while the most obvious application of IoT in the elevator world is predictive maintenance, I think that what will really prove disruptive is the new services and business lines that will appear as a consequence of IoT. We will be able to offer our clients services and advantages that neither they nor we could have imagined a few years ago.

What is the objective of implementing the Internet of Things in Schindler’s business model?

At Schindler we work every day to create the next level of mobility. As I mentioned before, the Internet of Things is essential for increasing our equipment’s reliability and thus offering clients and users a more satisfactory experience, but what I would highlight above all is that we will offer new services that will make our clients’ lives easier in all segments, i.e. we will provide more added value.

What IoT-related lines of investigation is Schindler developing in the elevator sector?

The future lines of research go in two directions. On the one hand, there is the more technical direction, which consists of the constant optimization of our equipment and the service we provide, making the fullest possible use of IoEE and using its advantages in the pursuit of safe and efficient mobility. On the other hand, there is the more creative direction, where we think differently, going beyond the traditional elevator industry, looking for new services to offer our clients.

What innovation solutions does IoT offer to a sector where passenger safety is so important?

Our equipment moves more than one billion people worldwide every day, so safety is one of Schindler’s basic values. In fact, IoT makes it possible for us to develop solutions that make elevators and escalators even safer, guaranteeing the correct transportation of their users. Some of the advantages we have obtained applying IoT are more reliable monitoring, advance and detailed data analysis, and the possibility of performing remote checks. All these advantages permit us to check an installation’s condition in real time and thus to anticipate possible malfunctions that may endanger the well-being of our users or the condition of our equipment.

What future goals does Schindler want to meet regarding IoT and elevators?

This question is impossible to answer. The infinite possibilities of IoT and the constant innovation that characterises Schindler make it difficult to set an exact objective. However, we are convinced that in the future we will be able to integrate our equipment with others that do not belong to the elevator sector; that we will continue to improve with regard to the environment; that we will offer functions and services that do not yet exist; and that we will even create new business for our clients.

La entrada Schindler: An Interview with Arantzazu Molina se publicó primero en Nayar Systems.