Building better digital futures with Dr Jonathan Reichental
Dr Jonathan Reichental, Adjunct Professor, School of Management, University of San Francisco, is a global keynote speaker, author, academic, and business, technology, and innovation expert with experience across both private and public sectors. Across February and March this year, the Wellington School of Business and Government was fortunate to secure his teaching talent and global digital transformation and leadership knowledge.
Dr Reichental visited as a temporary Scholar in Residence at the Wellington School of Business and Government, which came from an initial connection with Associate Professor Jocelyn Cranefield, School of Information Management.
Associate Professor Cranefield and Dr Reichental met in 2014 during her Research and Study Leave (RSL) at Stanford University’s Institute for Research in the Social Sciences. Dr Reichental was then the CIO of Palo Alto City with awards and recognition in IT leadership. Associate Professor Cranefield ‘cold-called’ Dr Reichental, asking him to take part in her research project on the leadership of digital transformation in cities, and smart city leadership.
From there, the academics kept in touch, and in 2019 Dr Reichental expressed an interest in getting to know New Zealand a little better, asking if he might be hosted as an academic visitor and teaching fellow.
Professor Michael Winikoff, Head of the School of Information Management, participated in Zoom meetings with Associate Professor Cranefield and Dr Reichental, planning for a potential visit when borders reopened after the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
Highlights of Dr Reichental’s eventual visit included public talks on Technoethics, the future of cities, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). There was a panel discussion, supported by Potentia, and featuring Wellington’s Mayor, Her Worship Tory Whanau, and Sean Audain, Manager, Strategic Planning, Wellington City Council. Dr Reichental’s expert knowledge of cities and digital futures gave a wider context to the vision for Wellington that Mayor Whanau and Mr Audain are busy modelling via the creation of a Digital Twin. This popular panel session was called Wellington 2040: Navigating our journey. Its brief was around digital technology's potential to transform the way citizens of the capital work, live, and play by 2040.
Dr Reichental offered more than just public talks. There were workshops and lectures for students in the Master of Professional Business Analysis, Master of Public Management, Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), and Bachelor of Engineering. He also carried out engagement with local government and public sector networks, including presentations to the Government Futures Network and the Wellington City Council.
Dr Reichental’s talks were attended by members of the public, University staff and students, and officials from the Ministry of Health, Parliamentary Services, Worksafe NZ, Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), Land Information NZ (LINZ), Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), Waka Kotahi, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), Inland Revenue Department (IRD), and Customs.
Associate Professor Cranefield says, “Dr Jonathan Reichental’s visit was hugely valuable. He's a passionate communicator who can distil key messages about emerging technologies and the changes that they are driving. But his main focus was on helping students and stakeholders understand the role they need to play in building a better future alongside IT, and he really inspired them to think about that more deeply”.