EMBA Talks | Wednesday 4 March 2026 | 12:30 PM (Online)

Why do organizations that know they need to transform so often fail to do so? And what does it take — personally and professionally — to navigate new processes, disrupted supply chains, and regulations that arrive too late?

These are the questions at the heart of this upcoming online event, featuring two USI EMBA alumni who will share their first-hand experiences from the front lines of organizational change.

Speakers

Valerio d’Ettorre is Head of Production and Client Consultant at Witschi & Ritz Crossmedia AG, a printing and packaging company based in Nidau, Bern. The company serves a diverse range of clients — from luxury watch brands such as Swatch and Omega, to winemakers (Vinum) and medical device companies (STAAR Surgical) — working with a network of 12 production partners across Europe.

His talk will focus on the soft skills the EMBA helped him develop — courage, self-confidence, trust in yourself — and the broader shift in mindset that, as he puts it, goes well beyond the classroom.

Thomas Hutter, Senior Manager of Global Supply Chain Programs & Analytics at a leading life sciences company at BD, Becton Dickinson, Vaud, leads a team of 30+ data scientists, developers, and solution architects. His work spans the full supply chain — from planning and sourcing to delivery — and he has hands-on experience building analytical capabilities, implementing Lean Six Sigma practices, and driving change in large, complex organizations.

The event will be opened and moderated by Prof. Paulo Gonçalves, Professor of System Dynamics and Management at USI and Director of the Humanitarian Operations Group. A PhD graduate of MIT Sloan and Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Prof. Gonçalves studies how managers make decisions under pressure — making him the ideal host for a conversation about organizational capability, supply chain resilience, and the human side of change.