Last week, our team welcomed over 100 quality, food safety, regulatory, and IT leaders from 50 organizations spanning the consumer products industry to the 2025 Veeva Executive Summit in Amsterdam. Set in an intimate venue overlooking the canals, this year’s event was our most senior, most strategic, and most engaging to date.
The conversations were focused, candid, and incredibly forward-thinking. Across four executive panels, we heard from leaders at Nestlé, Unilever, Mondelēz, Cargill, dsm-firmenich, Ferrero, Barry Callebaut, and more, all grappling with a shared challenge: how to lead transformation at the intersection of digital technology, data, and people.
Here are five takeaways that stuck with me—and that I believe will define the next era of quality and IT leadership in consumer products.
1. AI Is a Tool for People, Not a Substitute for Them
AI was front and center in every panel—but not in the hype-driven way we often see. Instead, executives spoke pragmatically about the role of AI in enabling better decision-making, faster risk identification, and greater agility.
“It’s not replacing the person—it’s just empowering them with much more information and data.”
— Olivier Mignot, SVP Global Quality Management, Nestlé
“What used to take days to research can now be done in seconds. It’s not replacing somebody’s job—it’s augmenting leadership.”
— Sean Leighton, VP Food Safety & Quality, Cargill
2. Digital Transformation Is a Cultural Challenge First
Technology can only move as fast as the people who use it. Leaders across sessions emphasized that transformation isn’t just a matter of implementing tools—it’s about equipping teams with new skills, mindsets, and behaviors.
“It’s a mindset change… If we don’t bring people along with us, we won’t get there.”
— Ana Rita Debiazzi, SVP Group Quality, dsm-firmenich
“We’re moving from subject matter experts to capability orchestrators—people who understand process, data, risk, and tech.”
— Philip Kyte, Strategy Principal Director, Accenture
3. Data Must Be Decision-Ready, Not Just Digitized
Several panelists highlighted the need to evolve beyond collecting data toward making it usable for real-time decisions. This includes certifying sources, aligning KPIs, and investing in data literacy.
“We moved from the data to KPIs… We harmonized the KPIs and certified the data. The platform now feeds live data daily—and people adopt it.”
— Roberto Buttini, VP Global Quality & Food Safety, Barilla
“What we’re all looking for is insight. And beyond insight, we’re looking for actions that mean something to the business.”
— Thanh Nguyen, Global Food Safety & Quality Officer, Kerry
4. Speed Demands Systems That Are Fit for Purpose
With product launch timelines shrinking from months to days, quality systems must enable—not slow down—the pace of innovation. That means digitization is no longer optional.
“Digitization is not a matter of evolution, but a matter of survival… We can’t operate at scale and be competitive unless we are digital.”
— Thanh Nguyen, Kerry
5. Transformation Requires Both Vision and Execution
Finally, many leaders shared their approach to balancing long-term transformation with day-to-day performance. From Unilever’s “perform and transform” strategy to Nestlé’s knowledge assistant, the most successful programs align ambition with action.
“You start from today, find the early adopters, celebrate quick wins, and then get onto the transformation for tomorrow.”
— Madhvi Purohit, Interim Chief Quality Officer, Unilever
“If only Nestlé knew what Nestlé knows. That’s what we’re solving with our Operational Knowledge Assistant.”
— Olivier Mignot, Nestlé
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
The summit reminded us that the future of quality and digital leadership isn’t something that happens to us—it’s something we build, intentionally, through collaboration, experimentation, and shared vision.
If you're working through similar questions in your own organization—how to scale AI, modernize quality systems, or elevate workforce capabilities—I’d love to hear your perspective.
