In part, this sharp shift in opinion stems from nothing more than a misunderstanding. The Internet is a distribution and communications system that can provide real competitive advantages to a company. But it’s just a tool. Without first-rate planning, creative product development and a well-considered marketing strategy -- and a little moxie -- a business isn’t likely to succeed.
Although this realization was lost on countless entrepreneurs and venture capitalists -- and a lot of unfortunate investors -- the members of the Online Finance 30, our annual ranking of the most important leaders in international e-finance (beginning on page 28), got it.
Jeffrey Kutler, II’s Assistant Managing Editor for global technology and banking, who has overseen all three of our Online 30 rankings, notes that virtually every member of this year’s group has used the Internet to complement their companies’ basic strengths. One example: Jean-François Théodore, chairman and CEO of multinational trading platform Euronext, has outplanned and outmaneuvered his competitors and created a fledgling pan-European bourse. Euronext’s technology isn’t necessarily the most sophisticated, but Théodore’s promise to deliver true cross-border trading at lower cost is compelling. Théodore, says Kutler, “is offering vision, but he’s also a savvy negotiator.” Throughout this year’s list you will find similarly adept business leaders, who bring more to the table than just technology.
They don’t have a representative in this year’s Online Finance 30, but executives at Spain’s Telefónica (“Telefónica’s Balancing Act,” page 40) certainly appreciate the difficulty of plotting an effective technology strategy. As described by Staff Writer Jenny Anderson, Telefónica operates in what were two of 2001’s toughest markets, wireless telephony and Argentina. Now it has to decide where to allocate its resources in the years ahead. More than first-rate technology will be needed -- just ask the members of the Online Finance 30.
