Lisa Eyamie, Director of Digital Roadmap and Innovation at WestJet: Avoiding “innovation for the sake of innovation.”
At this year’s World Aviation Festival, Lisa Eyamie, Director of Digital Roadmap and Innovation at WestJet will be delving into the topic of innovation, looking at how it can be used to improve existing structures, the areas we are seeing initial investment truly pay off, and understanding how innovative tech is expected to transform the industry.
Demonstrating their commitment to innovation, WestJet has a digital transformation portfolio consisting of four main areas. The Digital Academy, which provides training and education on what digitalisation means to the company; the Digital Strategy and Roadmap, which aligns business strategies with digital solutions; the Digital Community and Ecosystems, which fosters collaboration and partnerships internally and externally; and the Business Development and Consulting team, which helps implement digital ideas and technologies.
Throughout the interview, a resounding message was to avoid innovation for the sake of innovation. During the conversation, Eyamie outlines some of the nuances, challenges, and catalysts within the industry emphasising the importance of strategic and purposeful progress.
Clarifying an area of ambiguity within the industry, Eyamie shed light on the distinction between innovation and improving what is already there. The WestJet Director of Digital Roadmap and Innovation explained:
“So I think of small ‘i’ and big ‘I’. […] Small ‘i’ is really about improvements, incremental change, incremental growth which lead to large scale change over time. This is less about a sprint, it’s more about the march, the marathon. Big ‘I’ Innovation, it’s big, it’s exciting, it could be really transformative, but in and of itself, it’s not necessarily what needs to be done all the time.”
The 10-minute conversation also debated the presence of barriers to innovation. Here, Eyamie suggested that overall, aviation as an industry is “leaning in,” exhibiting the necessary interest and investment needed to make substantial progress. Despite this, the Director of Digital Roadmap and Innovation suggested that the industry is also catching up from decades of underinvestment and requires careful thought about how to optimise resources and skills to gain traction in the digital journey.
To hear more about innovation vs Innovation, analysis paralysis, and catalysts within the industry, watch the full interview below.
To watch Eyamie speak on innovation, get your ticket for the World Aviation Festival. For more on what you can expect at the event read here.
