Executive Tech Treks for an Uncertain World

25.08.2023 - 13:58 / skift.com / Matthew Parsons

A San Fransisco-based advisory firm is seeing more company bosses and their entourages embark on fact-finding trips around the world to gain better business insights.

From keeping up with artificial intelligence trends to managing economic turbulence — or even snooping around for startups — the world is fast-changing and organizations are looking for an edge, according to Neal Hansch CEO, managing partner at Silicon Foundry.

Hansch describes these types of trips as executive treks. “With the world opening back up, we’re seeing more executive and C-suite teams doing executive treks to Silicon Valley,” he said. “They want to come and see what’s the latest, what’s the buzz.” Silicon Foundry, which also runs a co-working hub in San Francisco, is welcoming its “members” from Sydney, Dubai and Sao Paulo alone in February and March.

Corporations aren’t holding back on investing in new technologies, or spending on research and development, despite volatile market conditions according to analytics company GlobalData.

In its latest Company Filings Analytics – Trends & Signals report it found companies were continuing to engage in discussions surrounding potential investments as well.

“In line with the constantly evolving consumers’ needs and preferences, companies are actively seeking to adapt to emerging technologies and remain attuned to market trends,” said Misa Singh, business fundamentals analyst at GlobalData.

So-called executive treks should now be on the radars of travel agencies and meeting specialists based in cities known for innovation. Hansch said trips to places like Tel Aviv, Paris, London, New York, Stockholm and Shanghai are also common. And like a business meeting, there’s an emphasis on the human touch.

“When we’re gathering insights, one of our main tools is intimate get-togethers,” he said. “We breaking bread with a dozen people around a private table. Events are a core part of our business … the most interesting elements of information and insights don’t come from a database, they come from conversations.”

Silicon Foundry’s clients include the likes of Southwest Airlines, UPS, EY and Ford. Clients will sometimes be on missions to meet with startups and venture capital firms too if they’re looking to buy a company to quickly gain expertise.

“Over the course of a year, a member’s CEO is coming out to Silicon Valley at some point. We’ll line up up two, three, four or five days of meetings, because they want to meet the tech incumbents. They want to have a meeting with Meta, or Salesforce, or Cisco… and they want to meet the best rising startups.”

A surprising revelation emerged this week when a new report highlighted that just 8 percent of travel managers viewed sustainability as a priority