Interview with Antonio Santos: Digital Transformation, Inclusion and the Future of Cities

Technology can be seen as a means for innovation and improvement. And as Antonio Santos points out in this interview, technology can have a great impact on people’s lives for the better. From creating more inclusive work environments to moving to more sustainable business models, technology ambassador Antonio Santos believes that digital transformation can really make a difference for the vast majority of people. In this conversation between citiesabc founder Dinis Guarda and Antonio Santos, both experts go through most of the challenges that organizations, international institutions and governments need to overcome to make sure that no one is really left behind and that a truly social, sustainable and inclusive digital transformation takes place.

In this interview, Antonio Santos shares his passion for making the society more inclusive through the use of technology. In times of crisis like the one we are living in, technology has a key role to play to keep people united as well as the economy in motion.  “Companies and governments are adapting quickly to the current Covid-19 pandemic and are able to change their supply chains to provide essentials like facemasks or ventilators. This is only possible thanks to how technology and how deep digital transformation is spread around the world.”

Antonio is also a great believer that technology can be utilized to accommodate a large range of employees with different needs with the purpose of improving their overall employee experience. Furthermore, he imagines that technology and the modern workplace will be strongly linked together in the future of work.

As he explained there are some key factors to stay relevant in the modern workplace:

“Stay flexible, adapt to change, develop your skills, appreciate diversity, keep up-to-date, brand yourself, make connections, be on the vanguard and follow your passion.”

Antonio Santos currently holds the Community Manager position at Atos. As an expert in Social Media and being an influencer and global thought leader himself, Antonio has become a Tech Ambassador from where he tells the world about Digital Inclusion, Social Media Engagement, Diversity, Future of Work, and Social Business. He is also a leading social media influencer on Augmented Reality, Connected Home, and Security.

Antonio Santos defines himself as an “innovation broker, who recognizes opportunities that link tech, ideas, and people through networking.” He regularly collaborates with Siemens and he is a member of their Influencer / Challengers program. Design thinking with a work out loud approach to social media and business networking.

Antonio provides digital consultancy across the different sectors of the organization specializing in Business Intelligence, Customer Experience, Social Business, Social Media Analytics, and Profiles.

Likewise, Mr Santos has extensive experience with Global Organisations, social enterprise technology, digital transformation, and transition projects, building teams in multicultural work environments around the world, to achieve high levels of performance, customer satisfaction.

As a social entrepreneur, Antonio co-founded six startups and he is currently involved in projects that include the Internet of Things, Coworking, Accessibility, and Digital Inclusion.