Rogerio Bassetto, Plant Director of Hutchinson Mangueras, introduced Santiago Bilinkis, entrepreneur, technologist, co-founder, and CEO of Officenet. Santiago began his presentation by commenting that "COVID has been an extraordinary catalyst for change. The situation forced us to improvise at an unprecedented pace." 

He explained that initially it was believed that productivity would decrease; however, it was proven that productivity has increased, and after more than a year, many users prefer not to return to the old work scheme, so the future of work is a hybrid model (in-person and virtual).

He mentioned that changing processes within a company is a monumental task because people, by nature, have a certain resistance to change, so they sometimes prefer to stick to traditional methods. 

"Bilinkis declared, 'Experience is often closely linked to loss of flexibility,' and added that it's for this reason that one must consider that the past is very different from the future, making flexibility more important than experience." 

"He mentioned that daring to innovate implies daring to fail, which has led to a culture of fear of failure, causing people to opt for more conservative options. In addition to this, he mentioned that uncertainty also provokes fear, but there are ways to reduce uncertainty, and that is by calculating."

To create a culture of intelligent risk-taking, he advised turning those who "fail well" into aspirational leaders. He concluded by emphasizing that most companies are measured by quarters, but innovation does not happen in such a short period, so he recommends that changes be projected for a longer term.

Santiago Bilinkis attended Singularity University at a NASA campus, where he learned disciplines such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, neuroscience, and nanotechnology. He writes for print media such as the magazine of the newspaper La Nación and 'Basta de todo,' one of the most listened-to radio programs in Argentina.