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UdZ 2-2021 / 19 T he current economic, ecological and social changes demand strategic knowledge and skills from decision-makers today more than ever before. The transformation to sustainable value creation or the disruptive changes in process chains and modes of operation in the business world, partly caused and accelerated by the global Corona pandemic, are examples of the complex and difficult-to- predict situations with which executives worldwide are confronted. Under such unprecedented conditions, it is elementary to recognize strategically important skills as a need and to be able to build themup at an early stage. Only if companies and their executives succeed in successfully establishing innovations and core competencies, even in increasingly changing markets, will this be a source of lasting competitive advantage. The aim of the Expert Circle is to identify and promote these skills. The Expert Circle Digital Leadership, moderated and hosted by experts in business transformation, offers the opportunity for networking in an exclusive atmosphere. The focus is on the mutual transfer of current research knowledgeand insights fromthe industry. The format offers all participants a variety of opportunities for exchange and discussion of relevant trend topics. In this way, concrete assistance is passed on that can be directly implemented in the companies in order to identify trends and build up the necessary skills to address these trends accordingly. To this end, key topics are identified together, which are then discussed in greater depth in individual meetings. In addition, solutions are developed in joint industry and research projects. The Expert Circle Digital Leadership was successfully launched in November 2020. The kick-off event focused on the question of how a transformation of companies can be strategically designed and how the change can be implemented. In particular, the role of the executive in the digital transformation and his or her task of proactively shaping it were focused on and discussed. The roles, tasks and characteristics of an innovative manager were discussed. The concept of “return on transformation” was discussed and presented for the first time. This approach describes the success of the transformation and provides a tool for executives to evaluate the progress of the transformation. From the lively discussions at the first meeting, the topic “Performance Management 4.0 – Using Objectives and Key- Results to Achieve Transformation Success” became the defining theme for the follow-up meeting. The turn to new management concepts ultimately led to the topic of the third meeting, how the concept of Purpose can be successfully anchored in companies and not just applied as a buzzword in company brochures. ml · go Join it now! The Expert-Circle Digital Leadership will continue to take place quarterly in a digital format. The addressees of the Expert Circle are executives and transformation leaders from the industry. Participation in the digital format is free of charge. Interested parties are cordially invited to contact us if they are interested in participating in the Expert Circle Digital Leadership. Contact: Jonas Müller, FIR e. V. at RWTH Aachen University Email: ec-dl@fir.rwth-aachen.de ec-dl.net