Developing physical products has been a slow, expensive, and rigid process for decades, often held back by legacy development cycles that simply don’t match today’s pace of innovation. Emerging hardware technologies like AI, robotics, additive manufacturing, and IoT are reshaping the landscape, offering a newer, faster, and more sustainable way forward. Yet, even with more efficient hardware production methods available, many corporations and industrial ventures are still stuck in outdated models, losing ground to more agile competitors.
2025 isn’t just another year. It’s a turning point for industries redefining resilience, sustainability, and consumer connection. It’s especially highlighted when we have the unique opportunity to hear from senior executives from Airbnb, Asahi, and BBDO, but most importantly, how they weigh in on what’s next. What do they have in common? They’re focusing on agility, long-term value, and meeting shifting consumer demands head-on.
You would think that the world’s largest corporations, armed with vast resources, capital, and market dominance, would have an easy time launching new business lines. Yet, the opposite is often true. Despite their size, many multinational enterprises find themselves stuck when it comes to diversification.
The Exclusive Executive Dinner in Davos, hosted by Creative Dock and Roland Berger, brought together global leaders to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing businesses today. With the backdrop of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, discussions ranged from leading through crisis, “geopolitical recession,” and the rise of sustainability.
Creative Dock Group (CDG), a leader in driving business growth across Europe and MENA, has acquired nFrontier, an award-winning German company specializing in industrial design, agile prototyping, and advanced hardware development. This strategic move firmly positions Creative Dock to bring a faster, more agile approach to building, scaling and launching advanced hardware.
Corporates are constantly looking for ways to drive growth, stay relevant in the market, and find impactful ways to leverage their resources. Enter venture building - a systematic approach to designing, building, and operating new startups, also known as ventures. Venture building is a rapid, methodical process that allows a variety of ideas to be developed, validated, and iterated into a single venture.
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, AI is no longer a distant possibility—it's a driving force behind innovation. As companies look for ways to stay ahead, the integration of AI into the venture design process has emerged as a game-changer. To explore this transformation, we sat down with Ross VanSlambrouck, an expert in AI-enhanced venture design at Creative Dock.
Fintech is no longer limited to the finance industry. On the contrary, companies in other industries can leverage their “unfair advantage” to hop on the fintech train. Case in point: our exciting cooperation with Ooredoo Fintech, a scale-up operating in the MENA region as part of telecom giant Ooredoo. We asked Creative Dock’s CEO Gabi Teissing and Ooredoo Fintech’s CEO Mirko Giacco about their biggest challenges––and learnings––so far.
At Creative Dock, our commitment to sustainability is at the core of our operations, as reflected in our 2023 Annual Sustainability Report.
Corporates often face hurdles such as legal compliance, IP management, and financial structuring when making the transition from generating brilliant business ideas to value-creating ventures. Our proven processes excel in these areas, ensuring a smooth transition from concept to market.
At the beginning of this year, at the Mobile World Congress in February, we witnessed over 100,000 “AI experts” and the corresponding accompanying euphoria. Comparing that with the “transformation business at the grassroots level” over the past months, one thing is clear: the artificial intelligence landscape is in a state of highly hyped expectations. A year ago, AI was still a marginal topic in the same place, but in 2024, you could hardly find an organisation that did not deal with AI. This is a clear sign of a “bubble” in which some of the inflated expectations are bound to be disappointed. Let's examine the substance of artificial intelligence's short- and medium-term impact on business practice.
Developing concrete decarbonisation roadmaps is a strategic imperative for any business that aims to stay competitive over the coming years. Today, it is not only for attaining its sustainability commitments but also about building resilience to thrive in (an) unknown future(s). Join us as we delve into the top trends shaping the Future of Green Manufacturing and help the industry prepare for changes ahead.