Knowledge
Insights, research and perspectives from across the Combient network
Reinventing a 700-Year-Old Industry Leader with AI
Stora Enso’s CIO, Hannele Palje‑Rossi, joins Combient and Accenture leaders to share how they are using data and AI to transform a 700‑year‑old industrial company – shifting from scattered pilots to a few bold bets that reshape operations, leadership, and competitive advantage.
From Strategy to Execution: How IPCO Unlocks Value Through Combient
In 2026, we were delighted to welcome IPCO to the Combient network. A 125‑year‑old industrial leader and global specialist in high-precision steel belts and continuous‑process equipment, IPCO serves critical industrial value chains across diverse sectors worldwide.
What if Your Toughest Competitor Is the Version of Your Business You Haven’t Become yet?
A Reinvention Lab is a high‑intensity, half‑day session co‑developed with PwC for C‑level teams feeling the heat from AI, climate demands, tariffs, and fragile supply chains. Instead of tweaking today’s plan, leaders step into a “killer competitor” scenario – like Nefab’s now‑famous “Killer Workshop” – and design the rival that could beat them at their own game. In just a few hours, they pressure‑test their strategy, decide what truly matters (and what to stop), and walk away with sharp future scenarios, AI‑driven disruption insights, and a clear roadmap for what to focus on next. As a Combient Associated Company, you can book a Reinvention Lab for your own leadership team.
Training in the Chinese Gym: What Industrial Resilience Looks Like Toward 2035
On September 29–30, 2026, leaders from five Associated Companies (ACs) spent two days asking one question: how will a new world order reshape Nordic industry toward 2035? Here is what they learned — and what it could mean for your business.
AI Is Driving Cybersecurity Budgets – But Preparedness Is Falling Behind
More than four-fifths (84%) of security and finance leaders expect cyber budgets to rise over the next year, up from 78% last year, with nearly 60% naming AI among their top priorities. But investment alone isn't translating into readiness. As frontier AI models roll out, fewer than two-fifths have a fully operational continuity plan for cyber risks, and half admit that attacks targeting AI systems are among the threats they're least prepared to face. With cyber risk still absent from many boardroom agendas, the question is clear: are organisations building the resilience their ambitions demand?
Rethinking Steel Use: Early Findings From Our AHSS Pre-Study, And What Lies Ahead
In Combient Pure's pre-study on the potential of AHSS to help decarbonize steel use, we have built a Self-Assessment Tool to help cross-functional teams find new AHSS applications. This fall, we turn to understanding the supply and value chain gaps for accelerating AHSS adoption - the results will be presented in a public workshop on November 26th.
What Comes After Copilots
At the end of August, we ran a Peer-2-Peer review with four companies in the Combient network on AI strategy, and specifically on how to move from experimentation and isolated pilots to scaling value. All four are past the point of arguing the case internally. AI is already part of day-to-day work: drafting, summarising, coding, first-pass analysis, etc. It is no longer treated as a pilot. Business functions are engaged and asking for more. There was also broad agreement that...
From Mingle to Bootcamp
A conversation within the Combient network sparked a hands-on exchange between Wärtsilä and Scania. What began as a discussion grew into Scania’s participation in Wärtsilä’s Agentic Automation Summer Bootcamp in Vaasa. Built on trust and shared challenges, the collaboration gave both companies a chance to compare approaches, work on real use cases, and turn peer learning into applied work.
Why Resilient 6G Is Non-Negotiable for Industry
Industrial leaders have spent years digitizing operations, automating production, connecting assets, and building data-driven enterprises. However, initial findings from the Finnish-Swedish FiSRE program — a Vinnova- and Business Finland-funded innovation collaboration in which Combient joins academic and industrial partners — point to an uncomfortable conclusion: much of today’s industrial connectivity is not designed for the severe disruptions it will increasingly face.
Inside Ericsson’s Learning Journey: Building Future-Ready Teams
Ericsson’s participation in the AI for Business Leaders program shows how continuous learning can turn emerging technology into real business value. Developed by MIT Sloan Executive Education in collaboration with Learning Hub, the program equips leaders with the strategic, practical, and responsible AI insights needed to drive innovation, improve decision-making, and prepare their organizations for the future.
Turning carbon exposure into a competitive advantage: Key Takeaways
Internal Carbon Pricing (ICP) is no longer just a "nice-to-have" sustainability initiative — it is rapidly evolving into a core strategic and financial instrument for forward-thinking industrial companies. Carbon already carries a cost for all businesses, and that cost is rising. As regulatory frameworks, stakeholder expectations, and energy prices tighten, the financial implications of carbon exposure are becoming impossible to ignore. In the final webinar, we shared key insights from the Sprint work and heard from Konecranes, Roxtec, and Nefab on what they took away from the Sprint and how they are taking ICP into their business operations. We were also joined by John Willis from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), who shared insights on carbon pricing from the wider global business environment.
Internal Carbon Pricing for Efficient Decarbonization: Final Report
Over the course of spring 2026, Combient's Business Opportunity Sprint explored how carbon costs impact industrial companies, and how to effectively implement an internal carbon pricing mechanism to turn this uncertainty into a strategic advantage. The Final Report summarizes the Sprint learnings.
13 Companies Join Business Opportunity Sprints in Fall 2026
Combient’s next round of Business Opportunity Sprints kicks off in fall 2026 — short, focused collaborative projects that help network companies tackle business-critical challenges together. We’re excited to share that 13 Combient network companies are joining the three Sprints.
What Participants Say About the AI for Business Leaders Program
In this article, we share reflections from three Ericsson leaders who recently completed the AI for Business Leaders program.
Your Organization Doesn’t Have a Change Fatigue Problem – It Has a Change Logic Problem
Organizations are social, open systems – what happens in one part of your business quietly reshapes teams, decisions, and results elsewhere. In this article, we introduce the anchor session of our People & Organization Forum – Organizational Change Management Track (OCM), where Mette Tofte from Implement Consulting Group highlights that most companies don’t have a “change fatigue” problem but a “change logic” problem. We offer a glimpse into her alternative approach to OCM, moving beyond tools and checklists toward the real leverage points: mindsets, conversations, and the capacities leaders need for change that truly sticks.