3 questions to... New Wiz-Team Advisory Board Member Pascal Wattiaux
Pascal Wattiaux – New Advisory Board Member
IT consultant and executive Pascal Wattiaux has been involved in major sport events, including the Olympic Games, from bid phases to delivery since 1988. While he may be new to Wiz-Team’s Advisory Board, the former Associate Director of Games Delivery Technology for Paris 2024 is no stranger to the company or its founders. With his extensive experience in sport event management – particularly in technology – it is no surprise to learn that the Advisory Board Member has in fact known Wiz-Team founders, Johann Woringer and Tim Goethals, since before the company’s inception.
We spoke with Pascal to hear his thoughts on the company’s direction, the future of Wiz-Team, and how to stay relevant in an ever-evolving industry.
In your previous roles, you’ve experienced Wiz-Team’s solutions first-hand. Can you share how and what was the motivation to become an Advisory Board Member?
Thanks to Wiz-Team’s strategic partnership with Deloitte, they are now a key part of the delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I had the opportunity to experience Wiz-Team’s Spectrum Demand Portal and Torch Relay solutions in action at Paris 2024. Additionally, I’ve also seen several of their Event Management modules in use at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. On top of that, I’ve heard positive feedback from multiple organisations using Wiz-Team’s solutions.
Coming out of Paris 2024 – and with over 35 years of experience working on the Games, primarily from a technology perspective – joining Wiz-Team’s Advisory Board was an exciting opportunity. It allows me to contribute to, and further the development of, a company that I appreciate, in an environment I know well and enjoy, alongside many people with which I have worked before.
What are some of the latest industry trends and developments that Wiz-Team should be taking note of, if it isn’t already?
We are witnessing a growing demand for greater integration among the various components of the information system, with an objective to speed up operations, and deliver more value to different stakeholders. However, the increasing demand for integration presents both its own challenges and opportunities. Some Wiz-Team products are required quite early in an organiser’s typical lifecycle, allowing them to become foundational elements for any organising committee or governing body planning a series of events.
Then, of course, there is the emergence of AI, offering opportunities to automate some operations at the simplest level while also prompting a need to rethink how those new tools can be used to approach event-related processes or tasks. To that end, an AI roadmap must be established and updated regularly. On the one hand, it becomes impossible to present a product without any AI-related tool, while on the other, the AI landscape is constantly changing and currently remains largely unstandardised.
What do you think sets Wiz-Team apart and what should it keep in mind moving forward?
The company has a strong team which includes many people with a real operational understanding of what event organisers need to do. Integrating a few more modules, built or acquired, and expanding beyond the events industry to establish itself in the commercial and governmental ecosystems should be on the cards.
As Wiz-Team continues to grow, the focus needs to remain on the product, and ensuring the product continues to evolve rapidly in this ever-changing tech landscape. Maintaining agility and maintaining effective functional and operational experience of the team are, for me, the keys to continued growth and success.
#WizJourney
