Intervention

The manager for the digital transition: skills, leadership and responsibility

In an era of profound transitions, this figure assumes a central role in the integration of advanced technologies and the cultural transformation of organisations. Investment in continuous training and skills development is necessary to successfully meet the challenges of the digital future

10 September 2025

3' min read

We live in an era of profound transitions, characterised by fragility, non-linearity of processes and increasing 'incomprehensibility'. Organisations are facing increasingly complex technological, environmental and social challenges. Challenges that cannot be met with the tools of the past, but require new skills, new approaches, new forms of leadership.

In this scenario, key figures emerge, such as managers for the digital transition. Leaders capable not only of managing change, but of transforming it into an engine for generating value. People who lead companies in a present that must be more innovative, more sustainable and more responsible.

The digital transition manager plays a central role today. He is the one who drives the integration of advanced technologies - such as artificial intelligence, the cloud, automation - within business processes. But this transition is not only technical, it is, first and foremost, cultural. Introducing AI, for example, does not only mean adopting new tools: it also means rethinking decision-making processes, the relationship with data, the role of people, delegation spaces, hierarchies. With the introduction of the AI Act, the first European regulation on artificial intelligence, this figure takes on an even more critical role because the solutions adopted must also meet criteria of reliability, transparency and compliance, integrated into an ethical framework that protects people and organisations. Because innovation is not enough, it must be done responsibly.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, is radically transforming the way we work, make decisions and build value, and should not be considered just a tool, but a true strategic partner and driver of change. To truly exploit its potential, however, it is crucial that management is aware and prepared to govern this evolution, rather than passively undergo it.

For this reason, it is becoming increasingly urgent for companies to embark on a structured and strategic path towards adopting AI. A path that cannot disregard a skill-based organisational model: an organisation no longer centred on formal roles, but on real skills. In this new paradigm, a person's value is not defined by the title he or she carries, but by his or her skills, his or her concrete contribution, and his or her ability to adapt and innovate.

Changing the organisational model

This type of model allows companies to be more flexible, responsive and innovative, ready to welcome and exploit the change generated by new technologies. The manager/leader for digital transition therefore has the task not only of facilitating the introduction of these technologies, but, first and foremost, of rethinking the organisation, fostering the growth of internal skills, and building a culture in which innovations such as AI, Big Data, and Automation are integrated with responsibility, transparency and ethics.

In this context, the way of selecting and training new leaders is also changing and evolving.

Exprivia, for example, has chosen to invest in a recruitment model that looks beyond the CV. We look for people capable of lateral thinking, of imagining new solutions, of combining technical and managerial skills and human sensitivity. It is not only necessary to know and be able to apply technologies. You need strategic vision, empathy, and the ability to listen.

This is why it is necessary to invest in training, another fundamental pillar in the company organisation. We cannot rely solely on hiring new talent to fill the technology gap. Re-skilling and up-skilling employees is equally necessary in a changing scenario. AI, for example, must not be seen as a technology reserved only for engineers or highly specialised young professionals, but must become a tool accessible to all and applicable to the most diverse business processes, such is its potential pervasiveness. This, however, means developing new skills to be able to make the most of its potential also in the area of individual productivity.

The only way to meet this challenge is to adopt an integrated approach: digital platforms for on-demand training, in-house academies, collaborations with universities, research institutes and ITS, customised pathways with business schools and, above all, continuous training integrated in company projects, to learn by doing.

Today, more than ever, we need enterprising, innovative, inclusive leaders. Leaders who do not just 'manage' change, but who accompany it, orient it, humanise it, with confidence, values and passion. The success of the transformation is measured not only in financial performance, but in the positive impact on all the stakeholders that dynamically make up the ecosystem with which an economic entity, such as a company, must deal, constantly putting itself back into play.

The future is not suffered. It is built. Together.

*Exprivia President