BBVA Compass brings together leaders in Houston's iconic industries for frank discussion about future

- Event part of parent company BBVA's OpenMind initiative to explore issues of the day

- Experts from Texas Medical Center, Baker Hughes, Lockheed Martin participated

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Nov 06, 2015, 02:56 ET

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HOUSTON, Nov. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass brought together leaders in Houston's most iconic industries — oil and gas, health care and aerospace — to talk this week about how the digital world is reshaping their businesses, part of the bank's continuing examination of the nature of technology revolutions as the financial industry faces its own.

The program — featuring Texas Medical Center COO William McKeon, Baker Hughes Palo Alto Innovation Center Director Sammy Haroon and Lockheed Martin's Patrick Rodi, a lead engineer on NASA's Orion spacecraft project — was part of the OpenMind initiative by BBVA Compass' Spain-based parent company, BBVA. The project provides a collaborative space where experts and non-experts alike can share and discuss opinions and new ideas relating to the complex issues and challenges of today, with the latest result being the book "Reinventing the Company in the Digital Age," which compiles insights from several authors, including BBVA Chairman and CEO Francisco Gonzalez.

"We are well aware that there is still a long road ahead," Gonzalez, at the event Wednesday, said of BBVA Group's own digital transformation. "Technological change continues apace, and society is changing with it. We are witnessing the dawn of Big Data. The Internet of Things and artificial intelligence are still both in their infancy. We are running a race that has no finish line, nor a pre-fixed route. We don't even have a set of rules to guide us. But denial is not an option, as those who do not change will fall by the wayside."

"Reinventing the Company in the Digital Age," the seventh volume of a collection from the OpenMind project, includes reflections from prominent specialists in different fields of knowledge. It was in that spirit that BBVA Compass gathered the panel Wednesday.

"Hearing the panelists' varied and unique perspectives is important because of the potential for cross-industry innovation — of companies finding inspiration outside of their own wheelhouses, so to speak," BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sanchez told those gathered at BBVA Compass Plaza in Houston's Galleria area.

Here are highlights from the panelists on how the digital age is reshaping their work and the way they do business:

William McKeon, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, Texas Medical Center: "Big data and analytics generated in genome sequencing and analysis are giving way to personalized medicine, which is quickly becoming the new standard of care. By knowing a patient's genomic profile, physicians can now make better decisions on patient diagnosis and treatments that are tailored to an individual."

Sammy Haroon, Director, Palo Alto Innovation Center and Global Enterprise Data Analytics, Baker Hughes: "At speeds businesses are going today, you cannot drive looking at your rearview mirror. You don't want insight. That's looking into the past. You want foresight. What is foresight? It's predicting the future. What's next? Optimization: turning systems of record into systems of intelligence, answering questions for us. These are the things we are looking toward: anticipation and optimization."

Patrick Rodi, Lockheed Martin Fellow and AeroSciences Lead for NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program: "On the Exploration Flight Test-1, we had about 1,200 sensors on that vehicle collecting data. We captured approximately 2 terabytes of data each hour. For us the challenge isn't the amount of data as much as what we have to do with it and how quickly. We have to decide if the rocket is blowing up and get the crew out of there, we have to decide whether we are in the right orbit or the wrong orbit. We have to make those decisions in milliseconds in most cases."

Phillip Evans, senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group and one of the co-authors of "Reinventing the Company in the Digital Age," facilitated the conversation with the panelists. He has written on how big data is reshaping business, and transforming internal organization and industry architecture.

About BBVA Group

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 672 branches, including 341 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 77 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico, and commercial and private client offices throughout the U.S. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (4th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration, and its mobile app recently earned the Mobile Banking Leader in Functionality Award for the second consecutive year from Javelin Strategy & Research. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.