#7 Decoding The Power Of Communities: The RAILTALKS Saga

About Fabian Stöffler Fabian is a passionate innovator and acknowledged thought leader for rail in Europe. Before co-founding Menlo79 in 2019, he held senior-level positions at Deutsche Bahn in Germany and played a crucial role in several significant projects in rail and logistics in Europe and Asia. From 2016 to 2019, he was in charge of the Asset Digitization department at DB Cargo in Europe, where he established a digital transformation lab and built a robust team of more than 100 people. Fabian has studied mathematics and economics and is currently based in Berlin. About RAILTALKS RAILTALKS, a thriving rail community comprising over 1500 members and collaborating with more than 40 partner companies, organizes its flagship events in the form of quarterly Railtalks panel discussions held in Berlin. Beyond these significant occasions, RAILTALKS extends its offerings to include various events such as business lunches within the partner network. The clear objective is to connect open-minded individuals, fostering collaboration to shape the future of the rail ecosystem. Notably, RAILTALKS operates under the umbrella of Menlo79. www.railtalks.com About Menlo79 With the intelligent cloud-based software solution WILSON, Berlin-based LogTech start-up Menlo79, founded in 2019, provides a modern and comprehensive workforce management platform. This platform is designed for employee-centered, intelligent, and cross-company control of operational personnel. WILSON includes a diverse range of modules, covering qualification management, shift planning, personnel scheduling, as well as payroll and benefit accounting. The application is specifically optimized for the rail, mobility, and logistics sectors. Companies can significantly reduce administrative efforts, leading to a sustainable increase in employee satisfaction and productivity www.menlo79.com Key Takeaways: Initiate change by connecting with open-minded individuals. Communities like RAILTALKS and Rail UP Club foster the convergence of minds and the exchange of ideas. Begin with a grand vision rather than a detailed plan. Building a community centers around inspiring setups; actively seek partners, not just sponsors. Partners can play a pivotal role in the network The risk of depending heavily on political funding creates a significant dependency and a faint feeling. Reorient the focus towards creating indispensable products for customers, following the example set by Menlo79. '79' refers to the year 1679 when Gottfried Leibniz published a paper on the binary code. AI is significantly underestimated in the rail industry but could wield a substantial impact. AI cannot be simply purchased off the shelf for the rail industry. RAILTALKS and RAIL^UP aiming for the mission - shape the ecoystem of rail www.railup.club [email protected]