Kristaps Banga has over 20 years of experience in business management, change management consulting, innovation, sales and marketing. He excels in driving business growth, transformation, and innovation strategy development. Since 2023, Kristaps leads Accenture global Space Innovation’s go-to-market activities in Europe, developing integrated strategies and enhancing business performance.
He has held key roles at Carlsberg Group, MTG, Peugeot, and TET, and founded several companies. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics (Ventspils University College), a Master’s in Marketing (University of Latvia), and currently is a PhD student in Innovation Management (Riga Technical University). His education includes courses from London Business School, HarvardX, Dartmouth College, and HEC Paris.
An international speaker, lecturer, and workshop facilitator, Kristaps specializes in strategy, innovation, and business design. He is a guest lecturer at the Service Design Strategies and Innovations master’s program and has lectured at BA School of Business and Finance, Business Academy, Riga Business School, Art Academy of Latvia, University of Latvia, and BMI Executive Institute. He is also an active mentor and board advisor to several startups.
Leading Digital Change with Purpose: Why Strategy Begins with the Right Questions
Kristaps Banga, Accenture Senior Manager, Innovation Strategy & Consulting
Digital transformation is no longer an edge topic. It sits at the center of competitive advantage. Yet despite heavy investments in technology, many firms still fall short of impact. They confuse activity with progress, rolling out tools without a clear connection to outcomes. In my work across industries, I’ve seen this pattern repeat and repeat. Too often, companies and institutions launch digital initiatives without grounding them in a well-defined purpose. What’s missing is not another app or analytics dashboard. What’s missing is strategy. And strategy starts by asking: why are we doing this, and what should actually change?
The Digital Strategy for Organizational Transformationcourse at MERIT helps business professionals develop that clarity. It focuses on aligning transformation goals with real business needs, before the technology roadmap takes over.
Start with intent: Strategy begins with the current state
Effective digital strategy is not just about choosing the right tools. It’s about knowing where you are and where digital can make the biggest difference. Each company faces different constraints, customer needs, and operational realities. That’s why transformation has to be context-driven. Diagnosing the current state of processes,capabilities andculture, is the first critical step. This means moving beyond generic frameworks and assessing what really needs to be digitized and why. Without this baseline, strategy turns into a shopping list of technology trends with no business logic behind them. In the Digital Strategy for Organizational Transformationcourse at MERIT, we show how to turn diagnostic insights into action. Participants learn to build strategies that prioritize business outcomes, not hype.
Digital means transformation and transformation means people
True transformation goes beyond software or data platforms. It changes how decisions are made, how teams are structured, and how value is delivered. That shift only succeeds with a clear, structured approach to change management. You don’t just need buy-in from shareholders. You need buy-in from stakeholders across the company: HR, production, service delivery, marketing, and more. Each group has different stakes, and transformation touches them all. This is why a communication and change plan is essential. Leaders must actively manage how new systems will affect roles, responsibilities, and routines. Training, incentives, and clear ownership models are as important as any technical design. These insights are built into the MERIT course, helping participants prepare for the people-side of digital success.
Pilot first, scale later: How small experiments unlock real progress
Pilots are not a fallback, they are a smart strategy. They test assumptions, reduce risk, and generate early wins that build internal momentum. Prototyping is not just product development approach, the same relates to services, processes. A well-executed pilot validates both the technical solution and the organization’s readiness to adopt it. It also offers feedback loops from the people involved, whether that’s frontline users, system integrators, or function leads. This kind of insight is invaluable. It helps adjust direction before committing at scale, and ensures smoother transitions across the business.
In the Digital Strategy for Organizational Transformationcourse at MERIT, we help professionals design pilot approaches that drive value fast, while setting the foundation for larger rollouts. The digital shift is not about adopting more tools. It’s about building strategic capabilities that last. That starts with defining your unique why, aligning the organization behind it, and moving forward in structured, validated steps.
For leaders serious about making that shift, the Digital Strategy for Organizational Transformationcourse at MERIT offers a hands-on, business-led pathway. It combines proven models with practical insights to help you lead transformation with clarity and purpose.
