Good to know you: Marc Diepstraten

'Have you tried Copilot?' Marc Diepstraten asked a CFO he was speaking with as a client partner. The CFO had expressed frustration about a busy schedule and a lack of time to create reports with meeting notes and action items. 'Give it a try,' Marc advised, 'it will change your working life.' The next day, the CFO reported that the transcriptions were indeed very useful - he didn't realize how easy it was to use. This led to further discussions about the use of AI in business and the development of use cases.

Global themes

This is just a small example of Marc's enthusiasm for encouraging people to explore the possibilities of technology. Marc explains, 'The big story is that the world and PwC's business are changing rapidly due to technology. Look at global themes such as sustainability, energy transition, wealth distribution, and geopolitical conflicts - digital technology is the common denominator. Within PwC and beyond, I emphasize the importance of everyone moving along with these developments, so that "tech-enabled transformation" can be achieved optimally. For every professional, technology is an integral part of the learning curve.'

PwC AI Lab 

According to Marc, the significant learning curve is not only evident in the advice given to the CFO to use Copilot. 'Established companies don't suddenly change their entire business model with technology. We all need to gradually discover the possibilities.' Marc observes that within PwC and among clients, there has been experimental experience with Generative AI, for example, at the PwC Experience Center in Amsterdam.

'That is a fantastic place,' Marc says. 'We see real transformation happening there as clients and partners try out and further develop ideas. Now we are entering a phase where companies are building use cases and permanently applying Gen AI. In the short term, we will see how technology fundamentally transforms business models. And this applies to almost all sectors.'

Curiosity and connection

Looking back on his career of over thirty years, Marc reflects, 'My personal journey has always been one of curiosity and making connections.' As a lawyer with a background in international taxation, he has always enjoyed tackling new topics. He worked with economists on tax advice for transfer pricing and worked across Tax, Assurance, and Advisory on major transformations.

His role as a connector also came into play during his six-year membership on the board of directors and as a member of the EMEA Executive Team at PwC. 'During those years, the transformation of our practice through technology had my full attention. How can we make compliance processes faster and cheaper with technology? How will technology help us use all the data within PwC in a prudent and effective way? These kinds of questions were on the table early on out of curiosity.'

Connecting tech and the market 

In addition to his board work, Marc has always been actively involved with clients, particularly in consumer goods. 'I have always had the ambition to connect my affinity for technology with the market. PwC's services are "human led & tech-enabled" - I want to show our clients step by step how we can add value to them with technology and data. For this, we combine our knowledge of transformation, business processes, tax, and accounting with the knowledge from our technological alliances with companies like Google, SAP, and Microsoft. The enrichment of technology with our capabilities and data is a great adventure'

Human led

What does this adventure look like? Marc explains, 'If I look at my own Tax practice, in the past, we would provide clients with technical tax advice, and that would be it. Now, such advice is input for scenarios in which we calculate the implications for tax burden under different circumstances. This gives clients what they truly need: a broader and deeper perspective on the possibilities. We can increasingly provide these kinds of scenarios.'

Marc already mentioned that PwC is 'human led & tech-enabled'. 'Human led means that, despite the amazing possibilities of technology, the human assessment by our professionals remains crucial. For example, with AI, we can make good analyses of financial statements, but the professional then determines the key points to discuss with the client.'

From experimentation to daily use

Is it easy to get professionals on board with technological transformation? 'There is a great awareness of its importance within PwC,' says Marc, 'but the step from experimenting with technology to using it daily is not being taken enough. That's why we strongly focus on it from the CTIO Office, with workshops and peers who can look over your shoulder and help if desired, to encourage active use as much as possible. It's like in that conversation with the CFO, someone needs to point you in the right direction. Then we have a community ready to help you use technology optimally on a daily basis.'

Discussing possibilities and challenges

Speaking of communities, how does Marc view the PwC alumni network? 'There is great added value in that, both for PwC and the alumni. We have a broad overview of what is happening in many sectors in terms of digital, and alumni can turn to us for that. But alumni who are still active in the business or public sector can also provide us with insights into what they are experiencing from within. That's why we are always happy to engage in discussions with anyone who wants to discuss the possibilities and challenges of digital technology transformation. We live in an exceptional time - together, we will undoubtedly see a tremendous acceleration of technological application in the coming years.'