CIONET

Axel Schell, CTO at @Allianz Technology, is nominated to the #EDLOTY Award in the Finance category! Join us on 26th October at #CIONEXT! Register here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/6963770877372968960 to find out how the finalists of the European Digital Leader of the Year 2023 are navigating the Perfect Storm!

In this #LeadershipDeepDive interview @Hendrik Deckers asked Axel how to transform a 130-year-old insurance company into a data-driven, cloud-based and agile organisation. They discussed the Cloudification Program and the “cloud first” strategy, as well as IT Decommissioning and its impact on the approach to technology of the entire Allianz Group.

Watch the full interview to find out what it means to change the organisational culture from “HiPPO to Geek” and if the “less is more philosophy” brought the expected results at Allianz Technology!

Table of contents:

01:13 | Introduction

01:38 | Axel’s background

03:21 | About Allianz Technology

04:16 | Drivers for change at Allianz Technology

05:50 | Business strategy

06:54 | IT Decommissioning Program

10:17 | Data migration

11:56 | Team responsibilities

13:21 | Launch of the Decommissioning Program

14:38 | Results

16:30 | Agile at Allianz Technology

17:43 | Use of automation

19:27 | The Cloudification Program

22:38 | Multi-cloud strategy

25:02 | Data centres vs. cloud

26:49 | Results of the Cloudification program

27:33 | Future cloud platform

30:44 | The role of community

32:00 | IT & Digital organisation

33:42 | Operating model

35:35 | Being data-driven

37:41 | KPI Dashboards

40:39 | The role of the CTO

43:42 | Management style

46:36 | Personality

48:40 | Attracting talent

50:16 | Leadership style

53:43 | MBTI profile

58:17 | Personal mantra

59:24 | Core values

1:03:01 | Mentors

1:05:13 | Failures & lessons learned

1:06:49 | Best things in life

1:07:44 | Worst things in life

1:08:58 | Loves and fears

1:10:48 | Advice for aspiring digital leaders

Meet Lourens Visser, CIO at the Dutch Central Government, who is a Finalist in the 2023 European Digital Leader of the Year Awards in the Government category! Register here: https://www.cionext.com/14 & join Lourens at the panel discussion on 26th October at CIONEXT: Navigating the Perfect Storm!

In the meantime watch this insightful interview in which Lourens speaks with Hendrik Deckers about IT strategy for the Netherlands and an 800-million-euro information transparency program, whose aim is to rebuild trust between the citizens and the public institutions.

Lourens also talks about replacing legacy systems, the Netherlands’ new cloud policy, more responsible data management and the use of algorithms in governmental institutions. “We want data analytics to make better policies, better laws, and better execution thereof,” he says.

Moreover, the CIO of the Dutch Central Government shares his views on the current IT talent shortages and explains why automation and no-code / low-code could help solve the problem.

“Always set your ambitions high but also be realistic,” says Lourens. Watch the full interview to learn more about Lourens and his experience!

Jan Dobbenie, CIO at VDAB is nominated for the European Digital Leader of the Year Awards! Register here: https://www.cionext.com/14 to meet Jan and other finalists at #CIONEXT on 26th October, where the winners in the Finance & Government categories will be announced!

How did VDAB navigate the major transformation, where it shifted from helping 200 000 unemployed find a new job to serving 4 million citizens of Flanders with advice on their career paths? Is it possible to apply zero-based budgeting in the public sector?

In this #LeadershipDeepDive episode, Hendrik Deckers talks with Jan Dobbenie, CIO at VDAB about the use of AI in matching the right candidate with the right employer in the sector where segmentation is, in fact, individual. Jan explains what the First Class Strategy at VDAB is and how their technology will evolve in the future to predict changes on the job market long before they actually occur.

Watch the full interview to find out more and check why Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of “Star Trek’s” USS Enterprise can be an inspiration for successful digital leaders!

Table of contents:

01:00 | Introduction

01:08 | Jan’s background

06:45 | About VDAB

07:54 | Transformation at VDAB: VIBE Program

11:25 | Artificial intelligence at VDAB

12:23 | About the “Job Reach” engine

16:10 | Next steps: predictive employment models

18:57 |Inclusive talent management

23:08 | IT Department at VDAB

23:44 | Results of the new programs

26:57 | Measuring results

28:08 | The First Class strategy

30:05 | Data strategy

37:30 | VDAB & CIONET Tribes

38:57 | The role of the CIO

42:37 | Management style

44:12 | Leadership style

48:14 | Motivation

51:08 |Most brilliant failure

53:45 | MBTI - strengths

59:48 | MBTI - weaknesses

1:00:03 | Bad things in life

1:01:58 | Personal gift

1:03:25 | Advice to future digital leaders

Meet Raúl Jiménez, Managing Director of Agencia Digital de Andalucía, who has been nominated for our prestigious European Digital Leader of the Year Award! Register here 👉 https://www.cionext.com/ to meet all finalists at #CIONEXT on the 26th of October, where the winners in the Finance & Government categories will be announced!

Agencia Digital de Andalucía was born with one sole objective: to facilitate the life of 8.5 million Andalusians by implementing technology.

„I believe that a fundamental part of my task is to bring to the regional government this new perspective that links technology with sustainability, efficiency, automation, and humanization using technology as a smart tool to get excellence in public services.”

In this Leadership Deep Dive interview Raúl talks with Hendrik Deckers not only about building strong teams, but also about the implementation of technology in public services.

Table of contents

01:13 | Introduction and Raúl Jiménez’s background

03:40 | About Agencia Digital de Andalucía

05:01 | Objectives of the digital transformation

06:28 | Intelligent automation as response to crisis

09:02 | Non-Contributory Pensions (PNC) program

11:08 | Government app and its benefits

14:36 | Organization model

17:10 | Andalucía as a data driven region

18:54 | Data analytics

19:47 | Raúl’s role in the Agencia Digital de Andalucía

21:04 | The changing role of CIO

22:04 | Raúl’s management style

23:31 | Retaining talent

24:53 | Raúl’s leadership style

25:51 | MBTI: the Executive

29:46 | Personal mantra & core values

32:11 | The best & worst moments in life

33:31 | Advice for people starting out

“Pragmatic problem solver. Passionate customer advocate. Collaborative creator and curious learner”, this is how Ilona Simpson, CIO EMEA of Netskope describes herself. In this Leadership Deep Dive interview Ilona talks with Hendrik Deckers about business agility and culture as two key aspects of digital transformation and the role cloud plays in it.

“Business agility drives the digital transformation agenda. There are two pieces to it. There's the cultural part. There's the organizational part, as well as the underlying technology. So cloud has become the main component of technology enabler for that business agility”, says Ilona.

Deep dive into this interview and learn about the zero trust security solution that Netskope is implementing as key component of its security model.

Table of contents:

01:16 | Introduction and Ilona Simpson’s background

03:31 | About Netskope

03:58 | Main challenges for Netskope

05:14 | Cultural aspect of digital transformation

06:41 | Role of the cloud – blessing and curse

12:11 | Zero trust strategy and uniqueness of Netskope

16:49 | Ilona’s role as CIO

21:18 | Talent shortage

24:04 | Ilona’s cultural shift

26:18 | Ilona’s leadership style

29:44 | MBTI: the Entertainer

34:20 | Core values & personal mantra

36:22 | The best & worst moments in life

39:25 | Ilona’s mentors

42:34 | Advice for people starting out

Meet Natasha Davydova, Head of Infrastructure and Information Security at Allianz Technology who has been nominated for our prestigious European Digital Leader of the Year Award! Register here: https://www.cionext.com/14 to meet all finalists at #CIONEXT on the 26th of October, where the winners in the Finance & Government categories will be announced!

Allianz is a well-known brand which provides all sorts of insurance products. For instance, it insured the James Bond films and the famous Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. Allianz Technology is an operating entity within the group, which provides innovative technology solutions. Natasha manages a team of 2,500 people spread across multiple locations.

In this #LeadershipDeepDive interview Natasha talks with Hendrik Deckers about digital transformation, cloudification (her ambitious plan is to move 75% of applications to cloud by 2025), and data sovereignty. “For the insurance company data is everything. It's the blood and bone of our business,” says Natasha.

She also shares her views on the fifth industrial revolution. The fourth one was about digitalization, the next one will be about sustainability and big companies giving back to society, predicts Natasha.

Watch this Insightful interview and join us on the 26th of October at 3:00 p.m. CET to meet all finalists!

Johan Kestens, Head of Information Security International at Bank of New York Mellon is nominated to the European Digital Leader of the Year Awards! Register here: https://www.cionext.com/14 to meet Johan and other finalists at #CIONEXT on 26th October, where the winners in the Finance & Government categories will be announced!

BNY Mellon is one of the oldest banks in the world with a total staff of 55 000, including 12 000 in IT, operating in more than 60 markets. How does “the bank of banks” interact with regulators, stock exchanges and serve clients while maintaining top notch cybersecurity measures?

In this #LeadershipDeepDive episode Hendrik Deckers discusses the role Johan played in saving the Eurozone during the 2011 debt crisis by creating the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) in less than 9 months.

Watch the full interview to find out what Johan says about cybercrime, what his alternative career path could have been and how he inspired his team members to become successful CIOs.

How to transform an institution with a well-known and respectable brand into an agile organization while maintaining great customer experience?

In this #LeadershipDeepDive interview Hendrik Deckers discusses with Sławomir Soszyński, Board Member & CIO at ING Bank Śląski, how to "rebuild a car on the go": change the architecture of one of the biggest banks in Poland while staying customer-centric, escape the legacy and maintain the agile way of working.

Watch this interview to find out if the smart contract concept is working for ING and why a bank should be an integrator of technologies and platforms in a shared economy model.

Sławomir is nominated to the #EDLOTY Award! Join us and the finalists of the European Digital Leader of the Year on 26th October at #CIONEXT! Register here: www.cionext.com/14, take part in the panel discussion and see who will be the winner of this edition in the Finance & Government categories!

Table of contents:

00:59 | Introduction

01:38 | Sławomir’s background

04:02 | About ING & main challenges

06:27 | Next-gen core banking program

09:50 | Strategy behind the program

12:38 | Timeline, platform and smart contracts

15:27 | (Dis)advantages of the platform solution

17:10 | ING Poland vs. other banks in the group

18:18 | Current and future products delivered on the platform

19:55 | Agile & Tribes at ING

21:13 | Public cloud migration & cloud first strategy

24:50 | Geopolitical resilience

26:16 | Regulatory challenges: banking & data

28:33 | Timeline of app migration

30:24 | IT organisation and operating model

34:09 | The role of the CIO & Board Member at ING

37:33 | The role of the CIO vs. CEO

41:20 | Management style

43:12 | Leadership style

45:49 | Personality - strengths

50:12 | Innovation in banking

51:43 | Personality – weaknesses

54:57 | Values

56:41 | The worst things in life

58:30 | Loves & fears

59:48 | Personal mantra

1:00:29 | Advice for aspiring digital leaders

#EDLOTY #EuropeanDigitalLeaderOfTheYear #DigitalLeadership #CIO #CXO #CTO #Finance #Government #CIONET #innovation #technology #data #DigitalTransformation

Take a deep dive into interview with Piotr Słomianny, CIO & CFO of MPWiK Wrocław S.A. and learn how technology enabled Piotr and his team to implement an extensive water loss reduction program.

“I am worried that our civilization is developing at a very different pace. For example, in some places like Wroclaw, we implement wire wireless water metering system using IoT, but we have to remember, and we have to be aware that on our planet, over 2 billion people still don't have access to drinking water. And I think that such huge disproportions may cause even more conflicts in the future”, says Piotr.

In this #LeadershipDeepDive Piotr talks with @Hendrik Deckers about the Smart Flow Program which is a direct response to both growing demand for water and limited access to fresh clean water. By developing software that identifies leakages and potential failures of the water distribution system, MPWiK plans to significantly reduce water losses. What is more, this software is now being commercialized and used in other Polish cities.

Dive deep into this interview and learn how technology can make sustainability possible!

Every year CIONET nominates top Digital Leaders as finalists for the European Digital Leader of the Year. Piotr represents Poland in the Public Sector category. Join us on the special edition of #CIONEXT on October 26th, 2022 at 15:00 CET where we will feature all the finalists and announce the winners. Register at 👉www.cionext.com/14

#EDLOTY #EuropeanDigitalLeaderOfTheYear #DigitalLeadership #CIO #CXO #CTO #Finance #Government #CIONET #innovation #technology #data #DigitalTransformation

Table of contents

01:16 | Introduction and Piotr Slomianny’s background

03:28 | About MPWiK

05:16 | Main drivers for change & challenges for MPWiK

06:54 | Smart Flow Program

13:11 | Digital transformation

16:55 | SMART business goals

18:10 | IT operating model

20:34 | Becoming data driven and the application of AI

24:01 | Role of CIO

25:08 | Combining the role of CIO & CFO

27:03 | Piotr’s leadership style

29:50 | What drives Piotr?

30:44 | MBTI: the Commander

35:05 | Personal mantra

35:57 | Core values & mentors

38:09 | The most brilliant mistake & Piotr’s fears and passions

42:32 | Advice for people starting out

How to remain successful in the era of digital challenges? Watch the #LeadershipDeepDive interview with Anna Maria Ricco, COO at AXA Italia to find out!

“If you really want to transform your company, you need to change its DNA,” says Anna Maria.

COO of AXA talks with Hendrik Deckers about the company's digital transformation journey: replacing legacy systems, migration to cloud, and successful data management.

Anna Maria also shares her views on the role of IT in sustainable development and the core values that can transform the business. Furthermore, she explains why she never gives up on things until they work and why the role of a leader is to build a climate that allows everyone in the company to be the best version of themselves.

Dive into this interview to learn more and be inspired by Anna Maria!

Every year CIONET nominates top Digital Leaders as finalists of the European Digital Leader of the Year. Anna Maria represents Italy in the ….. category. Join us on the special edition of #CIONEXT on October 26th, 2022 at 15:00 CET where we will feature all the finalists and announce winners. Register at www.cionext.com/14

Table of contents

01:031 Introduction and anna Maria’s background

05:24 About AXA Italia

06:33 AXA’s mission and drivers for change

10:31 Managing legacy technology

12:59 Open insurance

16:34 Data management

20:11 Data initiatives at AXA

23:52 Impact of digital transformation

25:17 IT and sustainability

26:37 IT department at AXA

29:08 IT governance

30:30 Anna Maria’s role at AXA

31:43 Transformation programmes at AXA

34:24 Management style

36:23 Attracting talents

37:21 Leadership style

39:33 Career drivers

40:26 MBTI profile - strengths

43:29 Weaknesses

44:47 Personal mantra

46:01 Core values

47:37 The best and worst moments in life