Executive Summit

Digital transformation, innovation and technology are advancing at a staggering pace, and organisations need to rapidly adapt and ‘look beyond’ the horizon to remain relevant, productive, and proactive. As the oldest company in the UK, the Royal Mint has undergone rapid transformation to diversify its core offering into collections, jewellery, and investments, along with addressing challenges faced with cybersecurity and AI. Join Richard Hobbs, CIO, The Royal Mint as he shares his insights into:

• How the Royal Mint have diversified beyond coin-making, driven by IT
• How technology fuelled a transition from traditional mentality to diverse thinking and IT-enabled business outcome
• How CIOs should foster a culture of continuous improvement amidst constant change

CIOs are faced with expected budget increases that are only marginally above projected inflation, and well below expected increases in revenue. In other words, in addition to the increased demand, there will be an ongoing need for greater efficiency. This, against a backdrop of talent scarcity and higher demands from stakeholders on sustainable business makes the CIO role a tough role to fulfil. Kanwar Brar, Group CIO at Go-Ahead Group knows these challenges only too well and his approach to delivery, support security and customer experience through IT has enabled passengers to remain at the heart of a complex operating environment. Join this session to hear:

Join this session to discuss:

• Unique approaches to understanding how technology should shape the business
• How CIOs should explore innovative ways to enhance customer satisfaction and drive revenues
• Re-designing strategy to maximise efficiencies and reform teams for better business alignment

The IT Executive role has evolved significantly from a service provider to a business enabler that drives the next generation of digital business. Alongside this evolution, questions about how the CIO can best utilise their newfound influence have become all the more pertinent.

But what about those aspects that ‘new to role’ executives don’t typically consider? Managing relationships at the top, inspiring the business to adopt new technologies and constant change management can be tough, all whilst maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It’s crucial for aspiring CIOs to remain cognisant of the underlying realities behind a role of this magnitude. Join this session to hear Technology Executives share the realities of the role, and advice on how to strike the right balance for success.

Join this boardroom and discuss:

• The level of commitment expected of a CIO and how this might differ across organisations of varying sizes and sectors
• Understanding and overcoming hurdles and blockers while transitioning into the CIO role
• How to sustain a healthy work-life balance in a high profile, fast moving role

CIOs wanting to communicate IT’s relevance and impact on wider business outcomes must shift the focus of conversations with business partners from what IT does (technical inputs and outputs) to how IT delivers real value to stakeholders’ business priorities. But with conflicting board priorities, changing tech capabilities and ongoing change management, delivering a coherent story with impact is tough. Join this boardroom to discuss:

• Building coherent narratives around IT spend, and it’s impact to deliver value and business growth
• Key metrics that focus on business outcomes, rather than technology itself
• Crafting and telling an impactful business value story to increase influence

Appealing to different CxO profiles and sharing digital leadership responsibilities are key to maximising digital investment value and driving better business outcomes from digital. Building and fostering these relationships across the board can be tough, and CIOs must tailor their engagement across leadership profiles to build strong collaboration across the business. Join this Boardroom to discuss:

• Tactics to improve your partnerships with CxOs across the organisation
• Lessons Learned on building trust between IT and other business unites, together with the benefits of a one team mindset
• Improving culture, leadership, process optimisation and talent acquisition, all with a strong foundation of data and AI

The opportunity to reach a cohort of next generation CIOs and provide support, mentorship and guidance can be invaluable to rising IT talent. In contrast, the ideas, fresh thinking and knowledge gained from meeting this cohort can be equally as valuable to gain new perspectives and re-evaluate future strategy. Join this session to meet with members of the ‘Next Generation CIO’ Programme on a one to one basis, providing guidance and sharing a two way flow of ideas that can help shape the future of digital business. You'll have a chance to:

• Connect one-on-one with aspiring tech talent and give back to the community
• Understand what priorities future IT leaders believe they should focus on
• Share your experiences and candid advice to individuals who will be taking on the CIO role of the future

CIOs need to demonstrate value. CFOs need to calculate value. Everyone in the C-Suite needs to collaborate together to CREATE Value. The level of AI spending is so significant that the C-Suite must ensure a rigorous, repeatable approach to the economics of AI initiatives. This is often called financial operations (FinOps) of AI. Join Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner as she shares insights into how CIOs can strengthen their approach to communicating the value of AI, while executing at speed and scale. Specifically, Frances will share:

• Critical Success Factors for AI Leadership
• AI Portfolio Planning: Frameworks for vetting, prioritising and funding AI initiatives
• Value Creation calculation and communication of cost, risks and ROI (Value)