With CIO CITY’14 a week behind us, it is perhaps time to recollect some fine memories and reflect about the impact this event has had on the CIO’s that were present.
First and foremost, according to the evaluation forms of the participants, a majority of them came to CIO CITY’14 for 2 major reasons: to network with peer CIO’s, and to gain new insights and ideas for their digital strategy. Did they reach these objectives? Oh, yes, they did ! A staggering 100% of the respondents claimed that they reached these goals at CIO CITY’14 !
Among the highlights was the workshop lead by Peter Hinssen, an authority when it comes to seeing through the maze what the digital future holds for CIO’s. Peter started with shocking news for CIO’s: soon, he predicted, CIO’s will become an extinguished race… How’s that for a starter at a conference with 140 CIO’s? He got their attention though, and his message is of course more subtle: CIO’s need to adapt to the changing reality. Business models are changing, and they’re changing everywhere, at an ever increasing speed. Technology needs to be at the forefront of this evolution in every business, otherwise it will become irrelevant (both the technology and the business).
“Adapt, or be left behind” was also the message of Dré Kraak, commander and F16 pilot in the Dutch army and keynote speaker at the gala dinner. How to be an effective leader in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world? For Dré it is quite clear: adapt, lead by example, and make sure to have a team where everybody is aligned. It was a sobering thought thought, in a way. Of course, leadership means something quite different in a military context compared to an ICT department… Well, does it, really?
There plenty more to reflect on, of course. But sometimes pictures say more than words, so scroll through the pics of the event to feel the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the delegates and speakers. Or even better: watch the overall video of CIO CITY’14:

There are also video’s on the ‘European CIO of the Year‘ and ‘European Research Paper of the Year‘ ceremony on our Youtube channel! Don’t miss them!
We’re only one week after the 2014 event, but we are already thinking to next year’s event, which we plan to be even more impactful and more useful for CIO’s… So stay tuned as we build the program, and book the dates now in your agenda: June 1 & 2, 2015 !