On the couch with the CIO & ICT woman of the year

Don't feel like reading? Check out the videoreport on this session below!

One thing was clear from the start, a CIO does not have just one jobdescription! There are a lot of similarities but also a few key differences in the approach of Herman and Annemie. A few examples:

• What does the I in CIO stand for these days? Is the CIO evolving into the "Innovation Officer"?
  Annemie Depuydt (KU Leuven): The CIO is responsible for everything that is mentioned between the ‘C’ and the ‘O’ be it Integration or Digital or Technology or….
  Herman De Prins (UCB): we do not innovate (new medication) but our contribution to it becomes much higher…
• Is the CIO a generalist or a specialist?
  Annemie Depuydt (KU Leuven): a generalist that is surrounded by specialists
  Herman De Prins (UCB): everybody becomes a specialist until a certain level of knowledge
• What is the personal profile of the CIO?
  Annemie Depuydt (KU Leuven): The person in the organisation that is capable of taking decisions faster and faster
  Herman De Prins (UCB): it is like sailing: you want to arrive at the other side of the water but the path that leads to it is less structured.

Of course there are also a lot of similarities in Annemie & Herman's day to day jobs. Here are some of the main takebacks on what's the same in both their careers:

• They both launch an awful lot of projects in a year. Emphasis is on ‘added value’ and cost comes in the second place.
• The work that Annemie and Herman do focuses on ‘happy teams’. It's important to generate enthusiasm
• Use of new technologies such as AI, machine learning, chatbot: perfect for primary school for mathematics and to learn to read… and the cost of the technology is much lower than expected. This combined with open source technology is a game changer.
• It's important to keep creating room to experiment, to make mistakes, to develop new products and solutions
• People management is still key! But focus is much more on being inspirational, situational coaching, preaching, ‘enthuse’ the team
• Creating new technologies is all about ‘trust’: be it the balance between security and ease of use,  blockchain applications, sharing of data etc.
• There are still not enough women working in IT and this needs to be a point to focus on in the future

Be sure to head over to the Pictures tab and have a look at the pictures that were taken during the event.

Catch up on the event through other media! Read the article on the session from Data News.

Our Social Media Manager, Mic Adam, has taken the time to compile your tweets in this handy Storify to sum up this event in your own words. (see below)

Don't feel like reading? Relive this session with our videoreport:(see below)