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CIONET - What's next

Connecting ambitious digital leaders and businesses around the globe.

Catch up on the upcoming CIONET Events

             
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Germany Jul 14, 2025 Country Members Virtual german

Online: AI & DATA Knowledge Transfer - Briefing 18

Unsere Wissensaustausch-Briefings "AI & Data Knowledge Transfer" zielen darauf ab, CIDOs und Senior Digital Leaders mit praktischen Anwendungen und umsetzbaren Erkenntnissen von Fachexperten zu vermitteln, die den Weg für transformative digitale Reisen ebnen.

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Poland Jul 16, 2025 All Members Physical Polish

COMMUNITY EVENT #6 WROCŁAW: HOW TO MANAGE TECHNOLOGY 2025?

COMMUNITY EVENT WROCŁAW

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Germany Jul 17, 2025 Country Members Physical german

München: Von Content-Chaos zu Intelligenz. Wine-Tasting CIDO Roundtable

Ein Sommerabend über den Dächern Münchens. Ein Glas kalifornischer Wein in der Hand. Und ein ehrlicher Austausch unter Gleichgesinnten. In entspannter Atmosphäre sprechen wir mit CIOs, CDOs und CTOs der CIONET-Community über die Herausforderungen und Chancen, die Künstliche Intelligenz im Umgang mit sensiblen Unternehmensdaten mit sich bringt.

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Poland Jul 23, 2025 Invitation Only Physical Polish

Executive Roundtable: Developerzy pod lupą: jak mierzyć, porównywać i oceniać efektywność zespołów IT

Zarządzanie zespołami IT nie może opierać się na intuicji. Efektywność wymaga twardych danych i miar. Które zespoły są naprawdę skuteczne? Jak ocenić, ile pracy wymagało wdrożenie konkretnej funkcji? W jaki sposób mierzyć postęp i jakość pracy programistów bez polegania na subiektywnych wskaźnikach?   Podczas spotkania CIONET Executive Roundtable porozmawiamy o tym, jak nowoczesne narzędzia analityczne – takie jak BlueOptima – pozwalają na obiektywne i porównywalne mierzenie coding effort, czyli rzeczywistego wysiłku włożonego w rozwój oprogramowania. Takie podejście może wspierać nie tylko kontrolę efektywności, ale też jakość, planowanie zespołów i – w dalszej perspektywie – optymalizację kosztów.   W trakcie dyskusji: Wyjaśnimy, czym jest coding effort i jak można go mierzyć niezależnie od technologii czy stylu pracy zespołu. Omówimy, jakie wskaźniki (np. wysiłek dzienny, wskaźnik trudnego do utrzymania kodu, koszt jednostki wysiłku) mają realną wartość dla liderów IT. Pokażemy, jak dane mogą pomóc w identyfikowaniu ryzyk, ocenie jakości kodu i skuteczniejszym zarządzaniu zespołami developerskimi. Zajrzymy też "pod maskę" – jak działa architektura platform takich jak BlueOptima, skąd czerpie dane i jak zapewnia obiektywność metryk. Naszym partnerem w przygotowaniu spotkania jest firma BlueOptima. Gość specjalny Jarosław Wójciński, Head of IT, BENEFIT SYSTEMS podzieli się praktycznymi doświadczeniami z wdrożenia i wykorzystania tej platformy w codziennej pracy działu IT.

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Germany Aug 27, 2025 Country Members Virtual german

Online: Wine Tasting - Unified Operations & Security

Die neuen geo-politischen Veränderungen und unvorhergesehene wirtschaftliche Anforderungen stellen Digital Leader vor neue Herausforderungen. Immer öfter wird in den Vorstandsetagen die Frage gestellt, wie der (IT) Betrieb sicher und ungestört weiter funktionieren kann, wenn regionale Rechenzentren und Infrastrukturen plötzlich nicht mehr verfügbar oder nur teilweise noch einsatzbereit sind. Der CIO muss für diese neue Welt resiliente Strategien parat haben, die für Business Continuity in bisher nicht vorstellbaren politischen und wirtschaftlichen Szenarien ermöglichen.

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Belgium Aug 28, 2025 Country Members Physical english

Summer Festival - Advisory Board

With the theme “The Power of Connection,” we’re embracing the essence of meaningful connections within IT and beyond. To honour our tradition, expect an unforgettable evening featuring keynote presentations, open bars, a summer BBQ, and a special experience designed to bring our vibrant community together.

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Recent Cases

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AI with a human touch

Consult Venture Partners differentiates itself with Alda Ai, a finance-savvy AI assistant

Consult Venture Partners is a global consultancy firm that provides thought leadership and insights in digital transformation, fintech, AI and wealth management. Founded in 2022, its genesis results from the success of City Wharf Private Wealth Ltd. (CWPW), formerly a digitally-led wealth management firm in the UK.

Having first founded CWPW, Ashlea Atigolo and Elemi Atigolo capitalized on the company’s achievements to launch Consult Venture Partners. The story of CWPW—and its pioneering use of the Alda Ai digital concierge from IBM Business Partner INATIGO—provides insight into one of Consult Venture Partners’ key marketplace differentiators, its customer service.

CWPW was launched in early 2020 in partnership with St. James’s Place PLC, a leading FTSE 100 wealth management group. It was one of only a handful of firms to fully integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into its core values.

From the outset, CWPW’s founders had envisioned bringing much-needed digital innovation to the traditional wealth management industry using leading-edge technology to cater to individuals accustomed to always-on services and social responsibility. However, the founders had no idea that they were launching a new business just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the pandemic arrived in the UK in March 2020, CWPW saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the face of the industry with its digital services. Its founders knew that the firm could stand out from the competition and help future-proof its business by providing a 24x7, client-focused experience.

“Wealth management firms typically use live call center approaches,” says Ashlea. “The majority in the UK, and in most countries, don't have any form of online interaction; they don't have a live chat or chat assistant in any form.”

Already, the firm was looking at IBM watsonx Assistant technology to meet its requirements. “IBM Watson® is the leader when it comes to conversational AI and the kind of machine learning and natural language processing we needed,” says Elemi.

 

Accuracy

Successfully answered 92% of queries correctly

 

 

Conversions

Webinar registrations resulted from 47% of queries

 
We did our background research. We knew that IBM Watson was the leader in conversational AI. 
Elemi AtigoloCo-founderConsult Venture Partners
 
 

As the rest of the financial services industry scrambled to serve its customers despite having no in-person meetings and severely reduced call center services, other firms lost valuable traffic and interaction from prospective clients visiting their websites because of poor user experiences. They rushed to improve their online presence to respond to the change in client expectations for a digital, always-on experience.

As a new firm, CWPW had no entrenched customer service operations. It could create an all-new digital customer service experience from scratch. Using the leading-edge IBM Watson technology on IBM Cloud® would provide chat interactions that would feel as if a prospective client were speaking to a human, rather than a robot, without the expense of staffing a call center 24 hours a day.

The founders of CWPW knew just where to go for the right technology. They turned to INATIGO, an innovation company that creates AI solutions with a human touch.


 
 
 More than a chatbot

CWPW wanted an enterprise-grade digital assistant that would respond to website visitors’ questions like a human help desk agent, not a typical rules-based chatbot. Alda Ai, a conversational, AI-powered digital concierge from INATIGO, fit its needs perfectly. Alda Ai uses IBM watsonx Assistant technology to understand questions posed in natural language. The enterprise-grade solution is built for security and scalability because it runs on IBM Cloud.

“We did our background research. We knew that IBM Watson was the leader in conversational AI,” says Elemi. “We also knew that because the INATIGO solution is enterprise-grade, security would be taken care of and it would deal very well with data privacy, which was important to us as a financial firm.”

By using Alda Ai from INATIGO, CWPW gained a turnkey solution with all the embedded security, privacy and scalability features that IBM watsonx Assistant and IBM Cloud offer. Critically, Alda Ai is fluent in financial industry customer service and financial literacy thanks to INATIGO’s extensive experience in the financial as well as technology sectors.

“It was very important that if we were going to be setting a precedent in pioneering this type of technology in our firm, we had to be sure that this would be one of the top AI assistant experiences in the industry,” says Ashlea. “Because from our experience, other assistants are just not very good.”

By using the INATIGO solution powered by IBM Watson technology, CWPW also created an efficient way to engage with as many people as possible from the moment they reached the firm’s website. The digital assistant was the first-of-its-kind in the wealth management industry that could provide detailed answers to questions regarding the firm’s products and services, guide users to the right pages and suggest that they sign up for a webinar or a personal consultation.

“We wanted this experience to be as if someone came to our actual office and got a chance to speak with us,” says Elemi. In an in-person visit, a prospective client could learn about the firm and its values. “Those tours are typically interactive. It's not just taking someone around the office. They get to ask their questions and express what is important to them, why it's important and so on. And that's really been put into the assistant, which is difficult to do.”

INATIGO implemented the solution in just three weeks. The company offered the Alda Ai assistant as a service to CWPW. INATIGO continues to add value by updating the content and continuing to train the assistant as it learns. It also provided performance reports to CWPW. Alda Ai is also available as an interactive voice response (IVR) assistant.

Although INATIGO has been working with IBM for less than two years, it was quickly accepted into the prestigious With Watson® program. It catapulted from the starter program into the Embedded Solution Agreement (ESA) program in just 12 months because of its already mature and deployable solutions, such as Alda Ai.

A lot of people think that this is a live chat and that they are speaking to a live person. 
Ashlea AtigoloCo-founderConsult Venture Partners
 
 
 
 Digital assistant or live agent?

When it launched Alda Ai, CWPW became the UK’s first wealth management firm to offer an AI-powered digital assistant. Following the launch of the service in October 2020, the wealth management firm received industry accolades, including qualifying as a finalist for “Most Innovative Wealth Management Model” in the Wealth Management Technology category from the WealthBriefing European Awards. That’s the kind of name recognition and reputation boost a wealth management firm critically needs, especially when in-person engagement is limited.

INATIGO trained the IBM watsonx Assistant-powered Alda Ai to provide conversational responses that keep users engaged. Alda Ai responds to questions just as a human concierge might. When it doesn’t fully understand a question, it asks, “did you mean?” and provides alternative topics. After responding to an inquiry, the digital assistant asks whether it correctly answered the user’s question. The firm reported that up to 95% of website visitors say their questions were answered correctly.

“A lot of people think that this is a live chat and that they are speaking to a live person,” says Ashlea.

Alda Ai provided an around-the-clock digital customer service experience specific to CWPW’s products and services. The fact that the assistant understood the very specialized terminology of the wealth management industry set CWPW apart from competitors that might offer simple chatbots. The IBM Cloud-based digital assistant also provided a financial advantage to CWPW as it provided service without heavy investment in a 24-hour “live chat” or call center staff. When users wanted one-on-one human interaction, they could easily set up appointments with the firm’s wealth managers through the website.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alda Ai was initially created to provide general information to prospective and new clients. According to Ashlea: “Financial firms needed to offer some sort of concierge-like way to digitally engage. So we heavily pivoted Alda for new clients — to attract them in, nurture them and then give them the information quickly and easily so that they could then convert into a lead for the firm.”

Alda Ai thus helped CWPW generate business even when the firm wasn’t open. From October 2020 to June of 2021, an average of 39% of Alda Ai inquiries translated into leads. Alda Ai also offered a link to its on-demand webinars. During this period, 47% of inquiries resulted in webinar bookings.

As a result of CWPW’s success—and prompted by numerous inquiries and interest from private equity firms and wealth management firms—Ashlea and Elemi decided to change their focus and launch Consult Venture Partners. Thus, in 2022, CWPW became Consult Venture Partners.

Consult Venture Partners’ mission is to provide world-class and award-winning expertise to some of the world’s leading businesses and institutions to help them stay ahead of the curve. The company powers its customer service with Alda Ai acting as a digital concierge, which enables the young firm to quickly and affordably drive customer engagement.

Consult Venture Partners also plans to support its clients with other INATIGO offerings. INATIGO continues to improve and enhance Alda Ai and its other AI-powered solutions, including solutions designed to increase financial literacy. Toward this end, INATIGO offers EcoTaylor, the world’s first AI-powered voice assistant that helps people tackle climate issues; Finley AI, the world’s first AI voice-powered financial well-being assistant; and Monay, a financial literacy AI assistant.

“Using this type of conversational AI can help firms showcase how they are digitally engaging and future-proofing their companies and businesses with this forward-thinking technology,” concludes Ashlea.

 

Checkout our CIONET COOKBOOK

cookbook

Embark on a culinary journey through the ever-evolving world of digital leadership with our third edition of the CIONET Cookbook: Recipes for Digital Success. Unveiling the intricate trilemma faced by today’s Master Chefs, our trailblazing European CIOs address a challenge at the nexus of customer interests, digital transformation strategies, and IT modernisation. Their secret? Synchronising the gearing between customer, business, and technology to create a frictionless movement through the digital landscape.

The CIONET Cookbook uses the analogy of a five-star restaurant to explain the importance of optimally integrated technology, with the CIO as Master Chef. In order to provide the best service to its customers, a top restaurant must have the right atmosphere, an inviting menu, a well-equipped kitchen, talented and committed front-of-house and kitchen staff and smooth-running processes that ensure an enjoyable experience for diners.

CIONET TV

 
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Sharon Prior - CIO in transition - How Great Tech Leadership Begins with Business Thinking

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José Antonio López, Group CIO at TOUS - Jewels, Data & AI: Inside the Digital Transformation of TOUS

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Tom Tanghe - General Manager ITC EMEA at Daikin Europe - Reinventing the CIO Role

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CIOFEST 2025 - From Order Taker to Proactive Disruptor

CIONET Reports

 
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JNJ The Role of Digital and Robotics in the Future of Surgery

A dinner explored integrating digital and robotic tech in surgery, its NHS impact, and solutions for long waiting lists. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, it gathered NHS leaders, clinicians, and tech experts to share insights on current uses and future planning for digital healthcare delivery.

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Coping in chaos. How to survive (and thrive) in uncertain times

From economic uncertainty to governance, security and trade concerns, today’s IT leaders face unprecedented challenges that require them to navigate, and thrive, in chaos. That, at least, is the proposition of a new sequence of events from Cognizant and CIONET.

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The BIG Transformer – Reimagining the Enterprise for the AI Era

This high-energy panel event explored how artificial intelligence is transforming enterprise strategy, operations, and culture. Industry leaders from AstraZeneca, Orange Business, Strategy and Soho House shared how they are reimagining their organisations to stay competitive in the AI era.

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Head of IT Germany and Regional Office Lead Munich, Microsoft

“The CIONET App allows us to learn from eachother and and find the courage to be authentic by hearing stories from others! Thanks to Tobias and the whole team for bringing us together:-) ”
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“The main things that I would like to get from our community of Digital Leaders are: networking, share experiences, share best practices and successful cases, and comments and recommendations about providers.”
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About CIONET

CIONET’s mission is to help IT executives become more at ease and above all more successful in their jobs. So they can do more than just keep up with change but ultimately define it. CIONET opens up a whole new universe of opportunities in IT management.

With the largest membership of corporate digital leaders across Europe, Latin America, US and Australia, CIONET has the expertise and pioneering vision to solve or address any IT management challenge.

Why join CIONET?

From our local and global events, from our publications and research to our executive education programmes, everything we do is aimed at making sure digital leaders maximise their potential.

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with digital leaders who share your interests, who face the same challenges, who care about the same topics.

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stories, experiences, and ideas around our shared mission.

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inspiration, thought-provoking conversations, expert perspectives and exclusive first-hand content each and every day

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