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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 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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Belgium Aug 28, 2025 Country Members Physical english

20 Years CIONET - CIONET Belgium: Summer Festival

A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership.Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.This is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and recharge with your fellow digital leaders. Don't miss this exclusive experience packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and special recognitions that highlight the best of CIONET’s history and future.Let’s celebrate the past, present, and future of the digital community you helped build.

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Poland Aug 28, 2025 Country Members Physical Polish

SUMMER MIXER

SUMMER MIXER

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Belgium Sep 13, 2025 All Members Physical english

CIONET Cycling Event

Join us for a wonderful ride. The ride is accessible to all levels of riders and doesn't require extensive technical skills. More information will follow soon. Looking forward to ride together!

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Germany Sep 17, 2025 Country Members Physical german

München: Cyber Security Fatigue

Cybersecurity ist längst kein reines IT-Thema mehr – sie betrifft das gesamte Unternehmen. Doch während die Bedrohungslage zunimmt, geraten viele Security-Verantwortliche an ihre Belastungsgrenzen: zwischen 24/7-Verantwortung, wachsenden Anforderungen und dem ständigen Innovationsdruck.

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Recent Cases

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Discovering Nordzucker: The Beginning Of An Exciting Partnership With Stefanini

Recognizing the need for a fresh approach to fuel innovation and efficiency, Nordzucker partnered with Stefanini to reimagine their IT landscape. After nearly two decades of working within the ITIL framework without achieving desired performance metrics, the company embraced a bold "greenfield" strategy.

A Rich History Spanning Over 185 Years

Nordzucker is a name that resonates with history and progress. With roots dating back over 185 years, this international sugar company has grown from its humble beginnings in a single German sugar factory to become a significant player across Europe and Australia. Today, it boasts 21 sugar factories staffed by around 3,900 employees, collectively producing more than 200 products.

 

 

The Path to Progress: Nordzucker’s Inspiring Transformation Journey

In the dynamic world of business, transformation is more than a necessity—it’s an opportunity to redefine what’s possible. For Nordzucker, one of Europe’s leading sugar producers, the turning point sparked a bold quest for improvement. That’s where we, Stefanini, came in—a global technology solutions provider ready to take on the challenge, whose collaborative spirit and expertise aligned seamlessly with Nordzucker’s goals.

 

Redesigning Processes: A Fresh Start with Greenfield Thinking

Nordzucker relied on the ITIL framework to manage their IT operations. However, performance reviews revealed that their systems and processes needed a reinvention, not just an update. Adopting a greenfield approach, the team started with a clean slate—rethinking their process.  It was about fostering collaboration and co-creation between the two teams.

Oana Chetves, Business Development Manager at Stefanini, reflected on this pivotal phase: “I remember that throughout all the meetings we highly appreciated the transparency from all the Nordzucker team which helped us put together the proper solutioning in place.”

 

Tackling Challenges: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Nordzucker faced operational challenges as low resolution rates at the first support level led to increased workloads, backlogs, and longer ticket resolution times—a frustrating experience for end-users. Nordzucker implemented ServiceNow as their new IT Service Management (ITSM) tool. This strategic decision enabled them to establish a 24/7 team for comprehensive incident management. They also introduced SophieX, an advanced voice translation service available in multiple languages, including Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Polish, and Slovak.

This innovative solution made support more accessible, bridging language gaps and elevating user satisfaction.

 

Building Strong Partnerships: Trust as the Cornerstone

What stood out was not just Stefanini’s technical expertise but also their speed, responsiveness, and preparedness during global engagements. Michael Riepshoff, Head of IT Operations at Nordzucker, shared his appreciation: “We were looking for someone to guide us on this journey, with broad experience, that has the ability to co-innovate with us. The speed delivered in getting back to our requests and also the level of preparedness for all the colleagues in Stefanini that were involved was quite outstanding. “

This partnership was built on mutual trust and a shared commitment to excellence. By aligning their visions and focusing on seamless execution, Nordzucker and Stefanini created a foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success.

 

Looking Ahead: Writing the Next Chapter

With these transformative steps, Nordzucker has not only streamlined their operations but also taken steps into enhancing the experience for their end-users. As they continue on this path, the future holds endless possibilities for growth and innovation.

Together with Stefanini, Nordzucker is embracing challenges with confidence, turning them into opportunities to innovate and excel. This journey is far from over. As they carve out new milestones and redefine success, Nordzucker’s transformation story stands as a testament to the power of vision, partnership, and resilience.

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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Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge

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Isabelle Droll - CIO for Airline, Corporate, Hotels & Resorts and Sustainability at TUI - Data, Diversity, and Destinations

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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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Cybersecurity in critical infrastructure

Geopolitical tensions have dominated the headlines for over two years now. In this context, the cyber threat landscape is also evolving rapidly. The protection and security of critical infrastructure – both physical and digital – is becoming increasingly important.

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HDS - From Hype to Reality Navigating the Challenges of GenAI

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Integration In An Era Of AI: Challenges And Opportunities

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Latest CIONET News

Join your local CIONET community

Discover the CIONET app

Staying ahead of trends and connecting with other CIOs was never easier.

In our new app, our members connect with other digital leaders from around the world to find better solutions to their challenges.

Connect with digital leaders like you

Share ideas, best practices, and new resources

Experience inspiring and thought-provoking content and conversations you can’t find anywhere else

Make better, more well-informed decisions about the topics that are most important to you

Anna Kopp (1)

Anna Kopp

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:-) ”
Mauricio Amaro

Mauricio Amaro

IT Director, IT Thinker

“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.”
Vijay Anand

Vijay Anand

Vice president IT & Compliance, VisionaryRCM (A Carlyle Grp Company)

“The CIONET app provides a really cool platform to network and share insights.”

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.

Connect

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

Share

stories, experiences, and ideas around our shared mission.

Learn

from our exclusive events, publications and research.

Find

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

Grow

and make better, more well-informed decisions on how to lead your digital business.

Maximise

your potential. Realise your ambitions.

About CIONET

Join CIONET

We'd love to welcome you as the newest member of our CIONET community where Digital Leaders unite. 

You can either send us a registered handwritten letter explaining why you'd like to become a member or you can simply talk to us right here!

Contact us

Would you like to know more about CIONET, membership or partnership opportunities? Do you have feedback or any other question? Send us a message!