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Belgium 01-10-2026 Squad Only Virtual english

Letting Teams Build Safely with Low-Code, No-Code, and AI Tools. ; How to enable business-led development while keeping security, architecture, and support under control.

Low-code, no-code, and AI tools are giving business teams more ability to build solutions themselves. The challenge is setting the right boundaries before fast local solutions become important operational assets. Three pressure points need attention. - Boundaries must be clear: teams need to know what they can build alone and what requires IT, security, or architecture review. - Supportability matters when a quick solution becomes business-critical. - Risk control remains necessary around data access, compliance, security, process dependency, and maintenance. The working question is simple: how do we enable business-led development while keeping security, ownership, and support under control? If you are trying to enable this safely, let’s compare approaches with others facing the same balance.

Belgium 06-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Token Trap: Reclaiming Control of Enterprise AI

As enterprise AI transitions from experimental Proofs of Concept (POCs) into real implementations, digital leaders are encountering a shared challenge: consumption-based public cloud token billing models do not fit neatly into traditional IT budgeting. Daily token consumption can rise unexpectedly, pushing expenses through the roof while arbitrary caps quickly kill momentum for innovation. For many CIOs, this raises an open strategic question: How do we keep costs under control while further stimulating innovation? During this interactive CIONET roundtable, we will explore among peers how to navigate AI tokenomics. Rather than treating public cloud LLMs as the default path, we will investigate how different execution environments, ranging from hybrid cloud setups and targeted on-premise models to specialised edge hardware, can help balance cost with performance. This session is intentionally designed as an open peer-to-peer exchange; a space to compare notes, challenge current ways of working and architectural setups, and discuss practical approaches to building predictable, scalable AI models.

Belgium 08-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Permanent (R)evolution

Every large organisation has been through a major transformation, and most through several. The word transformation is misleading because it suggests a beginning and an end. But organisations that do well are the ones that have given up on the idea of arriving and realise that constant change has become the new norm, and missing a single cycle leaves you permanently behind. This evening, two leaders will share how they think about this, coming from opposite directions. John Porter led Telenet through a sustained period of reinvention spanning the pandemic, a full reorganisation into tribes, M&A, and a shift to a performance driven culture. Along the way, the IT department was dissolved and technology was embedded inside autonomous tribes that run as small businesses. There is no CIO at Telenet. It is Telenet Group’s purpose to become a digital-first, customer-centric organisation. To deliver on this ambition, it has embarked on a transformation journey built on three pillars: (i) the implementation of a scaled-agile operating model (organisation), (ii) the acceleration of digitisation and automation underpinned by optimised IT systems, platforms, and strategic technology partnerships (digitisation), and (iii) a performance leadership culture focused on accountability, ownership, and a change mindset (culture). Kris Vervaet, on the other hand, has just become CIO at KBC, the bank whose mobile app has been ranked best in the world three times and whose AI assistant Kate now handles 70% of customer queries on its own. But Kris is no ordinary CIO: he ran DPG Media Belgium as CEO, and KBC went looking for someone who has led transformation rather than someone who manages technology. So while one organisation got rid of the CIO role, the other reinvented it, and both are thriving. The conversation will range across organisational and IT redesign, the rise of digital-first customer experience, the impact of AI on how every business is run, and the harder questions of culture, talent and leadership. The question for every leader in the room is what that tells you about your own role, your own operating model, and the pace at which you are prepared to keep evolving.

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Nurturing H.Essers' growth ambitions

Workday implementation gives the transport, warehousing and logistics giant a clear picture of HR worldwide and enables it to integrate acquisitions more effectively.

Aiming realistically high

Established in 1928 by Henri Essers, H.Essers has grown substantially over the years, via both autonomous growth and a number of strategic acquisitions. Its aim is to become THE global reference in its strategic markets, namely pharmaceuticals, chemicals, infrastructure and parts. H.Essers was responsible for the European distribution of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in 2020/2021.

For the immediate future, the firm’s predominantly focusing on the European market. Today, it has more than 6,600 employees spread across 19 countries in Western and Eastern Europe.

One single HR truth

That spread can make it challenging to get a clear picture of its human resources (HR) footprint and assure it’s being managed in the most effective way. “To be able to continue to grow and achieve our ambitions, we really need one single HR database, one single HR reporting tool, as far as possible one single recruitment process and so on, rather than each location having its own payroll, procedures, time and attendance recording processes, etc.” explains Mike Dautzenberg, Chief Human Resources Officer, H.Essers. “With one tool, it’ll also be much easier to integrate acquisitions,” he adds, That’s especially true when it comes to different titles or roles.

“I feel that everytime we approach a new element within the system, PwC has an expert on it who can help guide us.”

Mike DautzenbergChief Human Resources Officer, H.Essers

Operating optimally from a people perspective

To give it that big picture of HR, H.Essers opted to implement Workday human capital management software. “For two years, we looked around the market to find the right solution. Our organisation’s very complex and we needed a tool that all our employees could use, from blue collar up, whenever and from wherever, and that would provide the benefits we were looking for. We decided that Workday would best suit our needs,” Mike Dautzenberg says.

With one single HR platform, H.Essers will also be able to standardise working practices and procedures in all locations in which it operates and be able to put a global HR strategy in place. To help it implement the platform, H.Essers opted to work with PwC.

Keeping it simple, staying on track

As to why H.Essers opted to work with PwC for this project, he notes, “PwC proved to be very down to earth. The PwC people demonstrate the same values as we have in H.Essers; they keep things simple and are very positive. They’re very entrepreneurial. They’re people we feel we can rely on. A plus point was that they’re based close to us and speak our language.” He went on to say that the two firms work together in partnership to find solutions; “we have a good, open relationship where communication is very clear. The team knows what’s important to us and we support each other in reaching our goals. They really go the extra mile to make sure we get where we want to be.”

In COVID-19 times, with physical meetings not possible, Mike Dautzenberg was impressed that they managed to keep the cooperation positive and implementation on track. “Despite PwC not being able to be on site as planned, the project progressed as planned, thanks to the good relationship we have and our ability to continue to cooperate, albeit remotely.”

Specialists in every domain

Workday covers many aspects of human capital management and Mike Dautzenberg is impressed that PwC can offer a specialist on each topic: “I feel that everytime we approach a new element within the system, PwC has an expert on it who can help guide us on that specific area. On top of which, the team stays on top of deadlines and makes sure we make decisions that respect those deadlines.” That includes dealing with and helping resolve issues with third-party suppliers.

Calling on glocal skills

PwC’s global network also comes into play. One of the important modules of Workday for H.Essers is learning and development (L&D) as the firm needs to be able to track and report on required certifications. The PwC Network has already implemented the Workday L&D module for many clients and the Belgian team didn’t hesitate to reach out for support. “That we were able to call on global support, tailored to our own specific situation was invaluable,” Mike Dautzenberg says. And he goes on, “Workday gives our managers the insights into their people that they need to grow and develop their talent pools. Before, this was more based on instinct. With Workday, we’ve hard data to back it up.”

To date, PwC has helped H.Essers implement Workday for all master data of its core HR and L&D activities. “This was a massive challenge. At the beginning, much of the data to be input was either incomplete or out of date,” Mike Dautzenberg recalls.

Leveraging an ongoing partnership

With phase one complete, phase two involves the introduction of time and attendance recording, absence management, talent and performance management, recruitment, advanced compensation and expenses and more. Again, the module will go live in all countries at the same time.

But Mike Dautzenberg doesn’t expect the relationship with PwC to end there: “We plan to continue to grow via acquisition, which means continually introducing new people and teams to Workday. We expect PwC to be by our side to show us how to do this effectively and to continue to keep us up to date with evolutions to make sure we’re always getting the best out of our investment. PwC’s proven to be a true partner that can support us when we’ve questions and concerns - they simply put us in touch with the experts that can help.”

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Workday Human Capital Management

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