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Belgium 27-8-26 AB Members Physical english

Summer Festival: Advisory Board

CIO agendas are crowded: cost pressure, cyber, regulation, talent, data, AI, vendor dependency, business expectations. Most organisations are trying to do too much at once, and the “must-do” work often blocks the strategic work. CIONET only creates value if its agenda matches what CIOs truly need, in the right format, at the right time. The challenge Pick the few priorities that matter most for 2027, then translate them into a clear CIONET agenda. Outcome we leave with A ranked CIO agenda for 2027, and a directly aligned CIONET programme outline (themes, formats, cadence), with a shortlist of speaker and case targets.

Belgium 27-8-26 Country Members Physical english

Summerfest: From Story to Habit

How to align people, shift routines, and prove value Technology transformations often fail not because the tools don’t work, but because people don’t change their work habits. Boards want proof of value, executives want business outcomes, IT wants clarity, and employees want ease. Between these expectations, the CIO’s role is no longer just to deliver platforms; it is to tell the story that motivates people and turn that story into daily habits. This session will explore: The narrative: how to craft a simple, repeatable story that explains the “why” behind change for every stakeholder. From story to routine: practical ways to embed new behaviours through manager rituals, team incentives, and visible leadership. Reskilling and new expectations: preparing teams for evolving roles, from cross-department collaboration to AI-enhanced workflows. Measuring what matters: showing progress in speed, quality, and resilience — not just in licences bought or trainings completed. The aim is to equip CIOs with a leadership toolkit: a story that unites, habits that endure, and proof that convinces even the toughest boardroom.

Belgium 8-9-26 Invitation Only Virtual english

What an AI Architect Actually Does in Practice; Skills, responsibilities, interfaces, and career moves behind one of the most misunderstood emerging roles.

The AI architect role is becoming more visible, and the scope varies across organisations. The challenge is defining what the role owns, where it sits, and how it works with existing architecture, data, security, risk, and business teams. Three pressure points need clarity. - Role definition matters because the position can span solution architecture, data architecture, governance, integration, security, vendor selection, and business process design. - Interfaces matter because the role must connect teams while respecting existing responsibilities. - Skills matter because technical depth needs to be combined with judgement around controls, delivery choices, and operational boundaries. The working question is simple: how do we define the AI architect role so it becomes useful, credible, and connected to delivery? If this role is emerging in your organisation, let’s compare how others are defining it and where they are placing it.

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State of the art SAP Migration at Liège Airport

Contrary to what one would expect, the implementation of ERP does not necessarily have to be long and tedious. Hardly four months have passed since its implementation with Liege Airport showing that renewing software does not need to be a long-lasting operation. The airport opted for an All-in-One SAP solution and awarded the assignment to NRB.

“We wanted above all to improve our commercial and accounting procedures. The airport has, moreover, other projects where this new software can be used”, says Willy Delflys, Secretary General of Liege Airport.

Due to the growth of the airport and the expansion of its activities, Liege Airport has been confronted with a certain number of limitations with regard to its accounting software. It should also be noted that after ten years, this support had become practically non-existent. In addition, the management application for purchasing, developed internally ten years ago, was no longer suitable for today’s working world. The operation involving purchases and accounting was no longer adequate.

New ERP synonymous with time saving

“When a purchasing request is introduced in SAP All-in-One, the software automatically activates accounting charges in the accounting module”, explains Willy Delflys. “In the past, this operation had to be carried out manually with the risk of error linked to data capture. This integration reduces the problems linked to errors and enables considerable time saving. As a result, the productivity of our employees has increased considerably”.

It is precisely for these numerous integration possibilities that Liege Airport opted for a SAP solution. “The management of this procedure by SAP was in every respect considerably more important than its look and user-friendliness”, adds Willy Delflys. “Purchasing was also part of a long-term vision. We started with the two modules mentioned but were able to extend the scope of the solution without any problem. We are now planning in the short term to adopt a real estate management module as the application currently in use is also ten years old. We are also working with isolated applications for personnel and customer management and it is for this reason that we are also examining the possibilities offered by SAP HCM and SAP CRM. In this context, we are following the recommendations of NRB and SAP who have extensive experience in the airport sector”.

Rapid migration thanks to SAP’s excellence practices

Migration to the new system was carried out seamlessly because Liege Airport agreed to follow the excellence practices used by SAP. NRB then only needed 250 working days to implement the system, a real record! Willy Delflys adds: “Our procedures closely resembled the approach that SAP recommends. We therefore had no difficulty in following the recommended best practices. This enabled us to carry out migration in a sufficiently short time, even if SAP All-in-One was more or less already preconfigured. The extra work for our teams, which included a key user by the department concerned and a project manager, was on the whole kept to a minimum. We decided to limit this period as much as possible because we were afraid that the staff of the departments concerned would after a while loose all motivation”.

Willy Delflys did not hesitate a single second to assign this operation to NRB. “This company has an excellent reputation and is situated nearby. This nearness is a nonnegotiable asset for a migration of this type. Now that the system has been set up, I can confirm that the professionalism shown by NRB in managing this project impressed us greatly. Their consultants have exceptional know-how”.

Technologies

SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Partners

CIONET Business Circles

Cyber Circle

CIONET’s Cyber Circle: a new three-event programme exclusively focusing on the most urgent, complex, and high-impact challenges in cybersecurity today. Launched in 2026, this initiative brings together CISOs, CIOs, and senior IT executives with a strong interest in cybersecurity for three curated gatherings each year. As part of CIONET’s trusted executive community, the Cyber Circle provides a confidential, peer-driven environment to exchange insights, share real-world experiences, and address evolving cyber threats. Each session is designed to foster strategic dialogue, strengthen resilience, and elevate cybersecurity as a core driver of business value.

Telenet Business Leadership Circle

The Telenet Business Leadership Circle powered by CIONET, offers a platform where IT executives and thought leaders can meet to inspire each other and share best practices. We want to be a facilitator who helps you optimise the performance of your IT function and your business by embracing the endless opportunities that digital change brings.

Les Rencontres

Découvrez la dynamique du leadership numérique aux Rencontres de CIONET, le programme francophone exclusif de CIONET pour les leaders numériques en Belgique, rendu possible grâce au soutien et à l'engagement de nos partenaires de programme : Deloitte, Denodo et Red Hat. Rejoignez trois événements inspirants par an à Liège, Namur et en Brabant Wallon, où des CIOs et des experts numériques francophones de premier plan partagent leurs perspectives et expériences sur des thèmes d'affaires et de IT actuels. Laissez-vous inspirer et apprenez des meilleurs du secteur lors de sessions captivantes conçues spécialement pour soutenir et enrichir votre rôle en tant que CIO pair. Ne manquez pas cette opportunité de faire partie d'un réseau exceptionnel d'innovateurs numériques !

Female Leadership Circle

CIONET is committed to highlighting and celebrating female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, creating a leadership programme that empowers and elevates women within the tech industry. This initiative is dedicated to showcasing the achievements and successes of leading women, fostering an environment where female role models are recognised, and their contributions can ignite progress and inspire the next generation of women in IT. Our mission is to shine the spotlight a little brighter on female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, and to empower each other through this inner network community.