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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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Carbery Group dairy giant protected with cyber “eyes and ears” from Trend Micro

Dairy giant protected with cyber “eyes and ears” from Trend Micro

OVERVIEW

Carbery Group is a global nutrition and dairy company. Founded in 1965 and today owned by four Irish dairy co-operatives, it employs 750 staff at several facilities worldwide, including Ireland, the UK, Italy, US, Brazil, and Thailand. Chief Information Officer (CIO) Anthony O’Callaghan works with a diverse team of IT professionals supporting sites across the globe.

We want to be confident that we are protected and supported in our digital growth.

Anthony O’Callaghan

Chief Information Officer, Carbery Group

CHALLENGES

Like many CIOs, Anthony O’Callaghan has to balance his budget whilst driving digital innovation to help the organization carve out competitive differentiation in the market. But upon taking on his new position at the Cork-headquartered multi-national Carbery Group, he also recognised that cybersecurity is an often an underrated but essential foundation towards such efforts. Ransomware attackers are using increasingly sophisticated and targeted techniques today to infiltrate networks and cause maximum disruption, often stealing data in the process in order to force payment. Cybercriminals also continue to target corporates for sensitive internal and customer data to sell on the dark web.

The challenge was to standardise Carbery Group’s global cyber operations onto a single vendor across on-premises and cloud systems in order to protect business-critical data and systems at 10 geographically dispersed locations. Anthony wanted a provider that could do much of the heavy-lifting and was also looking for a true partner on cybersecurity, a firm he could trust to go beyond the transactional relationships many vendors offer.

Having worked with Trend Micro for several years in a previous role, although not as a customer, he knew that this was the right choice for Carbery Group.

It’s important to have eyes and ears on this area constantly to stay ahead of cyber threats as they are evolving quickly. That’s what we got from Trend, combined with our internal teams.

Anthony O’Callaghan

Chief Information Officer, Carbery Group

WHY TREND

Anthony chose Trend Micro to support end-to-end global cybersecurity, from the endpoint to networks and cloud workloads. This meant several major investments:

Smart Protection Complete is a comprehensive suite of enterprise products available, (SaaS and on-premises), which cover endpoint security and encryption (via Trend Micro Apex One), mobile security, web security, and email and collaboration security (via Cloud App Security).

Trend Micro Apex One is a blend of advanced endpoint threat protection controls delivered through a single agent to eliminate security gaps across any user activity and any endpoint.
Cloud App Security offers enhanced protection for Microsoft 365® and Gmail™, as well as cloud file sharing platforms, stopping many threats that are missed by native filters.

Deep Discovery Inspector is a physical or virtual network appliance which uses advanced techniques, such as custom sandbox analysis, to rapidly detect advanced, targeted malware that typically bypasses traditional security defences.

Trend Micro Cloud One – Workload Protection is a SaaS solution designed to secure customer data centres, cloud, and containers without compromising performance or security. It’s optimised to integrate tightly into the leading platforms, including AWS, Google Cloud™, and Microsoft® Azure™.

Managed XDR (MDR) is the perfect choice for customers that want to take advantage of holistic threat detection and response but don’t have the in-house resources to manage it. The platform goes beyond the endpoint to also collect and correlate data from email, server, cloud workloads, and network sources. Trend Micro analysts combine their expertise with AI and security analytics, as well as global threat intelligence, to optimise powerful detection and investigation capabilities.

We’re a global organisation and what we wanted was to have someone to keep us safe from the latest cyberattacks 24/7. That’s exactly what we got with Trend Micro.

Anthony O’Callaghan

Chief Information Officer, Carbery Group

RESULTS

The above combination has provided Carbery Group with “a significant stack” of full coverage, with MDR as the cyber “eyes and ears” of the organization, according to Anthony. Implementation was slightly slower than expected due to COVID-19-related issues, but the delays also allowed him to improve security awareness of remote working employees via the Trend Micro Phish Insight tool.

“We want to be confident that we are protected and supported in our digital growth”, said O’Callaghan. ”We’re a global organization and what we wanted was to have someone to keep us safe from the latest cyberattacks 24/7. That’s exactly what we got with Trend Micro. It’s important to have eyes and ears on this area constantly to stay ahead of cyber threats as they are evolving quickly. That’s what we got from Trend, combined with our internal teams.”

Anthony also invested in Trend Micro’s Premium Support Program (PSP) for dedicated round-the-clock help, a named customer service manager, ongoing security assessments and recommendations, priority case handling, and much more. It’s provided further peace of mind and support for the small in-house team at Carbery.

“It’s been a great partnership so far and the team is always there for us and this includes the team we’ve worked with on the commercial side, who we’re still in touch with and have a great relationship with,” says O’Callaghan. “The fact that they’ve also stayed engaged is testament to the organisation Trend Micro is.”

Technologies

Apex One™ Cloud One – Workload Security Trend Micro Cloud App Security™ Trend Micro Phish Insight Trend Micro™ Smart Protection Complete Trend Micro™Deep Discovery™ Vision One™ with Managed XDR

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.