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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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Applying AI to help students find a career path they love

Working Eye is a startup headquartered in the UK that has turned traditional careers advice into a personalized AI-driven discovery experience using interactive cognitive technology and multimedia to help every pupil, student and working adult make better career decisions in the ever-evolving world of work.

When and how did you choose your career? Did you ever doubt whether you’d selected the right path?

“I’ve raised four children and guided each of them through subject selection at school, as well as further education, and job selection. Each time I observed the same challenges: they received minimal career guidance in school and there was no single source of knowledge to help them explore career paths that were unfamiliar to me personally,” explains Peter Cayless, Founder and CEO of Working Eye.

Cayless found that the existing guidance available to students was too broad-brushed and it came too late in the subject selection process. Students did not have a way to explore their options independently and thoroughly early on in their journey. In fact, studies have shown that 96% of graduates switch careers by the age of 24 and half of all graduates follow a career path that does not relate to their degree (source: New College of the Humanities [link resides outside of ibm.com]). In both cases, the main reason given was that they had little idea of what was really involved in the job before they took it. This led Cayless to launch Working Eye (link resides outside of ibm.com), an AI-driven career discovery platform that aims to inspire people by helping them discover themselves and all the possibilities for a career they will love.

Working Eye’s career discovery platform (link resides outside of ibm.com) is designed to be a digital coach that facilitates a student’s career exploration process. The assistant poses discovery questions to the student in natural language and then guides them on a highly unique exploration process that helps them identify a potential career path that is tailored to their specific needs, strengths and priorities. As the assistant guides the student through this dialogue process, it presents various pieces of written and video content which help the student better understand the career that is best suited to them and shows them how to get started on that path. All of this is powered by IBM technology. “IBM watsonx Assistant is the backbone of the chat between the user and the platform, while IBM Watson Discovery is the backbone of finding the right material, collating it for the student,” says Alan Joenn, Chief Operating Officer of Working Eye. The platform’s primary source of data is a government website called the National Career Service Database, as well as the video content created by the Working Eye team.

During its initial pilot of the platform, the Working Eye team tested the digital coach with approximately 1,500 students, parents and teachers. The platform received a 100% approval rating in school panels and 48% parental uptake. “We like to refer to Working Eye as a hand to hold throughout your working life. It is a beautiful example of how AI can work for good. AI isn’t necessarily going to take your job. It has the potential to help you get the job you want,” adds Cayless.

100%

approval rating in school panels during initial pilot

48%

parental uptake during initial pilot

“

We like to refer to Working Eye as a hand to hold throughout your working life. It is a beautiful example of how AI can work for good. AI isn’t necessarily going to take your job. It has the potential to help you get the job you want. ”

Peter CaylessFounder and CEOWorking Eye

About Working Eye Ltd.

Technologies

IBM Watson Discovery IBM Watsonx Assistant

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.