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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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Paf’s engineering team creates 85 custom GPTs to surge developer productivity

Paf adopted ChatGPT Enterprise across its entire company, with engineers using custom GPTs on a daily basis to speed up routine development tasks. Paf also integrated ChatGPT Enterprise into the grit:lab coding academy. 70% of Paf employees actively use ChatGPT Enterprise, spanning business teams like finance, HR, marketing, and customer support.

Evaluating various AI models

Paf is an international gaming company founded in 1966 in the Åland Islands by the Red Cross, Save the Children, and Folkhälsan, and is an industry leader in responsible gaming. With around 315 employees from 29 countries, Paf has contributed over 447.5 million euros to benefit society since it was founded.

As an organization committed to staying ahead of the technology curve, Paf recognized the transformative potential of AI early on. When generative AI began gaining traction, the company swiftly adopted and evaluated various AI systems to understand how this technology could propel its employees and business operations forward.

In their search for the ideal generative AI solution, Paf experimented with LLAMA, Claude and GPT-4. When the team conducted head-to-head accuracy and cost comparisons, GPT-4 was 25% more accurate than competitors, without being more expensive. Paf decided to use GPT-4 as its AI solution.

"A man in a beige sweater and glasses speaks into a microphone at an event. People in green hats and lanyards are in the background.

Creating custom GPTs to streamline the development process

Paf rolled out ChatGPT Enterprise to the entire team of 100 developers, and now finds ChatGPT Enterprise indispensable for their daily tasks. “I use ChatGPT 20 times a day for tasks like boilerplate code creation or learning a new programming language,” says frontend developer Krista Koivisto. In addition to using ChatGPT Enterprise for general coding assistance, the engineering team has created over 85 custom GPTs to support specific use cases.

One of the engineering team’s favorite applications of custom GPTs is a suite of specialized coding GPTs that help streamline the development process, from creating backend infrastructure to generating frontend components:

Swagger GPT converts Swagger JSON API definitions into TypeScript service endpoint definitions per Paf’s coding standards.
TypeScript GPT writes the backend service code using the endpoint definitions, reusing existing session validation functions.
GraphQL Nexus GPT generates GraphQL Nexus schemas, integrating existing helper functions to interact with the frontend.
Relay GPT creates the React Relay hooks using GraphQL Nexus schemas for communicating with our backends.
React GPT writes React components using Paf’s React and TypeScript style guidelines and core component library.

Swagger GPT converts Swagger JSON API definitions into TypeScript service endpoint definitions per Paf’s coding standards.

TypeScript GPT writes the backend service code using the endpoint definitions, reusing existing session validation functions.

GraphQL Nexus GPT generates GraphQL Nexus schemas, integrating existing helper functions to interact with the frontend.

Relay GPT creates the React Relay hooks using GraphQL Nexus schemas for communicating with our backends.

React GPT writes React components using Paf’s React and TypeScript style guidelines and core component library.

“Focused GPTs avoid overloading models and curb hallucinations,” says Koivisto. “We automatically generate functioning boilerplate implementations with far less effort.” By chaining tailored GPTs together instead of relying on the general model, Paf's developers can quickly generate accurate, standardized application flows and APIs nearly automatically.

Empowering every engineer to be a systems architect

Building on its success with the development team’s custom GPTs, Paf has integrated ChatGPT Enterprise into the grit:lab coding academy to accelerate training for 65 aspiring developers. Grit:lab students use ChatGPT for a variety of coding-related tasks, including:

Understanding new programming concepts
Debugging code errors efficiently
Learning syntax and structure across different languages
Generating test data quickly

This AI-augmented software development approach is creating a new breed of software developer, one who has more systems architect knowledge from the start. “Using ChatGPT, the junior developers think at a higher, systematic level,” says Kim Gripenberg, a DevOps engineer, noting that both grit:lab students and junior developers at Paf progress years faster with AI assistance. Instead of getting bogged down in syntax errors and coding basics, developers can focus on the overall application and system design.

People working at desks with multiple computer monitors in an office. One person wears headphones, and a green coffee cup is on a desk.

ChatGPT delivers the equivalent output of 12 employees

In the next year, Paf plans to fully integrate ChatGPT Enterprise and the OpenAI API into all of its processes. “AI is here to stay. Either you are on the train,” says Fredrik Wiklund, Chief Technology Officer, “or you are back at the station, watching it leave.” The company envisions GPTs eventually handling more coding tasks like writing, testing, and deploying software, freeing up developers to focus on higher-level, systems-level work.

This AI-augmented approach will allow Paf to innovate with a velocity similar to that of a much larger company. By integrating generative AI into every part of its business, Paf is set to maximize its positive impact for employees, customers, and communities it serves.

“We estimate ChatGPT is doing the equivalent work of 12 full time employees,” commented Wiklund. “The impact to our business has exceeded our expectations, and this is only the start.”

A man and a woman in green lanyards and green hats look at their smartphones.

Technologies

OpenAI API OpenAI DALL-E OpenAI's GPT-4

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.