The Engine Must Run While We Rebuild
Leading an organization toward an AI-native core is non-negotiable in 2026. But it is at the same time one of the greatest leadership challenges. The art of "Transforming While Performing" does not happen coincidentally, it needs strategy and an open mind.
At CIONET Germany we want to understand and explore: How do companies nowadays transform into AI-First Companies while delivering? Basically: How do companies rebuild their engines while flying the plane?
Solution-Proposal: Having Fun with the Problem.
CIONET invites you to a truly unique experience exploring how leaders can navigate this complex roadmap by looking at their challenges through a new angle: a childlike curiosity — a mindset that temporarily removes rigid corporate assumptions — to find new solutions to "old” Challenges.
Invitation to an Experiment: a Peer-to-Peer Workshop
We will work with real-world cases from CIOs within the CIONET community, reflecting the most pressing "Transforming While Performing" challenges in the area of AI Change:
Participants will contribute their own perspectives, working together to deconstruct individual AI roadmaps and develop fresh, agile ways of approaching them.
Children do not have MBAs, but they possess an unbiased perspective that is often missing in the boardroom.
The Session Leader
The session will be led by Bas Warmerdam, founder of ConsultingKids. Bas has developed a distinctive learning approach that helps technology leaders worldwide approach complex strategic challenges in a playful, yet highly effective way.
Some Questions We Will Explore:
Who should attend?
CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, and senior digital leaders from user-companies who are navigating AI Change within their companies and are curious about a new perspective to their current biggest challenges.
Break free from conventional thinking with Bas Warmerdam! A former strategy consultant and founder of ConsultingKids, he helps organizations tackle complex challenges with childlike creativity. His interactive keynotes inspire fresh perspectives, driving innovation, leadership, and collaboration. Trusted by Shell, Philips, and global organizations, Bas delivers powerful, playful solutions that transform businesses.
Bas Warmerdam has built his career on breaking through ingrained thinking patterns. As a former strategy consultant and founder of ConsultingKids, he knows better than anyone how to tackle complex challenges with a fresh, unfiltered perspective. What makes him unique? His ability to help organizations and professionals ‘Think Like a Child’.
For over 10 years, Bas has experienced firsthand how the thinking power of children leads to the most surprising and innovative solutions. After all, children haven’t done MBAs, how refreshing! Their curiosity and creativity form the foundation of his approach, which is now being applied in more than 300 organizations in more than six countries.
During his interactive sessions, Bas demonstrates how to solve organizational challenges using playful yet highly effective methods. Participants are not just inspired but are also actively engaged. Whether it’s change management, leadership, collaboration, or innovation, Bas translates complex issues into simple, practical solutions—ones that even a child could understand. His approach has already helped numerous organizations, from multinationals like Shell and Philips to local governments and non-profits.
Beyond his work as a speaker and consultant, Bas is also the author of the book ‘Little Consultants’ (available in Dutch), in which he shares his experiences and insights on how a child’s fresh perspective can help us see problems differently.
Bas studied Biopharmaceutical Sciences in Leiden and conducted research in gene therapy and comparative genetics in London. He completed his Executive MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, further enriched with international experiences at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Johannesburg.
Janina firmly believes that customer orientation, economic success, and agility are inextricably linked within the IT sector. Her extensive experience in Customer Experience, combined with an agile mindset, serves as the central driver of her career, forming the foundation for both her professional decisions and strategic direction.
What sets Janina apart is a clear sense of purpose, paired with a genuine passion and enthusiasm for digitalization and technological innovation. She maintains a constant openness to new subjects and excels at developing a holistic understanding of complex interdependencies. Currently, she is deepening her expertise in Sustainable IT, Cybersecurity, and AI—future-oriented fields that are fundamentally reshaping the IT landscape.
How do you rebuild the engine while flying the plane at Mach 2?
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