Cindy joined AstraZeneca in January 2020, as Chief Digital Officer & CIO.

She started her career at American Medical International as an application development programmer and continued to work in the healthcare industry for a further 5 years.

Over her career, Cindy has gained deep technical expertise and extensive global experience spanning a variety of industries.  She spent 16 years at Mars, Incorporated, followed by a move to ITT – a military/defense and high-tech manufacturing company. From her role at ITT, Cindy then took the position of CIO for Africa at SABMiller (consumer goods) based in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Cindy was the Global Vice President, Technology at Unilever, based in London.

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Institute of Technology.

Charles has executive level experience gained from leading IT globally as Deputy Group CIO/ COO at BP, as CEO of IT services at Prudential, CIO at Thameswater and as an independent consultant with clients in multiple business sectors. He has a proven track record for enabling business innovation, driving clear linkage of IT to the business agenda, delivering people, process & digital business change initiatives at global scale in complex, multi-stakeholder business environments.

I grew up with some some quotes from my dad in mind. Since then, I've developed a few on my own that guide my view on the world

" A gift is a gift and not a given. The more you work on developing the gift, the more it becomes a given. So my gift to you: make your gift a given"

"In life there are problems, challenges and opportunities. That's actually three times the same thing, only the mindset is different"

"For as long that you are not sure a solution cannot be found, a problem is not a problem but a challenge. And even if it turns out a solution is impossible, the journey of trying to find one has been an experience"

Technology executive and strategic marketing leader with proven, global success at spearheading entry into new markets, building brand positions, and increasing revenue for emerging and Fortune 500 companies. Inspiring team leader who delivers forward-thinking visions and measurable results. Margaret is currently vice president and Chief Digital Officer with Red Hat.

Margaret is an acclaimed author and speaker on digital disruption, emerging technologies, open source, cloud computing, and women leadership. Ranked as one of the top Women in Cloud Computing, she was also named Business Role Model of the Year for Women in IT, and Mentor and Coach of the Year in the Stevie Business Awards.

During her many startup gigs, Margaret’s creative leadership and integrated marketing plans built bigger than reality brands that resulted in several successful acquisitions. In leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies, she used her entrepreneurship and collaborative management to drive new global initiatives, including cloud at HP, security at Microsoft, international e-commerce at Amazon.com, and portfolio product strategy at Red Hat.

In all her roles, she established differentiated messaging platforms and go-to-market programs for executives, products and companies that broke through crowded markets and drove category share and revenue growth. Margaret is passionate about Lean principles and has built Agile methodologies into the discipline of product marketing.

Krzysztof Dąbrowski gathered a comprehensive IT knowledge while working in various industries. In 1995-2003 he worked for Polska Online and TDC Internet (internet and telecommunications area) where he was in charge of hosting systems and services development. In 2004 – 2011 at F.Hoffman-La Roche he built and managed the Software Development Practice at Roche’s shared services center. From 2011 to 2014 as the CTO of Allegro Group, e-commerce leader in Poland, he supervised one of the largest Agile transformations in the region.

Since 2014 he served as CIO/CTO and managing director at mBank, and since 2017 as Vice President of Operations and IT.

Krzysztof graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology, Electronics and Information Technology Faculty. In 2011 he completed Executive MBA program at the University of Warsaw and the University of Illinois.

Watch this episode of Leadership Deep Dive
to learn more about Krzysztof!

As one of KfW’s executive Board Members, Melanie Kehr is responsible for Information Technology, Transaction Management as well as Central Services. In this role she is setting the digital agenda not only focusing on new technologies, but also driving cultural change towards an agile promotional bank. This agile transformation finds its origin within IT change projects, spreading into all areas of KfW as a next step.

Before joining KfW Bankengruppe, Melanie had been Chief Information Officer (CIO) of BayernLB since 2014. Earlier, Melanie spent over 15 years with Accenture within the financial markets industry, the last years as partner.

Melanie holds a Master’s degree of Science in Economics, Purdue University, and an MBA, University of Bielefeld.

Watch this episode of Leadership Deep Dive
to learn more about Melanie!

Strong communication leader with many years of experience in management positions (CIO and CDO) in a national and international environment. Specialist for successful & sustainable transformations in various industries, currently as Group CDO in mechanical engineering

Technical expertise: including conception and (further) development of IT corporate strategies, digital leader, driver of change, expert in the field of corporate transformation digital world (Industry 4.0), finalist CIO and CDO of 2020, proven very good international and national track record in the realignment of IT as a business-enabler & the development of digital business models or adaptation of existing business models.

Industry and business know-how e.g. in: IT (software, services), technologies, industries: production, Trade and wholesale, insurance, consumer products, mechanical and plant engineering, telecommunications). Extensive experience in the development / realignment and global harmonization of IT and ERP, CRM, PLM, PIM, knowledge management, customer-centric & data-driven organizations) combined with the view from "outside" in order to set new and sustainable impulses.

Phil Jordan is the Group CIO of Sainsbury’s and has more than 30 years of experience working as a CIO for companies such as AXA, Vodafone, O2 and Telefonica.

For the last 3 years Phil been the Group CIO of Sainsbury’s, the company that is the UK’s second largest retailer with over 1400 stores.

Koen Vermeulen is the Orange Chief Information Officer for the Group, and Senior Vice President of Orange Labs Services. He has a wealth of experience spanning
20+ years in telco and internet industries, digital transformation and innovation.

Under his leadership as CIO, he is accelerating the implementation of a digital and information strategy that is transformative in its ambition to deliver cutting-edge
solutions for the retail and business customers in 27 countries.
And, as SVP, he is responsible for the global network of research and innovation teams present on four continents which carry out research, anticipation and in-
field deployment of infrastructures, technologies and processes required to introduce innovative B2C and B2B services across the Orange group footprint.

Previously, he was successively IT Transformation Director and Chief Information Officer of the Orange France Business unit and has successfully contributed to the
transformation of Orange France IT. Before joining the Orange Group in 2012, Koen was the IT Director of Belgacom/Proximus.

Koen is a board member of Viaccess-Orca, a global solutions provider of OTT, content and advanced data solutions for a personalised TV experience; and a
board member of SoftAtHome which creates software for operators to deploy services for connectivity, pay TV and Smart Home products.

Koen is a Commercial Engineer Computer Sciences, graduated from the KU Leuven in Belgium.

Watch our interview with Koen on CIONET.TV

► Leadership of diverse set of business and digital/technology functions
► Digital transformation lead for Plc organisations.
► Board Director and Committee roles – executive and NED
► Led the launch of three businesses
► Hands-on IPO, merger and MBO experience
► Extensive business experience within start-ups, joint ventures, PE-backed and multi-nationals: in particular those with entrepreneurial and pioneering leadership.
► Author of two data compliance books
► Degree qualified and chartered professional qualifications

Specialism/known for
✔ Results, not promises; based on sound judgement of expected value to be delivered
✔ Spearheading customer-led innovation, digital & business transformation
✔ Accelerating businesses from start-up and early years to higher potential and performance
✔ Being a team player; leadership through example, nurturing and retaining talent.
✔ Embracing change with a pragmatic approach. A realist.
✔ Strong involvement and influence within IT industry and digital sectors

Key Industries and business functions
☆ Financial Services, FinTech and InsureTech
☆ Utilities
☆ Sales, Operations and Customer Services
☆ Civil Engineering, Facilities and Environmental Services
☆ Procurement and supplier relationship management
☆ Management Advisory
☆ Data Protection, Financial Crime and Cyber security

Dimitris Bountolos is Chief Information and Innovation Officer of Ferrovial, one of the world’s leading infrastructure operators and municipal services companies with over 80000 employees and a global presence in 6 main markets. As Ignacio Madridejos, CEO of Ferrovial said: “Dimitris’s experience in applying new technologies and his knowledge of the transport industry are ideal for enhancing Ferrovial’s business through the digitalization and innovation processes that we need in order to develop and operate sustainable, efficient, innovative infrastructure”.

Dimitris has spent his career in business and entrepreneurship, with a proven track record in aeronautics and consulting. He was Director of Madrid-Barajas airport, Transformation and Hub Development Director, and Vice-President of Customer Experience.

As an entrepreneur, he has been a founder and partner of such startups as Zero 2 Infinity (Europe’s first investor-owned aerospace transport company), Guudjob (Employee Experience); BlueSouth (Drones); and IllusionBox (VR and immersive environments). He was also formerly a senior advisor to the Chief Innovation Officer at NASA in Houston; and senior advisor to McKinsey on digital processing for the travel, transportation and logistics industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Granada and post-graduate qualifications from Stanford, ESADE and IESE Business Schools.

Dimitris is passionate about urban photography and Japanese cuisine. He owns 3 restaurants.

Experienced CIO with a solid track record of delivery and driving innovation both for business process and IT technology related activities. Operated in a couple of multinational companies and enjoyed both the English, the German and US way of doing things.

Has been involved in some major change management and SAP projects and managed a couple of big M&A deals that required significant reenginering to make the intergration a success.

Specialties: Strategy development, conceptual design of new systems to support improved business processes, eBusiness, SAP and Data Warehousing.

• Winner of the award "European CIO/Digital Leader of the Year 2020" by CIONET
• Nominated for the award "Chief Digital Leader of the Year 2021" by computing.co.uk
• Nominated for the award "Digital Ambassador of the Year 2021" by computing.co.uk
• Nominated to Global Young Leader, class 2022 by World Economic Forum
• Finalist of the award "Tech Leader of the Year 2020" by TechXLR8 (Flagship event of London Tech Week)
• Runner-up of the award "Digital Ambassador of the Year 2020" by computing.co.uk magazine
• Finalist of the award "Most Inspirational European Digital Leader of the year 2020" by CIONET
• Official Member of Forbes Technology Council
• Advisory Member of Harvard Business Review

Senior-level Technology and Product Leader with a mix of technology engineering, product management, and operations knowledge, and more than 16 years of a complex program, technology management, and product development experience. Recently awarded as “European CIO/Digital Leader of the Year”. Direct development and enhancement of technology-driven products with a solid record of accomplishment in meeting and exceeding sales targets. Gifted coordinator with natural leadership talents, solution-oriented approach to problem-solving, and expertise in mapping out effective strategies. Develop, monitor, and strengthen plans to achieve goals with cost-effective approaches. Experienced across multiple countries within Europe and multiple brands/industries such as Supply Chain, Retail, Financial Services and Manufacturing.

Deep expertise in Transformation Projects for Global & International Companies, mainly in Banking & Telecom Industry

• Commercially obsessed, creative, technology biased CTO/CPO with particularly strong experience in managing the SAAS journey for B2B businesses spanning; data science, retail, gaming, exchanges, ticketing in exceptionally fast growing VC/PE backed businesses.

• Energetic, enthusiastic, evangelizing product champion and experienced, multi-discipline executive with a detailed understanding of multiple sectors.

• Demonstrable track record of transforming multiple high value businesses, projects, teams and products on a clearly defined technical, schedule and cost/margin basis.

• Many years of strategic management experience with a no-nonsense approach to strategic planning and business development and deep understanding in preparing for acquisition and post-acquisition integration and growth.

• Charismatic technical business leader, a specialist in re-engineering. Experienced at building new businesses and teams from ground zero, integrating established teams into new organizations and radically overhauling old teams to change direction and develop new vision and products.

• Extensive board experience, successful and confident of influencing and selling to C level, investors and boards

Specialties:
* Investment and acquisition - VC, PE, spin-outs
* Retail - Ticketing, B2C, B2B. B2B2C
* Financials - Insurance, Exchanges, CFDs, Spreads, Binaries,
* Gaming - Exchanges, Sports, Casino
* Software & Services - SAAS, Database systems, Thin-client, Retail, Data Science.

Rudi Peeters is the CIO of KBC Bank & Insurance.

Rudi started his career in the IT then switch to Sales, implemented the first internet bank in 1996, and was head of marketing.

In 2011 he returned to IT and became the Group CIO.

Board level CIO and business change leader, with sustained record of successfully implementing large scale innovative change in the private and public sectors.

• 20+ years experience in Information technology covering all areas of IT.
• 15+ years experience in leadership roles in domestic and global companies.
• International expertise, having worked in three different countries, managing teams of 350+ people from 5 different countries.

Specialties:
• Information Technology Leadership.
• Industries: Technology, Payments, Capital Markets, Telecom and Consulting.
• Information Technology transformation (e.g. core IT transformation & modernization, including strategy, architecture, design and transformation program), nearshoring setup and management, managed services.

Günther Ghijsels is Chief Digital and Information Officer at Randstad Group Belgium. He is a member of the Executive Committee since January 2018.

In his function, he oversees all ICT, marketing and product management activities for the Randstad Group in Belgium. He also is a member of the Global IT leadership team of the Randstad Group worldwide. Günther joined the Randstad Group Belgium in 2016 as CIO.

Günther holds a Master’s degree in Applied Informatics from the Free University of Brussels (VUB).

Watch this episode of Leadership Deep Dive
to learn more about Günther

I started in the Telco sector over 20 years ago, and I am now Chief Technology Officer & part of the Executive Committee of Proximus. In my function, I manage the Network Business Unit, overseeing all Network, Telco Platform & Infrastructure, Service Engineering & Operations for the Group including Carrier & Wholesale activities.

In this scope, I am always happy to hear & chat about digital infrastructure and transformation, simplification and driving innovation in the Network & Telco Infrastructure sector. These are topics I frequently speak over at conferences.