Events

'I Love My IT Department, the next step'

Executive dinner, Thursday December 10th, 2009

Theme

Nowadays, there’s no denying the importance of fully functioning IT for the continuity of the organisation. And yet IT is still being seen as an expense. How do you ensure that IT’s partner role, and with it the future of the organisation, isn’t squandered when the quick-win dominates and an ROI of no more than a year seems to be the golden rule for investment?

These are turbulent times for progressive projects that make the distinction between surviving and conquering. ‘Readiness for the next economic boom’ was the theme of this ‘I love my IT Department’ dinner, the fourth in a series on the appreciation of our customers - a.k.a. the business - for the IT function. The evening opened with stimulating statements on the ‘state of IT as strategic driver’.

Speakers

Léon Jansen, CIO of NS Reizigers


NS has a clear vision of the combination of mobility and IT: new models for combined travel such as car plus train and various new services for customers are greatly dependent on IT. A separate section on ‘contemporary information technology’ has even been included in the ‘Vision 2020’ strategy. Léon Jansen explained which targeted choices in favour of innovation should be taken in these times now that the bubble has burst.

Marco Keim, Chairman of AEGON

Nederland 
AEGON has made great efforts in recent years to make the transition from several business units to a few service centres. This has given the organisation a good point of departure but it can also lead to one-sided focus on the back office and the relevant legacy. Marco Keim explained how AEGON, instead of rigorous cost-cutting, combines the attention to its legacy with the specific wish to develop more customer-oriented initiatives at significantly lower IT costs.

Guests

Attendance of this executive dinner ‘I Love My IT Department’ was by personal invitation only. Guests included CIOs, CIO office members, CEOs, CFOs and members of the boards of large organisations in the Netherlands. This informal evening centred on the exchange of views and experiences with other decision makers.