Calgary CIO Inner Circle

Sometimes it comes from your team; sometimes it comes from the board; and sometimes, it comes from that email from your customer. It’s the constant chorus of “transformation.” CIOs and CISOs are uniquely positioned to give shape, meaning and direction to the change – for the business as well as their careers. Deciding where and how to prioritize resources and your time is half the challenge, and striking the right balance is where business-minded CIOs and CISOs can shine.

During this dinner discussion, you and your peers will uncover concrete, practical steps for harnessing and delivering on technology transformation. Hear how your peers navigate competing priorities and leave with fresh ideas for funneling your best resources in the right direction.

Prioritizing Innovation, Aligning on Risk

• How much of your time is spent on strategic planning, innovation and change initiatives? How does that amount differ from a year ago, and how do you see it changing over the next year?
• What does “revenue driving” look like now for CIOs and CISOs? Are you becoming more product-focused?
• How do you ensure that business and security priorities are continuously in line in this environment? What works, and where does this balancing act break down?
• What are you doing to identify and divest processes, initiatives and tools that are overly time- and resource-heavy (freeing up more whitespace for business and/or functional innovation)?

Digital Convergence 

• How are you planning for and handling the convergence of digital technologies (IoT, IT and OT)? How are you reorganizing IT and the business around these priorities?
• How has the ownership of technology changed within your organization? Is it shifting to a specific role (CTO, CDO) or other areas of the business? Where should it sit?
• How have the boundaries shifted between IT and the business? How does the push and pull between business and IT impact governance, funding models, and accountability for projects and security within your organization?
• What is happening to your budgets in the age of “digital transformation?” Whether they are growing or shrinking, how are you adapting your strategies?

Evolving Your Role

• This dinner discussion uniquely brings together CIOs and CISOs: as a CIO, what do you think your role should look like in the next 12 months? What do you think the CISOs role should look like? Trade perspectives for each of your roles – how do they compare to each other, across companies, industries?
• With that vision, what are 2-3 concrete steps that CIOs and CISOs can take to better collaborate and plan for transformation initiatives in the next year? What can you do currently to influence that evolution?
• What career path do you envision for yourself? What opportunities exist to get there?
• As technology becomes synonymous with business, what can you do to ensure that you maximize your influence in strategic decision-making?

This dinner conversation is an interactive roundtable discussion designed to address the most pressing issues we face as C-level executives, in combination with an opportunity to network with our peers in a unique environment.