Carina Harders
CIO
Lantmännen Unibake
Carina Harders is CIO at Lantmännen Unibake, a leading European bakery group with a strong portfolio of bread and pastry products provided to consumers globally. In addition, Carina is part of the CIO Transformation Board in IT Branchen (the Danish IT Association).
Learn more about the Nordic CIO community here.
Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
With an educational background as MS in International Business and practically no formal technical competencies, Carina entered the IT sphere by joining Accenture and starting a career within technology consulting. During her years in consulting, she worked for several global clients spanning across industries such as Energy, Transportation, Pharma and Beverages.
Subsequently stepping into more traditional IT line management positions, her continued focus has been on leveraging her business understanding in utilisation of technology and leading people towards ambitious goals in large scale transformation programs. The role of technology has never been more critical for businesses than it is today, and a key responsibility in the CIO role is to keep the executive team updated on possibilities and threats across areas such as AI and cybersecurity, as well as ensuring that we leverage technology for competitive advantage and growth.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Focus on clarity and competencies, which are key in creating a high performing organisation. If people know what we are trying to achieve - and why - and if they have the needed skills to perform their work, you create the best possible basis for highly engaged and empowered teams.
With disruption being a key theme of recent years, where do you see the CIO role going in the next 1-2 years?
I see my role ensuring that we embrace the possibilities within technology and understand that the development within generative AI will require the next company-wide transformation of skills and ways of working.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a CIO?
Set your team - make sure you have a great, strong leadership team in IT with shared values in setting direction and leading people so that you can spend a key part of your time working with business peers and impacting the overall strategic agenda of your company.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
- I am a big cocktail fan, stemming from my days as a bartender earning my way through my University studies.
- I believe that the basics of horsemanship even applies to leading people.
- I hardly dared to "walk the plank" during my first visit in the Metaverse.
What is the value of joining an Evanta community?
It’s a fantastic network across the CIO and CISO group, with an opportunity to learn and share with peers in a combination of virtual and physical sessions.
Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
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