UK & Ireland CIO Community
Executive Summit

IT Leaders today face lofty expectations and a changing set of skills necessary to be successful. They are expected to manage high levels of ambiguity, align with corporate objectives, adopt game changing AI and the list goes on. How should CIOs ensure they are tackling their long list of priorities at speed, while ensuring customer centricity? Join Cijo Joseph, CTDO he shares how effective partnership with HR has led to the successful rollout of AI initiatives across the organisations, and the power such partnerships have on business outcome and customer satisfaction. Specifically, Cijo will share:

• Mitie’s AI journey, and how the IT and People function have worked together to drive business outcome
• Maintaining control of the narrative around emerging technologies, like AI, and ensuring effective governance and controls
• How effective partnerships has enabled key business goals to be met through innovative technology solutions

In an era of volatility, enterprises can no longer rely on size or strength to stay ahead; the ability to adapt and pivot at speed will define the next generation of performance champions. CIOs play a critical role in delivering this velocity – responsible for eliminating the friction that occurs in large, complex organisations, and creating a more streamlined digital workplace. Join this session to learn:

• What leading enterprises are doing to supercharge their digital workplace
• The link between organisational velocity and the ROI of your tech stack
• How to increase the pace of AI adoption while mitigating risk

Despite the rapid advancements in technologies such as AI, enterprises are still struggling to realise its full value. If AI can boost personal productivity by 50% or more, why aren’t enterprises seeing the same transformational impact? The challenge lies in scaling AI effectively, integrating it seamlessly into existing workflows, and ensuring security and governance without slowing innovation; and IT leaders must bridge this gap. Join Marcus Hunter, CTO at EVRi as he shares his thoughts and insights into how adopting a ‘value first’ framework has enabled technology investment to translate into tangible business outcomes. Specifically, Marcus will share:

• How the implementation of automation and business change has led to annual savings and efficiency boosts
• Adopting an operating model that has enabled rapid innovation and business growth
• Harnessing innovative technologies as a driver for competitive advantage, and how IT Leaders can enable growth

As technology evolves and consumer preferences shift, the traditional IT-driven growth model must transform. Seamlessly integrating operating models has never been more crucial in a rapidly evolving business landscape, and CIOs must ensure these models are still fit to drive business value. How can CIOs better align IT operating models with the enterprise for maximum business impact? Participate in this boardroom session to delve into:

• Strategically aligning technology development with business goals
• Ensuring funding reflects the organisation's key priorities
• Prioritising outcomes over conventional project and task-focused approaches

In today's complex digital landscape, outages are inevitable and can cripple businesses within minutes. In fact, 88% of IT leaders expect a global outage within the next year. With the threat of significant revenue loss and reputational damage from even brief disruptions, operational resilience has evolved from an IT concern to a board level priority. How can CIOs find their competitive edge in operational resilience? Join this boardroom to discuss:

• Mitigating tech fragility and the impact of IT disruption across the organisation 
• Deploying AI and Automation to transform and scale resilience, efficiency and productivity
• Emerging tech - why 88% of IT leaders plan to have Agentic AI use cases deployed in 1-2 years

The success of the modern enterprise increasingly hinges upon all things digital. This heralds the continued evolution of the CIO role, whose scope has needed to develop to be a representative that can successfully spearhead the digital enterprise. As such, the skills and traits of the prospective CIO have also shifted dramatically – and continue to do so.

The question for any aspiring CIO, then, should be which attributes are currently sought after, and what are the realities of the role?

Join this session to gain insights on:

• The level of commitment expected of a CIO and how this might differ across organisations of varying sizes and sectors
• How to understand and overcome hurdles and blockers while transitioning into the CIO role
• How to sustain a healthy work-life balance

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Evanta’s Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

For CIOs, ongoing external forces are making it tough to prepare for success. This, coupled with a fast-moving technology landscape means that the CIO must wear more hats than ever before. Join us for a discussion with Menzies Aviation to learn how they've driven significant efficiency gains and enhance security for their global workforce by implementing a new approach to end-user computing. Discover winning strategies for boosting TCO and productivity, and bridging the gap between the familiar and the future.

Join this session to discuss:

• How you can leverage cloud-first technology to deliver a boost to TCO and productivity across your global operations
• Driving adoption of emerging technologies in a scalable, secure, and sustainable manner
• Securing stakeholder buy-in for wide-scale digital transformation initiatives that enhance workforce productivity and security

In gaming, innovation is survival. Stuart Wright, CTO at SEGA Europe, reveals how lean, fast-moving teams deliver AI, data, cybersecurity, and live ops at scale — without compromising quality. Drawing on hands-on experience from wiring NT servers to leading transformation at SEGA, Stuart shares bold insights on driving progress through action, reducing technical debt, and saying “yes” more often. Whether you're in gaming or government — this is innovation that moves. Join this session for insights into:

• Innovating fast, fixing first, blaming never
• Keeping teams small by simplifying tech
• Leading by enabling, not blocking

 As AI adoption accelerates, it is critical for organizations to prioritise security, compliance, and governance in order to mitigate risk. From protecting sensitive data, to ensuring AI models operate ethically and transparently, developing a security-focused AI strategy is essential to long-term success. Let’s talk industry-leading AI infrastructure, security frameworks, and responsible AI practices, and learn how to confidently scale AI while maintaining trust and compliance.

Join this session to explore:

• Security, privacy, and regulatory risks in AI deployments
• Best practices for managing AI data lifecycles and compliance
• Building a resilient AI infrastructure that balances innovation with risk management

With rapid technological advancements, the demand for tech talent continues to outpace supply. Despite waves of layoffs from the tech sector, it remains difficult to hire qualified talent, meaning CIOs must upskill their teams with high-in-demand skills such as GenAI, AI, machine learning and data. These skills gaps threaten organisations’ abilities to achieve their business objectives. Join this boardroom to address some of the key challenges when attracting and retaining talent, as well as effective upskilling of your workforce. Specifically, you’ll discuss:

• How CIOs should identify, address and close AI skills gap, fast
• Building the data foundations to drive AI adoption, and foster a culture of continuous learning to stay competitive
• Track ROI on your learning investment and on key metrics like productivity and retention

As a future leader, “getting a seat at the table” is a great ambition. However, getting the right seat at the right tables is the better goal. This session provides best practices leaders can use to ensure IT is positioned to work effectively with executive leadership teams across the enterprise. Specifically, this session will dive into:

• How to determine the optimal position for IT on key executive teams
• Looking beyond the C-suite table to influence goals, strategies and initiatives
• Ensuring IT value goes beyond the ‘tactical’, overcoming barriers to demonstrating value