Jörg Behrend
Group CITO
Ferrero
As Chief Information & Technology Officer of the Ferrero Group, since June 2020, Dr. Jörg Behrend is supporting the strong growth agenda for some of the most iconic brands in the sweet packaged food industry like Nutella, Kinder, Rocher, Tic-Tac, and more. Furthermore, he is in charge of the technology leadership of all affiliated and related companies of the Ferrero industry ecosystem such as The Ferrara Candy Company, Wells Industries, and The Fine Biscuit Company.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I was born in East Germany, and I graduated as an experimental physicist with a PhD from the Humboldt University and the Paul Drude Institut for Solid State Electronics in Berlin. After 5 years in basic research dedicated to applied semiconductor physics and opto-electronics, I joined an international technology consulting firm working with multi-national players in the oil & gas, semiconductor and telecom industry.
Equipped with this experience, I served in the telecom industry for 11 years, holding CTO positions with the mobile telecom provider Orange and later France Telecom in various geographies. Continuing my career for the next 8 years in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, I worked as the Global CIO and business shared services leader of Bacardi.
The following two years, I led the technology arm of Philip Morris International’s internal digital agency “PMI Digital,” before starting my current role as the Chief Information & Technology Officer of the Ferrero Group.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Be the leader that you want to work with.
With disruption being a key theme of the past few years, where do you see your role as a CIO going in the next 1-2 years?
Technology and business leadership are converging, and CIOs are entering the boardroom of many multinational companies. Technology (digital, AI, Industry 4.0...) enables companies to manage the disruption and even turn it into an advantage to successfully pursue their business objectives. Technology leaders increasingly shape the business model evolution of their organizations.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CIO?
Be inclusive, anticipate, communicate clearly, be authentic, don’t play politics, and understand your field and your business.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
I am an amateur astronomer, musician and mountain biker.
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