Britt Technology Impact Series

As part of the annual Geirheads Technology Conference hosted by Tuck School’s student-run Technology Club, this Britt Technology Impact Series panel will consider the massive moves toward personalization.

Enterprise IT is currently undergoing significant transformation. IT and CIOs are increasingly asked to transform their organizations and support the business in meeting customer expectations using technology and data solutions. A main way this plays out is by creating more personalized experiences, solutions and product offerings for customers, both internal and external.

Personalization takes on many forms, from improved knowledge of customer behavior to tailored solutions that meet their needs. Further complicating the IT landscape is consumer technology which is now fully embedded into the enterprise. Consumer technology raises expectations of user experience and the degree to which IT solutions are mobile, contextual and personalized.

• How do CIOs think about personalization?
• How are enterprises working to meet and exceed expectations of customer?
• What new opportunities are opening up for enterprise IT?
• What role does ‘big data’ play in delivering IT products and services?

These questions and more were the topics of a conversation with CIOs from Levi Strauss & Co., Swarovski, Volkswagen and the Bank of Queensland.

Special thanks goes to Geir Ramleth, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer of Citrix Systems, for his support of the Geirheads Technology Conference.

Max Braun
CIO
Swarovski
After graduating with a degree in economic and business science at Innsbruck University, Max Braun joined Swarovski (Wattens, Austria) in 1984, as an SAP Consultant and IT Project Manager. Over the next few years, the company consolidated several independent IT units into a single global Corporate IT organization. In the course of this process, Max held the lead position for various business application areas within Corporate IT, continuing to focus on SAP. From 2006 until 2011, he managed a new unit called ‘IT Business Application Services’. This unit supported all IT business solutions for Swarovski on a global basis. In 2011, Max was appointed as CIO for the company and continues in this role today.

Tim Gude
Corporate Executive Director IT Finance and HR
Volkswagen AG
Tim Gude started in 2014 in his current role as executive director in the Volkswagen Group, mainly responsible for application development for the business areas of finance and human resources. IT Innovation and building a digital strategy are also part of his assignment.

Tim joint Volkswagen in 2011 and was Principal at in-house consulting unit, Volkswagen Consulting, responsible for Finance & IT. Previously he was Finance Director Central Europe for Convatec a medical device company from 2008 to 2010. As senior consultant at strategy (former Booz & Co.) he consulted major automotive companies (OEMs, suppliers) in Europe and Asia from 2004 to 2008. After university he started at Philip Morris International – a fast moving consumer goods company and work in different areas in finance and IT, e.g. as supervisor Internal Audit and IS Security Officer and Controller in Europe.

Tim holds a MBA from the University of Applied Science in Munich. In parallel to his professional career he pursued the degree of a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified System Security Professional (CISSP).

Roland Paanakker
Senior Vice President and CIO
Levi Strauss & Co. 
Roland Paanakker is Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Levi Strauss & Co. He is responsible for managing all aspects of Information Technology, ranging from strategy & innovation to IT portfolio & program execution as well as IT operations. Roland is focused on transforming IT into a critical enabler of the Company’s product and omni-channel growth strategies worldwide and creating technology value for Levi Strauss & Co. worldwide – accelerating top and bottom line growth through differentiated IT services.

Roland is a seasoned executive with close to 30 years of experience in senior positions in IT leadership, Supply Chain Operations and Program & Change Management. Prior to joining Levi Strauss in March 2014, Roland held various positions at Nike Inc. in Europe and US over 18 years, of which he served as CIO of Nike Inc. for 8 years. He joined the organization in 1995, and steadily rose through the corporate ranks culminating in his appointment as Nike’s CIO. He resided in Nike’s home state of Oregon and as CIO was responsible for developing new information technologies that enabled Nike to become the innovative product and omni-channel leader in its industry. Prior to joining Nike Europe in 1995, he worked for IBM Netherlands for 10 years in a variety of IT and program management positions. Roland holds a Bachelors of Business Administration & Technology from H.E.S J. van Zwijndreght in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Donna Vinci
Group Executive, Enterprise Solutions
Bank of Queensland 
Donna joined BOQ as Group Executive Enterprise Solutions in July 2015 and leads the Bank’s Operations, Enterprise Program Office and Information Technology teams.

Donna’s extensive experience in operations, risk management and technology, and her track record of delivering digital disruption and transformation projects for major financial services organisations globally will enable her to play a key role in BOQ’s own transformation as it continues to digitise it’s business and customer experience. Donna joined BOQ from IAG where she was Group General Manager, Group Digital and Group CIO, prior to that, she was Chief Operations and Information Officer of Westpac’s Institutional Bank for four and half years. Donna has also held many executive management roles at Citigroup over a span of fifteen years, including Regional CIO and Global Head of Technology Risk Management and held other senior management roles at Potter Warburg and was a Director at Country Natwest.

Professor Steven Kahl D’91 (moderator)  
Associate Professor of Business Administration
Tuck School of Business
Steve Kahl teaches the core course Leading Organizations and an elective course called Leading Entrepreneurial Organizations.  Steve is affiliated with the Private Equity and Entrepreneurship Center and the Center for Digital Strategies and is actively involved with entrepreneurship activities on campus.  Prior to Tuck, Steve was an Assistant Professor of Organizations and Strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2007–2012. Prior to academia, he was a vice president in Global Investment Research at Goldman, Sachs & Co, a former research analyst at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc., and consultant at Deloitte & Touche and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).

Steve’s research examines how new markets emerge through sociological and cognitive perspectives. He examines how markets come to understand new firms and innovations through historically grounded content and discursive analysis.  One set of projects analyzes the commercialization of the computer in insurance and manufacturing.  This work considers how various groups interpreted the computer, how these interpretations evolved over time, and the challenges entrepreneurs face in forming these perception.

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