After 2020 being a roller coaster ride for everyone, what do you think is now the role of the Chief Digital Officer in an organization?

The CDO will continue to coordinate the execution of the company’s digital strategy, ensuring all business units are coordinated towards the common goal. I think the addition to the role is that CDOs will need to take responsibility for teaching the organization as a whole about digital to ensure everyone has a basic knowledge of digital tools, processes and opportunities

This is imperative as the entire company need to take part of the digital development to make it successful

What is it that organizations are lacking in their digital transformation journey and why?

Few organizations have a clear understanding of ‘where to start’ and this tends to paralyze the digital transformation efforts, resulting in either too ambitious projects or ‘safe’ projects that are so small that they don’t have any impact

It boils down to lack of experience and knowledge. Most organizations lack a simple and structured approach to the transformation – and in many cases the understanding that digital transformation is not much more than what BPR was in the 80s; it’s all about optimizing processes around customers

What is your ideal Digital Growth Vision for the Next 5 Years?

Enabling the company to leverage all its strengths digitally

How valuable was data in 2020, and how will data impact your 2021 strategy?

The biggest question is not the value of data, but the company’s ability to leverage the data, understanding how to analyze and put them into a business context that helps the company reach its goals

How do you think attendees will benefit by attending the MENA CDO Connect 2021?

I strive to focus on providing attendees real-life experiences that are down to earth and very practical, so you literally can ‘go home’ and apply them.