Agility
Criticaleye, in association with IBM Global Process Services, hosted 35 UK-based C-Suite and Marketing Leaders at this invitation only event on Wednesday Feb 29. The exclusive "Agility, Innovation & Change" session opened with a networking breakfast.
Four leaders (pictured below) then shared perspectives on how their companies are embracing leadership challenges -- evolving business models, sustaining profitable growth, and exploring partnership models -- to ensure they achieve or maintain market leadership positions.
Geraint Anderson,
CEO, TT Electronics plc
David Plumb,
General Manager Enterprise Division, O2
Steve Pateman, Head of Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking, Santander
Graeme Butterworth
General Manager
IBM GPS Europe
Graeme set the scene by drawing on IBM's experience: how we've transformed into a globally and vertically integrated enterprise; how we've exited under-performing businesses and re-focused investment around higher growth, high value opportunities; how IBM Leadership sets the Company's vision and direction; and how brand and geo teams implement IBM strategy while refining and tuning it to the different industries and markets we operate in.
David Plumb of O2 highlighted that when the economics of your business, and the market you operate in, are in decline, you need to look at what you can stop doing to free up money to innovate and invest in new opportunities. Partnering is a key component of his company's strategy to perform work for O2, and to partner with to avail of their innovations.
Steve Patemen of Santander said innovation has moved from being all about efficiency and effectiveness to finding ways to creatively connect with, and hold onto, your customers. He added that you can't compete with incumbents on their terms, you need to look at what they're not doing well and assess if you can provide a better offering or work with a partner to do so.
Geraint Anderson of TT Electronics talked about the change and innovation journey his company is on. Appointed as CEO two years ago, his primary mission was to transform a drifting conglomerate structure into a more unified corporate one. His team uses a relentless focus on customers, markets, and emerging technologies to drive change and partnering strategies within his organisation.
Andrew Minton kicked off the Q&A with a Criticaleye member submitted question: "How can leaders set a framework for decision-making that will permeate the organisation?" Audience questions that followed included:
"How do you address and deal with innovation and change blockers within your organisation?" -- Mitsui
"How do you execute change in an organsiation where the processes that need changing are the sacred cows that built the organisation in the first place? How do we help our teams "unlearn" what's worked in the past?" -- Nokia
"How do you disseminate the specifics of the changes required, and how far out do you look in you planning horizons?"
-- Waitrose
"Some industries are more susceptible to regulation than others. And mature markets represent highly regulated environments in which it can be difficult to do business and/or grow. Am interested in the panel's comments on this." -- BP
Agility, Innovation and the Spirit of Change
CFO & the Boardroom
The CFO and the Boardroom -- June 9, London, co-hosted by Criticaleye and IBM
For Chief Financial Officers, whether from a public, a private or a private equity owned business, the recent global economic downturn has been a pivotal event – but perhaps not in expected ways. Under a glaring spotlight, CFOs have had to address urgent capital acquisition, cash flow and revenue challenges, but volatility and uncertainty also drew them into more frequent boardroom conversations and not just about forecasts, profitability and risk management but about weighty strategic and operational issues.
As a result, CFOs are emerging with far more influence at (and exposure to) the enterprise level. Has this heightened exposure to operations and strategy, against the backdrop of an altered business world, fundamentally and permanently changed the role of the CFO?
Panelists:
Alan Bannatyne, CFO Robert Walters -- Mr. Alan Bannatyne has been Company Secretary and Group Finance Director of Robert Walters plc since March 1, 2007. Mr. Bannatyne joined Robert Walters as Group Financial Controller in September 2002. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte & Touche, he served as a Commercial Manager of Primecom and then Financial Director of Foresight, both subsidiaries of Primedia, a listed South African Media Group. Mr. Bannatyne has been an Executive Director of Robert Walters plc since March 2007.
Ian Durant, Chairman Capco -- Ian is responsible for the leadership of the Board, ensuring its effectiveness and setting its agenda. A chartered accountant with a background in international financial and commercial management. Ian's career includes periods with Hanson, Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm International, Thistle Hotels and SeaContainers. Immediately prior to becoming Non-executive Chairman of the Board, Ian was the Finance Director of Liberty International. He is also a Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Greene King. Ian is a Fellow with the ICAEW and the UK Institute of Corporate Treasurers.
Gayle Hares, CFO General Business Europe, IBM -- Gayle's current role is CFO of IBM's General Business covering NE Europe, reporting to Finance and Business VP's within IBM/ Gayle's IBM career has spanned 16 successful years where she has held various roles including CFO and Director of IBM Global Financing, the leasing arm of IBM. IBM Global Financing covers not only end user IT financing, but also Commercial Financing which includes financing the IBM Business Partner channel and major distributors.Prior to this Gayle was Credit Officer for IBM UK Limited where she was responsible for granting credit for all IBM sales transactions. In addition to this Gayle has held many Finance and Accounting Controls within IBM UK and played in a major role in many of IBM's successful transformation projects including credit transformation, process automation and Business support standardisation. Before moving to IBM Gayle held positions as a Financial Analyst with GSK, and holds a BA Hons and CIMA.
Panelist Ian Tyler, CEO, Balfour Beatty -- A Director since 1999, he became Chief Executive in January 2005, having been Chief Operating Officer since 2002 and prior to that, Finance Director. He joined Balfour Beatty in 1996 from the Hanson Group where he was finance director of ARC Ltd, one of its principal subsidiaries. He is currently a non-executive director of VT Group plc, and president of Construction Industry Relief, Assistance and Support for the Homeless Ltd, the construction and property industry charity for the homeless. Source: Company Web Site, 01/19/2010. 50 yrs old, ICAEW .
Balancing Data Event
The role of analytics in forging closer customer relationships
More than 95 per cent of CEOs who took part in our latest global survey identified "getting connected" with customers as their top business priority. But acknowledging the importance of redefining customer relationships and knowing how best to go about it are two very different things. Graeme Butterworth, VP Global Process Services, IBM Europe, believes the answer lies in leveraging growing volumes of business data, deploying modern analytics solutions give new focus to customer-facing strategies. Download the paper now to find out more.
The view at C-level
Put 40 business leaders in the same room and you're sure to get some lively debate. That's exactly what networking group Criticaleye did, in association with IBM Global Process Services, at an exclusive analytics-themed networking event earlier this year. A key focus for the session was a Q&A session, led by IBM's Graeme Butterworth, which gave three CEOs the chance to share their experiences with the rest of the audience. David Brennan, CEO of Astrazeneca, Alan Parker, former CEO of Whitbread and Geraint Anderson, CEO of TT Electronics, discussed a range of topics including the role of boards in helping ? or hindering ? IT decision making. The conversation also touched on the role of analytics ? and in particular IBM's leading analytics solutions ? in shaping business and IT strategies. Exclusive extracts from the Q&A session are available now as a series of short videos. Click the viewers below to watch the latest.
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IBM Global Process Services
Making the leap
The jump from CFO to chief executive may seem large
Read the new Criticaleye paper (238KB)
Join the discussion
In the fast lane
