Through technology, businesses can now reach millions of users in far lesser time periods compared to before. Government’s throughout the world are also investing in digital transformation to improve their efficiency, accountability, better citizen engagement, and provision of better public service delivery.
Therefore, in this context, the role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) has become even more important to champion the cause of a sustainable and successful digital transformation within their respective organizations. The journey that the CIOs take is not easy and there are many challenges they face when focusing on people, process and technology which are the key enabling components to ensure a successful transformation.
The Global CIO Forum is a non-profit community of CIOs and IT leaders with a mission to facilitate networking, sharing of best practices, and collaboration on issues faced by the CIOs. It represents the CIO profession across the globe and provides a single platform for CIOs to come together, engage and grow together as a community to collectivity address the challenges faced by businesses globally. The flagship event of Global CIO forum is The World CIO 200 Summit which is held annually since its inception.
In the 2019 edition of The World CIO 200 Summit, there were 3214 nominations received prior to the event, which were evaluated by the global jury. Subsequently, 200 top CIOs were shortlisted and nominated for the DX Inspire Awards 2019 to be announced in this year’s event.
The shortlisted CIOs for the summit included 6 top CIOs from Pakistan including Syed Asif Shah from Central Depositary Company (CDC), Faizan Mustafa from Toyota Indus Motors, Iftikhar Arif from Muller and Phipps, Imran Soomro from JS Bank, Kashif Rana from PIA, and Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC).
The inclusion of 6 CIOs from Pakistan is an acknowledgement, recognition and testament to the fact that our country has some of the best talent and professionals available with the ability to cope with the challenges which businesses face today not only in the local context but the global context.
Out of the 200 CIOs, 20 were able to win the DX inspire awards which included two from Pakistan; Faizan Mustafa, CIO of Toyota Indus Motors and Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, CISO of KPEZDMC. This is indeed a moment of pride for Pakistan that capable CIOs are not only available in the private sector but also the public sector to lead the digital transformation journey for their organizations.
Muhammad Umer Khokhar – Director Loco Services (Country partner of Global CIO Forum) commented, “Pakistan being the part of The World CIO 200 Summit, is such a great achievement and one step ahead towards the promotion and recognition of Tech experts in Pakistan. This unique platform grows IT leaders, speaks with one voice on issues facing CIOs, and builds a vendor-neutral community for safe exchange of ideas and best practices. We look forward for even more participation in coming years.”
