What you will learn:
- CIOs must be business leaders who can offer a vision for what is possible.
- Technology leaders should be very intentional in the adoption of agentic AI.
- Innovation should occur simultaneously in several dimensions.
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What does it take to successfully direct at a time of turbocharged change?
Higher officers of Ferrovial, Liberty Mutual and Metlife technology have recently shared their advice.
The leaders, all the finalists of the Sloan 2025 MIT CIO Leadership Award, appeared on a panel animated by the Sloan MIT lecturer and founder of World Opportunities Forum.
Westerman noted that there was a lot of media threw around AI, but it is “not as easy as we thought it was”, even for the most brilliant spirits of the company.
“In fact, I continue to hear things like” this low fruit is really not so low “or” it’s great in the laboratory, it’s great on the bench, but it is difficult to take it on the scale. “”
Here are three pieces of wisdom of the three leaders.
1. Do not just perform on technology technology – shape the company’s strategy.
CIOs must be business leaders who can shape the strategy and offer a vision of what is possible while being anchored in reality.
In 2023, when Liberty Mutual embarked on a major computer transformation, Monica CaldasThe executive vice-president of the company and the World CIO did not consider the decision as a compartmentalized operation. She wanted all business partners to be aligned and understand why the changes took place.
“This transformation could have been a computer thing -” let’s do it in our own function ” – But the reality is that it is not possible to transform without the [organization] In fact, making this trip with you, ”said Caldas, who was Subsequently appointed CIO Leadership Award winner.
2. Make the bases now for the AI agentics era.
Agentical AI is a type of artificial intelligence designed to do independently execute; He makes decisions and takes measures with a minimum of human surveillance. Dimitris BontolosThe IOC and innovation officer for the ferrovial infrastructure operator, said that information leaders must be very intentional about how they integrate agentic AI in their organizations.
“We think it is something that will redefine the way teams, human beings, [and] Organizations interact with each other, “said Bontolos, adding that it is important to train agents with good information.
Caldas advised to treat agents as if they were human employees, in particular in terms of training, risk management and access controls – “everything that goes with what an employee would have.”
Putlife Bill Pappas Recommended that companies deploy agents or AI more broadly, managers should stop to carefully examine their infrastructure and inherited data so that they can effectively capitalize on new technology. “Otherwise, you will not be able to use all of this,” said Pappas, executive vice-president of Metlife’s technology and global operations.
3. Innovate with three speeds.
Bontolos said he was thinking of innovation in three layers – incremental, exponential and transformational – which must all work simultaneously at all levels of an organization.
“We need, in our teams, shakers and dreamers, but also facts and people who are very attached to the progressive improvement of our daily activities,” he said.
Bringing innovation in daily activities and paving the road to future objectives can help companies “transmit the best of what they have – the best of their inheritance and the best of their future dreams,” said Bontolos.
George Westerman is a pioneering researcher on digital transformation whose work fills the areas of executive leadership and technological strategy. Westerman is a lecturer at MIT Sloan and founder of the Opportunity Global Forum. He is also co -president of the Sloan Cio Leadership Award, who recognizes information leaders who lead their organizations to offer exemplary levels of commercial value thanks to the innovative use of information technologies.
