launch of THE GCF Academy

The Global CIO Forum Academy was launched during The World CIO 200 Summit, Grand Finale in Bangkok in the month of November 2022. This was the sixth edition of the world’s largest CIO excellence and leadership programme organised by GEC Media and Global CIO Forum at the Grand Fourwings, Convention Hotel in Bangkok.

Established in 2017, the World CIO200 Summit is a multi-country CIO felicitation ceremony that recognises the achievements of digital leaders of today who have transformed the IT infrastructure of their organisations driving growth and change. The summit in Bangkok was the culmination of the year-long face-to-face and virtual celebrations across Africa, Europe, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, KSA, Oman, Egypt, India, Singapore, and Pakistan editions of the event.

At the event, the Global CIO Forum Academy organised three master class level and mentoring workshops including: l Workshop on CIO-CEO Journey, destiny is calling: CIOs are built to be the 21st Century CEOs by Henry Santos, Serial Entrepreneur, COO, Board Member, Global CIO; and Darren Shaffer, a former Military Board Member and CTO. l Workshop on Cybersecurity Go ‘Phishing’ by Patrick Doliny, Retired US Marine Officer and a career CIO, CISO. l Leadership Transformation Workshop by Martin Roll, Business and brand strategist, CEO mentor, advisor, bestselling author, and keynote speaker.

The Global CIO Forum Academy intends to bridge the gap between formal and full-time education and part time education, especially for senior executives who need specialised workshops and mentoring. The Academy intends to host workshops and classes for master programmes, management programmes, and specialisation programmes in finance, leadership, strategy.

“The Academy is looking at building alliances with leading global management and technology institutions. This will help provide CIOs the most suitable global mentors, coach, research fellows and teachers to help them move forward to the next level in their career,” says Tushar Sahoo, Founder Global CIO Forum.

Adds Anushree Dixit, Global Head, Content and Strategic Alliances, “Resources are abundant but knowledge is rare. The Academy is designed to provide aspiring CIOs with the right kind of skillset and hands on training that will help them leverage their positions in the organisation. The courses will be tailored keeping in mind the future of leadership.”

Building the team

The first step for CIOs to grow out of their roles is succession planning. Says Darren Shaffer, “Many times, a good performer is left tied to the position because the organisation is unable to find a replacement. Learning to delegate, teaching, upgrading the team is key to scaling up. A good leader needs to nurture and grow more leaders.”

It is also important for the Board of the enterprise to be aware of the aspiring executive as a CIO, indicates Shaffer. “It is important the Board perceive you as a strategist who can go beyond the existing role and grow into a leader with vision and drive growth. You will need to be seen as the person with plan and knowledge who can help all departments.”

A CIO needs to work on gaining trust of board members, which is critical for moving up the ladder. CIOs must reach out to CEO, CMO and CFO with ideas that can help them meet their objectives better.

CIOs will also need to reconcile that their current skills may not be fully required at the top executive level and somebody else will replace their position as CIO. “Leaders are not required to look into technology gaps and what to automate but people and processes. We also live in a chaotic world full of uncertainties, which makes moving up the curve difficult,” Shaffer admits.

Confronting failure

“Leadership is a challenging and demanding position that requires a wide range of skills. As executives rise through the ranks, they face more responsibility and uncertainty. And it can be difficult to adjust to these new demands,” explains Martin Roll.

Testimonials From Participants At Gcf Academy

l The mix of topics with inclusion of non-technical motivational speakers adds huge life knowledge.

Introduction of GCF Academy is an excellent initiative.

Praful Thumper, Jazeera Airways, Kuwait.

l I would like to thank the entire GEC Media group for organising such a phenomenal event and workshop which will enlighten the vision of new CEOs.

Dr Mustafa Qurban, KFMMC, Saudi Arabia.

l Thanks GEC media and sponsors for such a grand power packed event and for connecting the dots between world class IT leaders. The leadership journey workshop, and the quality of speakers was awesome.

Ganesh Joshi, Nilons, India l I would like to thank the entire GEC Media group for organising such a phenomenal event and workshop which will enlighten the vision of the new CEOs . l It was an amazing experience for me. One of the highlights of the event was the workshop to help transition CIOs to CEOs. l It was well organised with relevant topics covered both in speaker sessions and also in workshops. Highlights for me was the workshop and collaboration. I believe it was tailored very well and everybody got something out of it.

Qasim Nadeem, Abana Enterprises, Saudi Arabia.

Ichwan Peryana, Pinjam Modal, Indonesia.

Peter Gesper, Noon.com, UAE.

One of the reasons why aspiring executives can fail at the CEO position is being unprepared for the complex approach required to run a company. Micromanaging staff and insufficient attention to the larger picture are common reasons for failure.

Another point of failure is overconfidence. Aspiring executives can overestimate their strengths and underestimate their flaws. Especially if they have not been through formal feedback processes and mentoring, which is the role that the Academy intends to play in 2023.

While the pace of change may be a challenge for most business executives, this is one area where CIOs may outperform others, Typically they would have adapted themselves to the pace of digital innovation, digital transformation and change, in their role as CIO.

Inside senior ranks

C-suite executives have a wealth of technology, innovation, business understanding and enterprises invest in CIOs to build the IT organisation and the skill sets of the IT team members.

But what happens if CIOs want to move to the next level of their career, whether it is inside the same business or outside. What if they aspire to be CEOs or successful entrepreneurs. Formal masterclass coaching and training and mentoring programmes are usually instrumental in taking them to the next level.

“The process of executive mentoring enables the C-suite to foster and support their long-term progress. Mentorship supports executives in achieving both short- and long-term objectives,” says Roll.

A typical such programme covers improving leadership skills, personal development and understanding the requirements of life changes. CIOs aspiring for the next level of their careers also need to prepare for the next level of challenges that are associated with these changes.

“Executives can become overwhelmed by the demands of their roles when they hold a top position,” points out Roll. “Mentoring benefits executives by having someone who is aware of their struggles, appreciates their journey, and can offer advice, he summarises.