Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 54 | Page 61

CASE STUDY have differences in terms of market dynamics , the customer ecosystem and market maturity , but most of our differences have been self-created due to historic market autonomy . All of our markets sell advertising in the end , so although we may need to tweak the product and offering , the core process , technology and data backbone should be the same . developing and retaining great talent is fundamental to the process of business transformation . This is not a journey you go on by yourself .
What ’ s the best piece of business advice you ’ ve been given and how do you apply this to your role as a CIO ?
A couple of practical tactics for me are : ( i ) Start from the future and work back . Don ’ t spend too long analysing the current state or you will get stuck and never really transform . ( ii ) Focus on one market and prove it . It may be politically hard as this will create ‘ not invented here ’ resistance but at least you are starting with something tangible and real .
How do you drive a strong digital culture through innovation and collaboration ?
For me , the way to cultivate a strong culture isn ’ t by talking about it but by living and breathing it . It is about how we act on a day-to-day basis to model the type of business we want to be . This is something we need to do as leaders all the time and something that we need to practice together as teams when we are working and delivering . We have worked with our team to co-create a blueprint for our culture and the kind of behaviours we want to exhibit . This is helpful for getting us to think about our culture and to get alignment and buy-in around it . We have a new Employee Value Proposition under the brand ‘ Bring You , Shape Us ’ which encourages our current and prospective employees to be vocal about their drivers and talents so we can maximise the enjoyment , impact and growth they can get out of their role .
What advice would you give to other CIOs in the market looking to redesign and transform their businesses and utilise digital trends ?
There will always be more to do so you need to know when to stop . This advice was given to me by a partner at my old employer , Deloitte Consulting , who had noticed I was often the last to leave the office . My most important role is bringing up my three daughters so that advice helps me focus on that and balance my role as a CIO with my role as a father .
Within my role , it has taught me that focus is key . There will always be too much demand for tech for you to satisfy everyone , so I ’ ve learned to make hard decisions early on to get the most important things right .
What does Clear Channel Europe ’ s technology roadmap look like for the next 12 months and how do you plan to continue innovating ?
We are transforming most parts of our business enabled by tech , and each of these initiatives delivers value in different ways so it ’ s hard to call out . One initiative of note is a large-scale transformation of our ‘ front office ’ to make sure that our commercial teams have the processes and technologies to deliver on our digital ambitions , to provide an outstanding customer experience and enable our mission to Create the Future of Media . This is a complex programme touching upon all elements of our operating model across all our markets , the type of programme with a high risk of failure . But I am proud of our team that they are pulling it off and successfully delivering .
There are several things you need to keep front of mind if you ’ re looking to transform your business with digital in mind . You need to stay on top of tech trends as several of them could end up causing fundamental change to your business , while walking the fine line between hype and reality .
To ensure you get the most important things right you need exposure to as many experiences as possible within the business . Understanding the business is imperative because tech means nothing if it does not address a business need .
Finally , you need to never lose sight that your highest priority is to your people . The process of attracting ,
We are also scaling our new advertising platform , LaunchPAD , which enables customers to buy our inventory via Programmatic , Automated ( via an API ) or Direct Self-Service Digital channels . This is making it easier , quicker and more transparent to buy OOH which is attracting new customers to our medium . We now have eight markets live on LaunchPAD , enabling customers to buy programmatically across multiple SSPs and DSPs , and additional markets are being added as we speak .
This will not happen without keeping investing in and developing our team over the next 12 months so they can continue to innovate , deliver and continue to Create the Future of Media . p
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