CIOs select a senior executive from their company with whom they share the business issue being discussed. Similar pairs from the participating companies, along with one or two academics or executive fellows, make up a discussion group of 15-20 senior executives. They come away from the day-long experience with new ideas and new approaches to specific challenges-the kind of creative assessment that arises only from diverse perspectives. Participants are expected to bring their best practices, share their key issues and strive to generate new insights to business problems together.
The Digital Strategies Roundtable (DSR) delivers an ongoing series of business dialogues for chief information officers (CIOs) and top-level executives of large global corporations to share insights on the enabling role of digital technology in meeting business challenges.
In focused discussions that cut across organizations and industries, participants from non-competing member corporations examine key business issues and topical challenges they have in common. Members choose the topics, so the discussions are always relevant to their real-world concerns.
Who
Why
The purpose of the DSR is to provide a forum for CIOs and their executive counterparts to:
- Share best practices for tackling the business issues and challenges they jointly face
- Further the enabling role of digital in meeting those challenges
- Improve intra-enterprise communication between CIOs/CDOs/CTOs and their counterparts through a shared experience
- Facilitate the cross-fertilization of best practices and innovative ideas across industries
- Offer insights that are brought into the MBA and executive classrooms
What
Each roundtable is:
- A moderated dialogue-no presentations, no lectures, no “attendees” or audience, just a focused, participative collegial dialogue
- A focused business discussion, striving for an appropriate balance of practicality and thoughtfulness
- A confidential forum based on trusted relationships-no uncomfortable competitive situations and no IT vendors
- A partnership between industry and academia, between CIOs and their partner executives, and between member corporations
Where
Each roundtable is hosted by one of the members, with academic members also taking a turn. Hosting often involves a tour of some facet of the company’s operations.
When
There are four roundtables in a year. The fall roundtable is a joint one with both chapters participating, and the European Chapter has one additional roundtable in the spring, the Americas chapter has two, one in winter and one in early summer.
