Laura Klaver has been with Thales Netherlands since 2018. Starting as an executive secretary, she rose through the ranks in various roles, including enterprise information manager and chief data officer. After a brief hiatus, she took on the CIO role in early 2023. Since the geopolitical shifts of a few years ago, the company, which takes on many defense-related projects, has been experiencing strong tailwinds. “I think that, given everything this organization demands of us, we are doing a hell of a job.”
What is the biggest challenge your organization is currently facing?
“We have been seeing an upturn in the market for several years, so we have been preparing for growth for some time. We manufacture high-quality technical equipment, often on a project basis, in accordance with customer specifications. Our biggest challenge is to accelerate the growth process. This involves moving away from the customized approach to working more in series and supplying more standardized products.”
“A huge business transformation within the entire Thales Group accompanies this. We need more people whom we have to train. There are changes in work processes and other needs in the IT and data landscape. In fact, we are transforming our entire company while the store is open.”
“Ensuring that this growth ultimately has the right effects and is sustainable is our biggest challenge. We also need to be agile for the future, so that we can scale up and, if needed, down. We made significant contributions from our Hengelo branch in the past. We now see that this is no longer possible. To ensure speed and quality, we are also joining forces with our international Thales colleagues. This way, we can continue to meet the demands of our customers.”
“People generally work at Thales for a very long time. We are now seeing the first wave of retirements. The transition is also about bringing new people up to speed, extracting knowledge from long-serving employees, and ensuring that this is being passed on to the new ones. It is also about internal changes to develop our organization further. We expect more from people and from our products, but also from the way we approach this in our project management.”
“And then there’s the internal organizational structure. How can we optimally organize the organization to keep up with growth? There are all kinds of scenarios that we have had to decide on, and still have to decide on.”
“AI has been incorporated into our products for years. Where we see a greater challenge is in implementing and adopting it in a rapidly changing organization, as we also have to contend with defense regulations.”
“We have been working agile in software engineering and IT for years. We are now seeing a movement toward a combined approach of agile and project-based working. Agile working sometimes comes with a lot of freedom. A lack of a good agile structure and the right competencies can lead to a lack of commitment and clarity about what one delivers and when. We are now developing a kind of hybrid form, at least within my IT organization.”
The acceleration of technological and social developments does not make it any easier to plan a transition. How do you keep up?
“We have been using technology for a long time that the general public is only now really getting to know. AI has been incorporated into our products for years, for example. Implementing and adopting it in a rapidly changing organization is a greater challenge, as we also have to contend with defense regulations. Many companies will be much further along in adopting AI in their internal organization. But that’s also because we have to check what’s possible under our sovereignty principles.”
“What do we want to do with the technology, and what do we consider responsible [use]? That is something we look at very carefully. First, based on data classifications, and then use cases. What kind of AI agent or solution speeds up the work of our employees and makes their lives easier? Can we allow this in our organization? That is the consideration I make every time as a CIO.”
“But we also make that assessment together with the Thales management team. We are now consciously choosing to take a step back and first see what further developments are there and whether they actually pay off. And how can we then fit that into a defense environment?”
“We try to train our people and ensure that they keep up to date. I think there is a big gap between the generations that have grown up completely digitally and those that haven’t. And when you see interns coming in with such fresh ideas and insights… they think in a completely different way, they are completely tech-native. Then I think: those are the people we need to learn from. That’s quite a change from how things have always been. And I myself grew up with technology to a large extent.”
“But despite my age, I started in fairly traditional organizations where technology was not yet very prevalent. And I have some catching up to do, as I think many people do. So I feel comfortable, but given the enormous speed of developments, I also need help with that. Reverse mentoring, in other words.”
Would more intensive collaboration with peers help you cope with these developments?
“Yes, I already do that. I get more value out of it than, for example, standard training, a book, or ‘going back to the models’. That’s all well and good, but practice always works very differently. I really see the interaction with my colleagues [at other organizations] as quality time. To be able to discuss certain issues with each other, to hear how people deal with things. But also to learn about other technologies or issues that are relevant to other companies. I find that very valuable.”
“I also work with a research organization that guides me weekly and updates me on the technological areas and market developments that are relevant to me. And I am affiliated with the CIO Platform, because I really appreciate that exchange and because it is also very valuable in my plans.”
“I think I am a servant leader. I think it’s very important to give people the space to follow their own path, within set parameters.”
“IT became a global function at Thales in 2019. But every country and every business unit has a CIO, so we have quite a group together. Every two weeks, we discuss important topics that are relevant worldwide. We have various working groups that focus on specific topics and technologies. Of course, we also have a lot in common, particularly with the defense entities. Things work a little differently there.”
What type of leader are you? How would you characterize your leadership style?
“I think I’m a servant leader. I think it’s very important to give people the space to go their own way, within set parameters. But I also adapt when I notice that this isn’t working, or when people need a different approach, or more directness or guidance. Then I jump in.”
“I have a large team around me that I am very happy with. I do expect everyone to raise the alarm when things are not going well or when adjustments need to be made. I expect people to let me know when they get stuck or reach their limits – also in terms of content. Essentially, I am someone who likes to give others freedom and, above all, sets frameworks to achieve the ultimate goal and ensures that we don’t deviate from it.”
“But I know that if something happens, I have a team I can rely on for 100 percent. They don’t need me to solve anything or to steer them in the right direction. That’s the most important thing for me. It means you’re basically expendable. And I find that a very comforting thought.”
What are you proud of?
“I am incredibly proud of my team and the organization. IT is and always will be an area where people constantly look for efficiencies and ways to tighten things up a little more. When I consider how far we have come in this regard, bearing in mind the organization’s growth compared to the growth of the IT staff, while our staffing levels are virtually the same as before the company’s transition, I see that we have also transformed internally. We are still able to execute the right projects and operations creatively.”
“This has to do with focusing on processes and working methods, but also with how my employees behave. From data centers, service desk, application management, to cybersecurity, we do it all ourselves. I think that, given everything this organization demands of us – also in the defense context – we are doing a hell of a job. And I am very proud of that.”
“We have a global organization to fall back on. But at the same time, we are sovereign. Our defense department and the environment in which we operate are still dominant. So what we can ultimately use from the group is limited. It actually boils down to the fact that we have many local instances running, and that we do a lot of management ourselves. In that sense, we have kind of a dual IT organization.”