Ron van Kemenade, ING is CIO of the Year 2016

Ron van Kemenade received the award for his crucial role in the trail-blazing digital development of ING. “With his focus on technology he lays the foundation of an entirely new organisation, the contours of which are gradually becoming visible,” chairman of the jury Bernhard van Oranje said when he motivated the choice. “It is wonderful to see how he gets inspired by the big digital global players.”

Van Kemenade turned out to be the best in virtually all criteria of the selection process: the total score of the qualitative and quantitative review by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the intensive leadership assessment of Linqhu, and the final interview with the jury. Although he comes less to the fore in the Dutch CIO community than the other nominees, he is highly appreciated by fellow IT managers. “We have selected a leader who positions IT and technology in the organisation in a fundamentally different way,” Van Oranje explained.

The CIO of the Year Award was presented at the CIODAY in the Amsterdam Beurs van Berlage on Tuesday, 29 November. Over 700 senior IT officials witnessed the occasion. The other nominees for the title were Michel van Hout (Transavia), René van Sandijk (Vanderlande), Hendrik-Jan Smaal (Heijmans), Gerard Spans (Arcadis) and Teun van der Vorm (ANWB).

Scalable
While many fellow CIOs are still pondering on the course of the digital world, the visionary Ron van Kemenade has already made considerable headway. ING is moving with him toward a globally scalable digital business model. An unprecedented transformation, with Netflix, Facebook, Google and Spotify as the great inspirators. “We lean on parties that are ahead of us to make the bank more competitive, not only with respect to our traditional competitors but also regarding the digitally born fintechs.” At the new ING, engineering is regarded as a core competency.

Rob Beijleveld, CEO of ICT Media and the initiator of the CIO of the Year Award, thinks Van Kemenade is one of the best CIOs in the world. “With his focus on engineering he has a genuinely distinctive vision and approach.” The other members of the jury were also very enthusiastic about the winner.

Tjibbe van der Zeeuw (Linqhu): “Ron van Kemenade is not an average hierarchical leader but rather someone with great ambitions. He knows how to change ING from the inside. As a CIO he is like a bird that steers the course from the middle of the flock.”

Marc Schuuring (Boston Consulting Group): “He stands out from the others by his focus on technology and engineering. In this respect, he gives the IT industry a new impulse. He gives and takes in an open ecosystem.”

Marcel Krom (chairman CIO Platform Netherlands and CIO PostNL): “By this development he counterbalances the advancing fintech companies, which he collaborates with as well. This is how he takes the right steps for his organisation.”

Jury process 
Similar to last year, a strict and objective process was adopted with respect to award the prize to the nominee with the highest scores on performance and the way in which nominees embodied their role and position. The fact that only one winner was chosen, does not at all mean the other nominees came in for a negative assessment. Though the nature and complexity of their organisations as well as their impact and influence showed marked differences, the candidates were by no means out of place on so exquisite a shortlist.

In the assessment by BCG and Linqhu, criteria like performance, perception by the business, and personal competencies had been considered. The final meeting of the jury at the Pinnacle Tower in Amsterdam, attended by all nominees, was a final validation of the selection process used.

This year, the core members of the jury were Marcel Krom (CIO Platform Netherlands and PostNL), Marc Schuuring (Boston Consulting Group), Tjibbe van der Zeeuw (Linqhu), Rob Beijleveld (ICT Media) and Hotze Zijlstra (CIO Magazine) – the same as last year. Again, Bernhard van Oranje (Levi9 Global Sourcing) was the chairman of the jury.

A new member was Louis Luijten (ASML). For the 2017 election he will be asked to step down in favour of the winner of the CIO of the Year Award 2015, Arnoud Klerkx (Sanoma Learning). This year, too, support for the personal assessments was provided by Bianca van der Zeeuw (Plan B).