In his role as CIO, Jeroen van der Vlugt has had senior responsibility for digital transformation at the Ministry of Defense for nearly seven years. As a member of the Executive Board, he reports directly to the Secretary General. In this capacity, he is ultimately responsible for providing political advice on digitization to both the Minister and State Secretary of Defense. Jeroen also serves as CISO and chief data officer: a broad range of responsibilities through which he has succeeded in making digitization an integral part of the core business process. These accomplishments, among others, led to his recent nomination for the CIO of the Year Award.

What is the biggest challenge your organization faces?
“Being prepared for conflict. Our focus is on what we call Primary Mission 1: a conflict on Dutch or allied (NATO) territory. We must be ready for this by 2028. The expectation is that Russian aggression will not stop once a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, and that the Russian Federation’s territorial ambitions will extend further. We must be ready for this. And digitization is crucial in this regard.

Whenever a new cabinet takes office, the Ministry of Defense always drafts a new strategic document: the so-called “Defensienota.” When I first took this position, digitization was literally a footnote in this document. In the latest paper, from last July, it is a separate chapter. That underscores its importance. It has now become the number-one investment category in the so-called 3.5 percent package. Ultimately, it comes down to our ability to act faster than our adversary. We call this “decision dominance.” This involves a great deal of digitization, enabling us to transition from data collected by all our sensors to action as quickly as possible. Digitization and the application of AI are vital in this regard.

In addition to rapid decision dominance, our combat effectiveness must be as strong as possible. We always refer to the “effects” we deliver. Within two or three years, we aim to ensure that at least fifty percent of these effects are delivered by unmanned systems. This can be achieved with drones or other means, but it can also involve cyber effects, which will ultimately enable us to win modern conflicts. The nature of war remains essentially the same, but the character of war is changing.

“The people in the digitization field must see for themselves where their contribution lies. They’re no longer “hidden in a footnote” —they’ve become part of the core process.”

Defense, the armed forces, is an instrument of the state and subject to parliamentary oversight. We can be deployed when all else fails: when diplomacy no longer works, when economic measures fail—you name it. The armed forces are the last resort. That’s where we come in. That’s our greatest challenge. And in the business world, it’s not a big deal if you’re the second-largest retailer or the second-largest construction company. But in a conflict, coming in second is not the right position. Ultimately, it’s about winning. Not winning a conflict in a military setting is a bad outcome.”

What kind of leader are you?
“My leadership style is forward-looking. My success lies not in the past, but in the future. And so does the success of the organization. We aren’t judged on how we resolved a past conflict; we’re judged on how successfully we do this in the future. So my leadership style is forward-looking. I stay very close to the core—the core business of the Ministry of Defense. I do this with a good team around me, because I obviously can’t do it alone. I also need “ambassadors” to get people on board.

First, I try to be a visionary. I articulate a vision and then set out a strategy that people can commit to. Call it providing a direction so that people know where we’re headed. Ultimately, this has led to digitization being given a very prominent place in the defense policy statement. The people in the digitization field must see for themselves where their contribution lies. They’re no longer “hidden in a footnote” —they’ve become part of the core process. That sense of direction, that vision—you need that in a large organization. In my chain of command, we have about 7,500 people working, and I can’t possibly inspire all of them individually. But I can communicate where we’re headed, together with my team.

The second aspect is that I’m people-oriented. I can be quite strict and demanding—even with myself—but I always want to ensure that people are empowered to do the right things. I always try to foster good relationships, so that when things get tough, we can rely on them. Not just with my staff, but also within the Ministry of Defense as a whole: with the Commander of the Armed Forces, my boss, the Secretary-General, and government officials too.

Of course, good relationships are also important outside the Ministry of Defense—that is, with the other CIOs in the interdepartmental consultative body, the police, and key supply chain partners. And internationally, within NATO. I need to be able to call my German colleague. And I recently visited my American counterpart at the Pentagon. I must maintain a good relationship with her as well, even though we may not always agree on everything.

The third aspect I’d call a process-oriented approach. That’s less interesting for the private sector, but it is important for a defense organization. Ultimately, we are accountable to Parliament. We must act with care, always ensuring that it’s clear how, by whom, and when a decision was made.”

Technological developments are almost impossible to keep up with. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?
“Because we’re such a large organization, we’re able to draw on a vast amount of knowledge and expertise. For example, we have our own professors and PhD candidates in the fields of digitization, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, and so on. At TNO, we have large teams of people who closely monitor developments in defense technology on our behalf.

I always say, “Computing power is combat power,” and everyone uses that phrase now. So we fight with data, we fight with computing power, and we’ve formalized that as well.

I’m also very active myself. I visit many companies and organizations—worldwide. These can be leading defense companies or defense tech firms. I just returned from New York, where I visited companies with a team of technical experts. I want to understand for myself what companies are doing and how that could help us. I believe that as the CIO of a large organization, you must have a solid grasp of the subject matter. After all, the ministers—as well as the military leadership—rely on me to make the right decision when it counts. If I can’t explain something myself, I can’t act in an accountable manner either.”

Would greater collaboration with peers help you?
“This is already happening extensively. First and foremost, I’m part of the government’s CIO council, so I work with my interdepartmental colleagues, but also with the police and major agencies like the UWV and the Tax and Customs Administration. In addition, I’m part of a group with major Dutch companies such as ING, Shell, and KLM. That’s a small peer group of CIOs from larger Dutch organizations facing similar challenges.

And I’m also on NATO’s Digital Policy Committee. That’s the meeting where all of NATO’s CIOs sit. I have a lot of peer-to-peer contact there as well. So I might be collaborating more than you’d expect. And the great thing is that, to some extent, it’s also institutionalized: organized by either NATO or the Dutch government.”

What are you proud of?
“I’m proud that digitization has become an integral part of the Ministry of Defense’s core process. That we’ve gone from being a footnote to a chapter in our own right. I always say, “Computing power is combat power,” and everyone uses that phrase now. So we fight with data, we fight with computing power, and we’ve formalized that as well. The Ministry of Defense’s combat power is determined by three factors. There always has been operational readiness: to what extent are your people ready for combat? Then there is material readiness: to what extent is your equipment ready for combat? About a year ago, we added digital readiness. With that, we’re truly at the heart of what the Defense organization does. I think that is a wonderful achievement.”