Numbers define the business, but people define the numbers…
20 years = 24/7-365-7,300 days = 20 times CIODAY = 1,000+ speakers = 10,000+ visitors = 5,000+ bottles of wine @VIP dinners = 100+ CIO Magazines = 10,000+ stories = 150 TV streams.
Nice, all those stats, but the stories behind them do a better job of telling why it’s been going on for 20 years. And I’m not even talking about all those birth announcements, wedding cards – okay, the occasional divorce for balance – the trailing child cards, and unfortunately a few bereavement cards I received. In other words, I’m talking about all those real-life stories exchanged during personal contact moments.
For over 20 years.
We have been able to do great things and get many things done. For example, we facilitated things such as the Energy Efficiency Covenant, and higher education for CIOs: the MBA BIT at Nyenrode. With the CharITy Foundation, we collected 250K computers from Dutch CIOs and were able to donate them, for example, through the NGO Close The Gap, to organizations in Africa. We gave many startups and scale-ups a stage and awarded dozens of Innovation Awards to what are now big names like Picnic, Adyen, and Swapfiets, to name a few. It’s fun to give, just because you can!
We’ve been through big changes and ditto events. From crisis to a real bomb threat (at the Beurs van Berlage) to Covid-19. Yes, that last one sticks with me. Not so much because I lost 90 percent of sales at once in March 2020, but mainly because of the heartwarming loyalty of many partners who allowed me to experiment with new products and formats, and proudly keep things afloat – together with my team. The team I had, I put them all on indefinite contracts, right away. Call it reciprocity! And yes, I too felt the pain of losing a loved one (my father). But in the end, I experienced it as a living MBA! Yes, that’s the opportunist in me 🙂
We’ve had a lot of fun, too. With our American approach, to do things in a bigger-better-bolder way. Take the legendary Grand Openings of CIODAY with artists like Hans Klok and Candy Dulfer, but sometimes, it was more subdued. Last year, it was partially AI-made with Patricia H live on stage with her digital twin. In addition to the phenomenal food and drinks we’ve had artists like the Rosenberg Trio, Trijntje, FÄIS – the first artist with over 100M social media views, and of course, the good old Golden Earring. OK, I love music. OK, I love food! But facilitating all this is what I love most! And yes, sometimes that involves a little functional provocation…
I love shaking things up with our media productions through different content and an innovative glossy style. Together with my mates Hotze and later Arnoud, Sietse, Paul, and Felix. Besides CIO Magazine, CDO Magazine, BaaS, Outsource Magazine (OM), Tijdschrift IT Management (TITM), and the well-known BoardroomIT inserts in the FD. Until it stopped… You see, they were getting too thick. Thicker than the FD itself. And too good, according to their editor-in-chief. What a joke!
I’m proud of the institutionalization of CIODAY, the CIO of the Year Award, and CIO Magazine/CIO TV. Proud of my business partners and, of course, my life partner: my amazing soulmate and wife Regina, who is secretly the supporting force behind the scenes of all CIODAYs and hundreds of other conferences, summits, dinner shows, and so on. I’m proud of my team at ICT Media throughout all these years. And proud of the collaboration with CIO Platform Netherlands in those 20 years.
“Now what does the old man want?” you’ll ask. Maybe you just think: “This old guy is getting sentimental.” Or: “Are you going to wind down, Rob?” Or maybe: “What does he actually want to say?” Or: “Oh no!/Oh yes!” (depending on the perspective: partner or copycat). ”He’s not going to quit, is he?”
No, no, no! I have already turned down three takeover offers. Once again, nope. For now!
I am brimming with energy, ideas, and plans. Last year I co-founded a new and much-needed community for CISOs. I just moved into an extra floor in the J&B Tower/Marriot Hotel The Den in Den Bosch for a tried-and-true concept: The Bossche Boardroom 3.0! This is also where we’ll be hosting the Digital Knowledge Institute.
So… on November 19, we have the twentieth edition of CIODAY! And in 2025 we’ll organize the twenty-first, in addition to the second CISODAY and all the other new and ongoing activities. And on and on it goes… Believe me, ik heb er nog ongelofelijk veel sin an!”
Twenty years of the Dutch CIO community. Let’s celebrate together!
Will you be there?