We speak to Reema Jain, CIO of Unilever about how to ensure IT teams remain focussed while innovating with new technology
One only has to listen at how business leaders talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) to appreciate how much the role of the CIO is changing. For some, like Reema Jain, who has been in technology for 25 years, this is a fundamental shift.
Jain recently became CIO at the consumer packaged goods giant Unilever having previously worked as its global vice president of digital technologies. As the company’s CIO, Jain’s role involves leading a major transformation across Unilever’s global technology network. She reports to Unilever’s chief digital and technology officer, Sam Kini.
Jain believes the role of the CIO is evolving in the new world, from a pure technologist to a true commercial leader. “What I really mean,” she says, “is that we are shifting from delivering IT and technology to being at the centre of business strategy, unlocking enterprise-wide value.”
“Success is now getting defined by enterprise impact rather than technology delivery. And thanks to all the new innovation avenues opened up by AI, the conversation is now shifting from what technology we should deploy to what value and opportunity we can create. So the next gen technology is all about unlocking entire new frontiers and creating business opportunities that were previously unimaginable.”
Jain is a firm believer that the true power of technology is achieved when it moves from what she describes as “classes to masses”. In other words, the tech moves from theory and isolated use cases to where it is actually delivering value and is achieving genuine business impact for people and communities. “Today in business, AI is transforming how companies innovate, operate, and serve customers. What was once an emerging technology is now becoming a fundamental layer of modern life embedded into our daily routine at work and at home,” she says:
She says CIOs should strive to make their team ready for technology change. As a CIO, she says: “The biggest thing for us is to lead by example. I play around with a lot of the new tech. There’s a lot of hands-on playing with these tools because my strategy is just not a PowerPoint presentation. I want to open my eyes to the art of the possible.” She says her team is also starting to play with new tools and technologies to understand how they can deliver business value.
“To unlock the power of technology, you need an appreciation where the value is unlocked. We need to challenge ourselves, understand and learn. Sometime we don't have all the answers, but that’s okay because we can take a leap of faith, go forward and we can pivot if we have made a wrong decision.”
For Jain, adapting to the pace of technology change, whether it is the shift to an architecture like cloud-native computing or the ambition amongst business and technology leaders to drive AI adoption, is about building trust with people. She says: “What I've learned is that whichever technology transformation you go through, the job is not about technology itself. The job is about people and trust.
“With each wave, the temptation is to lead with the tool. But what actually moves an organisation is whether people believe you understand their world and have their back; the tech is an easy part. But bringing people with you on the journey is much more important.”
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