As the pace of digital transformation accelerates, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: CIOs can no longer go it alone. At this year’s CIOmove, Gregor von Jagow, Country Manager Germany at Red Hat, is set to challenge traditional thinking about IT leadership, software strategy, and AI integration. His message to fellow CIOs is bold, yet pragmatic – the future of digital success lies not just in technology, but in how it’s led, shared, and scaled across the business.
Breaking the CIO Silos: Collaboration Over Control
Too many digital initiatives still fail because they’re driven from within the tech silo. Von Jagow emphasizes that innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s not enough for CIOs to optimize systems and deploy platforms; they must actively partner with their peers across the C-suite. Without joint ownership, business transformation stalls – or worse, misses the mark entirely. Success increasingly depends on aligning IT strategy with business ambition, breaking down functional barriers, and embedding cross-disciplinary collaboration into the culture.
Open Source, Open Future
In an age of rising geopolitical tensions and growing pressure for tech sovereignty, many enterprises are re-evaluating their reliance on proprietary software. Von Jagow will make the case that open source isn’t just a development model – it’s a strategic imperative. It offers flexibility, transparency, and resilience at a time when vendor lock-in and opaque systems are becoming liabilities. But moving to open technologies isn’t a plug-and-play switch – it requires new ways of thinking, building, and leading.
AI at the Edge of Opportunity – and Overhype
While AI dominates tech headlines, von Jagow encourages a more grounded conversation: is AI truly transforming your core business – or is it just a shiny object? He argues that many organizations lack the cultural readiness and data maturity to extract meaningful value from AI. It’s not about how many models you deploy, but how tightly those models align with real business needs. And as AI tools increasingly span clouds, data centers, and edge devices, the need for adaptable, interoperable infrastructure becomes mission-critical.
The Real Challenge: Change Leadership
Across all his themes, a common thread emerges: digital transformation is less about tools and more about transformation itself. That means rethinking leadership, tearing down silos, and challenging comfort zones – whether it’s the comfort of proprietary ecosystems or outdated team structures.
At CIOmove, Gregor von Jagow will speak not just about technology, but about the mindset shifts needed to lead through complexity, uncertainty, and rapid change. For CIOs looking to do more than “keep the lights on,” his insights offer a timely call to action.
