When people hear my title — chief digital and information officer — most of them immediately think of technology — cloud, Data, AI, Cybersecurity. They imagine servers, dashboards, code. And, to be fair, all of that is part of my world.
But if I describe my job only in terms of technology, I am telling you a very incomplete story. Over the last few years, I’ve come to see my role as the architect of a three-layer stack: Tech, talent and storytelling.
Think of it as a new kind of CDIO architecture. If any layer is weak, the whole thing wobbles.
Let me start from the bottom. As with any robust structure, the base is always the best place to start.
Layer 1: Tech — The platforms that quietly carry the weight
The first layer is the one everyone ‘expects’. We built strong platforms: cloud infrastructure that can flex with the business, :
- Product owners who understand a real business process and can shape a digital solution around it.
- Business translators who can take a problem from a plant or a function and express it in terms that data and tech teams can actually build.
- Digital champions embedded in plants and offices who are the first level of advocacy and support.
In one of our plants, for example, the quality team became the champion for a product line traceability project. They knew the COPQ and impact on yield, the quirks of the line, the real pain points. When they co-owned the solution, adoption went up dramatically. Not to mention the real-world measurable benefits we could draw from the project.
We tapped existing people who were naturally curious and tech-friendly. We brought in a few from outside. And we deliberately created career paths that rewarded those who could bridge the two worlds.
The quality of conversation changed. Instead of business saying “IT is pushing tools we don’t need” and IT saying “business doesn’t know what it wants,” we started having joint discussions about required outcomes – reducing rework, improving forecast accuracy, cutting order cycle time, improving first-time-right.
The stack was getting stronger. But something was still missing.
Layer 3: Storytelling — The narrative that makes it all make sense
The third layer is the one that surprised even me.
We noticed a pattern. Even when we had good platforms and strong talent, some initiatives would start with a bang and fizzle out. The technology worked. The pilot results were good. But momentum died. When we dug deeper, we realised the issue was not in the code. It was in the story.
The operators on the shop floor, the sales teams, the plant heads and the board were all hearing slightly different stories about “digital”.
For some, it sounded like extra work.
For others, it sounded like a threat.
For a few, it sounded like a distant corporate project that didn’t touch their day.
We needed one simple, honest narrative that made sense to all of them.
For a cable plant supervisor, the story has to be:
“This tool will reduce your rework, make your shift handover easier, and help you go home on time.”
For a sales leader, the story might be:
“This analytics model will help you predict demand better so you don’t lose orders because of stock-outs, and you don’t get stuck with inventory you can’t move.”
For the board, the story is:
“These capabilities will make the company more resilient, more competitive and better prepared for new business models.”
The underlying platforms are the same. The data is the same. The AI models may even be the same. But the way we frame it changes completely depending on who is listening. That is where
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