Philip Carter is Group Vice President, Worldwide Thought Leadership Research. In this role, he leads a team of analysts at a global level focused on incubating and scaling IDC’s Thought Leadership research. The mission of this group is to create a platform for every IDC analyst to showcase and promote IDC’s thought leadership research across the globe. He works with various research teams in the organization on topics such as the C-Suite Tech Agenda, the evolution of Digital Transformation to the Digital Business Era, ESG/Sustainability, Digital Sovereignty, Web3, the Metaverse, Digital Skills as well as leading IDC’s CEO Annual Research Study.

Follow Philip on Twitter @carter_pc

Jen Thomson has more than 20 years’ experience advising IT Vendors, senior IT, and business execs on their digital business optimization and transformation strategies. She leads European Research for Accelerated App Delivery, Cloud, and Services. Her core goal is to drive synergies and growth across these research areas, with a central focus on thought leadership.

She specializes in providing insights on the investment strategies and decisions of European enterprises as they transition to modern application architectures. Her research explores app dev and delivery capabilities required to operate in a digital economy, and how this impacts enterprise organizational structures, culture, processes, tools, and skill sets. She leads the Future of Digital Innovation research for IDC Europe, exploring software innovation strategies and what this means in terms of end-user strategies, investment priorities, software sourcing, and KPIs. Thomson’s core research also explores enterprise maturity and strategies towards enterprise scale and empowered DevOps.

She is responsible for the execution of a broad range of consulting and advisory projects. As IDC’s European expert on application development and delivery strategies, Thomson is an experienced public speaker and regularly presents at conferences and IDC partner and end-user events.

She started her career at Compaq Computer EMEA as a senior research analyst. She has a bachelor’s degree in international business with German from Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom) and Pforzheim Fachhochschule (Germany).

Carla Arend is a senior program director with the European software and infrastructure research team, and heads up IDC’s European cloud research. Arend provides industry clients with key insight into market dynamics, vendor activities, and end-user adoption trends in the European cloud market. As part of her research, she covers topics such as how European organizations are adopting cloud, how cloud drivers and inhibitors are evolving, cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud, IoT and cloud, AI and cloud, Devops and cloud, as well as GDPR impact on cloud and cloud code of conduct.

In addition to syndicated research, Arend has worked on many custom consulting projects identifying opportunities in the European cloud market and has authored white papers on subjects such as cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud.

Arend is regularly asked to speak at industry events, strategy workshops, sales kick-offs and training, partner events, and end-user events.

Arend holds a BA in business administration from University of Mannheim and an MSc in business administration and management of technology from Copenhagen Business School, in addition to course work at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok.

Senior market intelligence analyst with 6+ years of experience specializing in emerging technologies, digital economy, and regulatory impacts. Proven expertise advising C-suite executives and technology vendors on strategic market entry, investment, and digital transformation. Skilled in delivering actionable insights, driving go-to-market strategies, and leading client engagements that support business growth and innovation.

Tom Major is the Senior Vice President of Product Management at GTT.  He is responsible for leading a global team of Product Managers that define, build and manage GTT’s networking, security, connectivity, voice, cloud and professional services product portfolio.  Prior to this role, Mr. Major spent 6 years leading the EMEA Solutions Consulting function at GTT, working directly with customers on their networking and security needs.  He has previously held technical leadership positions at Level 3 Communications, Virgin Media and TalkTalk Business.  Mr. Major holds an MSc. in Advanced Computer Systems and a BEng in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bath. He is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) since 2017.

Nick has recently joined Screwfix, the original omni-channel retailer focused on delivering excellent service to tradespeople and serious DIYers. He is responsible for driving the growth of Screwfix through building scalable digital platforms that make it really easy for colleagues to help customers and for customers to buy. As a member of the Screwfix board, and the Kingfisher Group Technology board, he will play a key role in shaping the technology direction for Screwfix.

Prior to joining Screwfix, Nick worked at Avon where he had a pivotal role in helping Avon achieve its vision of becoming the world’s #1 digital social selling business. He was responsible for delivering the right digital tools to unlock Avon’s e-commerce potential through leading Avon’s digital development work. His team created an exceptional digital experience for consumers and beauty entrepreneurs, and he worked closely with Avon’s markets to ensure these new digital products create real differentiation against the competition. Earlier in his career Nick worked at Belron – known for brands such as Autoglass – where he led the Digital and IT function and served on the Group’s Commercial Executive team. He was also responsible for leading the company IT strategy and for the transformation of the business to a digital customer service delivery model. Prior to Belron, Nick worked in IT at Procter & Gamble and also at a digital consultancy.

Allan Cockriel is Vice President & CIO Global Functions & Chief Information Security Officer for Shell since July 2020. He is part of the Executive Leadership Team of the IT Function.

In his current role, Allan leads the IT organisation to ensure maximum business value delivery through complex digital transformations across all Corporate Functions; and oversees the continuous improvement of the Information Risk and Cyber Security posture for Shell. Allan is an executive IT leader with over 19 years of IT and business transformation experience. He has built and lead diverse global organisations to deliver business productivity, complex digital transformations, embedding of IT controls and cyber security rigour.

Prior to joining Shell, Allan was Group CIO of Petrofac for two years. Before that Allan spent 14 years with General Electric and had a diverse career in financial, operational and senior IT leadership roles in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and Angola. Allan, who holds dual US/UK nationality, has degrees in Management Information Systems, Corporate Finance, and Risk Management from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management.

He is married to Fara, and they have two children. Outside work, he enjoys cooking, travel, hiking and listening to TED talks.

Ann Fogelgren is an ambassador for the new CIO leadership role. As an integral part of the business, her starting point is the customer, and her organizational tools for success are digital transformation, innovation, and diversity. Succeeding as a CIO requires multidisciplinarity. Keeping the focus on technological modernization drives the agile process transformation, and at the same time pushes for a cultural change based on diversity, inclusion and courage. Ann Fogelgren has secured the fundamental building blocks of the digital transformation and is ready to accelerate the digital journey, to strengthen and develop GN in a challenging market.

Since May 2020 Annette Hamann has been CIO at Beiersdorf and Managing Director of the IT at Beiersdorf Shared Services. In addition to modernizing the IT function, she particularly puts focus on the digital transformation of the Group. Annette has many years of international IT experience and worked in various regional and global IT positions at Procter & Gamble before joining Henkel in 2015 where she used to be responsible for Corporate Consulting and Enterprise Architecture.

Reto is Asahi Europe & International’s Group Chief Information Officer since early 2020.
His mandate is to transform the function to become a future proof transformation enabler for the Group. His main focus is on innovating, building and adopting digital tip-of-spear capabilities that grow revenue, while leveraging scale through process transformation, automation and shared services wherever possible.

Before joining Asahi, he was known internationally as an expert for Intelligent Automation. Reto pioneered strategy and implementation of IA for Mondelez, a $26 billion consumer-goods company.

During 2014-2017, prior to taking charge of global IA for Mondelez, he led transformation initiatives for all Europe: turned around IS as CIO for Central Europe; and orchestrated global business outsourcing and shared services for Mondelez.

Reto has tackled difficult turnarounds and mega-transformation projects since the earliest days of his career. As consultant with PwC, he drove the global-procurement transformation of Nokia, one of PwC’s biggest projects. He led turnarounds for Kraft Canada, and leveraged that experience to devise a global IT strategy for Mondelez, Kraft’s $30 billion spinoff.

Susanne Schustin is a modern, business-oriented CIO who drives business transformation through digitization. By modernizing both IT function and landscape, she has successfully created business agility with full focus on customers’ needs. She has a passion for data-driven decision-making and for creating competitive advantages with technology. With a professionally strong, agile and innovation-oriented IT organization that works with the latest methods and technologies, Susanne has created an attractive and diverse IT workplace and as an inspiring leader she has an eye for the employees’ development and the company’s long-term success.

Roberta is the leader of the European industry research team at IDC. Her responsibilities encompass overseeing research coverage across the full range of sectors, including Energy & Utilities, Resources, Financial Services, Healthcare and Life Science, Government, Infrastructure and Transportation, Manufacturing, and Retail.​

She is also involved in IDC’s Future of Industry Ecosystems and Future of Operations practices as the executive sponsor for Europe. ​

Roberta’s core expertise lies in industry and business transformation, with a distinct emphasis on the energy and utilities sector. She possesses a strong understanding of applying digital technologies to innovate core business processes, enhance customer experiences, and seamlessly integrate IT and operational technology.​

Moreover, drawing from her extensive background in industry research and strategic advisory, Roberta offers insights into industry-specific implications of topics such as artificial intelligence, the future of work, and sustainability. ​

These insights are provided to both technology suppliers and buyers seeking informed guidance.​

Roberta’s contributions extend beyond research and advisory, as she frequently speaks at conferences and moderates discussions. ​

Roberta is based in the IDC Italy office in Milan.​

Philip Carter is Group Vice President, Worldwide Thought Leadership Research. In this role, he leads a team of analysts at a global level focused on incubating and scaling IDC’s Thought Leadership research. The mission of this group is to create a platform for every IDC analyst to showcase and promote IDC’s thought leadership research across the globe. He works with various research teams in the organization on topics such as the C-Suite Tech Agenda, the evolution of Digital Transformation to the Digital Business Era, ESG/Sustainability, Digital Sovereignty, Web3, the Metaverse, Digital Skills as well as leading IDC’s CEO Annual Research Study.

Follow Philip on Twitter @carter_pc

Jen Thomson has more than 20 years’ experience advising IT Vendors, senior IT, and business execs on their digital business optimization and transformation strategies. She leads European Research for Accelerated App Delivery, Cloud, and Services. Her core goal is to drive synergies and growth across these research areas, with a central focus on thought leadership.

She specializes in providing insights on the investment strategies and decisions of European enterprises as they transition to modern application architectures. Her research explores app dev and delivery capabilities required to operate in a digital economy, and how this impacts enterprise organizational structures, culture, processes, tools, and skill sets. She leads the Future of Digital Innovation research for IDC Europe, exploring software innovation strategies and what this means in terms of end-user strategies, investment priorities, software sourcing, and KPIs. Thomson’s core research also explores enterprise maturity and strategies towards enterprise scale and empowered DevOps.

She is responsible for the execution of a broad range of consulting and advisory projects. As IDC’s European expert on application development and delivery strategies, Thomson is an experienced public speaker and regularly presents at conferences and IDC partner and end-user events.

She started her career at Compaq Computer EMEA as a senior research analyst. She has a bachelor’s degree in international business with German from Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom) and Pforzheim Fachhochschule (Germany).

Carla Arend is a senior program director with the European software and infrastructure research team, and heads up IDC’s European cloud research. Arend provides industry clients with key insight into market dynamics, vendor activities, and end-user adoption trends in the European cloud market. As part of her research, she covers topics such as how European organizations are adopting cloud, how cloud drivers and inhibitors are evolving, cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud, IoT and cloud, AI and cloud, Devops and cloud, as well as GDPR impact on cloud and cloud code of conduct.

In addition to syndicated research, Arend has worked on many custom consulting projects identifying opportunities in the European cloud market and has authored white papers on subjects such as cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud.

Arend is regularly asked to speak at industry events, strategy workshops, sales kick-offs and training, partner events, and end-user events.

Arend holds a BA in business administration from University of Mannheim and an MSc in business administration and management of technology from Copenhagen Business School, in addition to course work at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok.