News

First of all, I wish you a healthy, inspiring, and successful 2026. The new year is always a moment of reflection and looking ahead.

Arjen de Ruiter (Director of Software Engineering at Essent) is asking us, members of CIO Platform Nederland, to provide 15 positions for highly educated refugees. Refugee Talent Hub recruits the candidates, and Harvest trains them to become fully qualified engineers. Essent and ABN AMRO are already on board—who’s next? Sign up here for the information session on January 27, from 1:00 PM  to 2:00 PM.

Ahead of the Franco-German summit on November 18, European CIO organizations issued a joint statement on digital strategic autonomy and European sovereignty.

A broad representation of the business community, including CIO Platform Nederland, has expressed concerns about the far-reaching authority granted to ministers to exclude products and services from suppliers on grounds of national security. In a letter (Dutch), they call on the House of Representatives to strengthen democratic control over this authority.

The kick-off event, Failure Festival on October 30th, was a huge success with more than 150 young and experienced Tech Leaders, half of whom are members of CIO Platform Nederland. A select group of leading tech professors (Hylke Sprangers, former CTO of Talpa and affiliated with Erasmus University, and Rini van Solingen, part-time professor at TU Delft) and CTOs (Anneke Keller, former CTO of Wehkamp and PostNL, and Willem Roskam, CTO of Efteling) launched NextGen Tech Leaders together with CIO Platform Nederland! CIO Platform Nederland facilitated the organization and promotion.

Members in the News: Joost Doelman, Business Consultant. In 2021, health insurer VGZ was one of the first service providers to implement self-organizing (Lean) customer teams and (Agile) creation teams, each responsible for complete value streams

Members in the News: Dutch IT - Leaders, André van der Linden, FloraHolland. After 26 years at Rabobank, André van der Linden embraced a new challenge as CIO of Royal FloraHolland. He leads the digital transformation of the world’s largest floriculture marketplace. With a focus on innovation, cybersecurity, and AI, he’s building a future-proof platform. His approach: collaboration, experimentation, and shared responsibility.

Laura Klaver (Thales), Alexander Zwart (Rabobank), Matthijs Zwart (Vitens), and Kurt De Ruwe (AkzoNobel) are all in the running for this prestigious title. In addition, the companies Hyfen, QuantWare, and Avular have been nominated for the Tech Hero Award 2025. Both awards will be presented on Tuesday, November 25, during the 21st edition of CIODAY.

On October 29th, the Netherlands will elect a new House of Representatives. This is a crucial moment, because the digital transition affects all sectors of our society. From education to healthcare, from business to government. But politicians themselves must also become more digitally proficient. Unfortunately, a glance at the candidate lists does not inspire hope: digital expertise is scarce, and that is worrying.

This tool is part of the CYRA method. With the CYRA method, companies can map, improve, and demonstrate the digital resilience of their business processes. The Centre for Crime Prevention and Safety (CCV) manages the method and has made it even more user-friendly.

Members in the News: KWD Quality Management (magazine for project management and agile management) - Michiel Zeeman, Program Manager at the Ministry of Defense. The Royal Navy has several drivers for change. The new geopolitical reality is an important one. Not only has the North Sea become more unsafe, but the threat landscape in Europe and beyond has also become more intense.

Members in the News: DataNews - Ans Verlooy (Group Digital & Data Director), Renewi Waste is not the end it’s the beginning of something new. At Renewi, Ans Verlooy is leading the digital transformation toward a circular production company, where technology drives sustainable impact