Ilze Cools: ‘I provide direction for change and inspire people to take action’
October 29, 2026
Members in the News | IT Executive - Ilze Cools, CIO of Dura Vermeer, has been nominated for the CIO of the Year Award. Over the past three years, she and her team have delivered a broad digital transformation. Their approach focuses not only on technology, data and AI, but above all on the people who need to work with them. According to Ilze, the role of the CIO is increasingly shifting towards change management and adoption.
At Dura Vermeer, the IT organisation has evolved in recent years from a primarily operational department into a strong business partner, ready to take the next steps in digitalisation, data and AI. Under the leadership of Ilze Cools, the organisation completed a full cloud transformation and is continuing to develop a platform-oriented way of working.
A key next step is to better connect and leverage data. Through the ‘From Searching to Finding’ programme, information is being cleaned up, structured and archived, after which AI will help make this knowledge more easily accessible. At the same time, Dura Vermeer is building a data and AI platform and further developing its identity and access management capabilities.
According to Ilze, successful digital transformation is ultimately about more than technology alone. Employees need to understand why change is necessary and be given the opportunity to use technology in a safe and valuable way. This is why she places strong emphasis on communication, collaboration, adoption and clear priorities. This combination of technology, business and people-centred leadership earned her a nomination for the CIO of the Year Award.
Read the article here.
A key next step is to better connect and leverage data. Through the ‘From Searching to Finding’ programme, information is being cleaned up, structured and archived, after which AI will help make this knowledge more easily accessible. At the same time, Dura Vermeer is building a data and AI platform and further developing its identity and access management capabilities.
According to Ilze, successful digital transformation is ultimately about more than technology alone. Employees need to understand why change is necessary and be given the opportunity to use technology in a safe and valuable way. This is why she places strong emphasis on communication, collaboration, adoption and clear priorities. This combination of technology, business and people-centred leadership earned her a nomination for the CIO of the Year Award.
Read the article here.
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