Mark Raskino

Cannes is getting closer and it will be my ninth – boy how time flies by in this job! I have been watching the US event closely this week and staying in touch with my team colleagues over there  – getting feedback and thinking how I’ll deliver in Europe.

My main Monday presentation on CEO concerns (delivered by my team mate Jorge Lopez in Orlando) has been getting some really good feedback and you’ll see quite a lot of our analysis mentioned in some of the opening keynote speeches.  The trouble is there’s just so much to say about how business and economic conditions are going to impact the IT landscape and the demand pattern hitting the CIO’s desk.  Its hard to know what to leave out.

I’m really looking forward to my Wednesday mastermind interview, co-hosted with Linda Cohen, who will be over from the US.   I have mentioned the interviewee’s name to many people in the last few weeks – and it has sometimes drawn a blank look.  So perhaps we are interviewing the most important CIO you never heard of…  Alan Matula is Group CIO of the World’s biggest company.  In fact I’m typing this from Den Haag – where Shell has its international headquarters. 

  Those in the seated audience of 2000 or so, about half of them CIOs themselves, are in for a real treat. We’ll be getting IT management wisdom and insight from a very senior and experienced industry figure who has been in an internal IT role most of his career but rarely shares his views publicly. 

 A priviledge indeed – I’m looking forward to it!