The CIO Show: What it takes to win the CIO50 in 2021

It’s that time of year again, with nominations open for both the Australian and New Zealand ‘2021’ CIO50 lists this coming Wednesday, June 23. The CIO50 2020 was arguably the most significant recognition of how tech leaders in Australia and New Zealand helped their organisations deal with COVID-19. And as we've heard, it also resulted in five - or even 10 - years' worth of digital projects being brought forward. In this episode listen to CIO Australia editor-in-chief, Byron Connolly and CIO New Zealand editor, Sarah Putt reflect on the key moments from last year’s awards, which of course featured a lot of entries describing how CIOs – and their teams – harnessed the best digital tools to help their organisations survive the pandemic. We reflect on the top three CIOs working on each side of thew ditch in 2020, and what made them stand put the most in such competitive fields. As you’ll hear, both Connolly and Putt expect this year’s nominees to be largely judged according to their ability to ensure the crisis didn’t go to waste. With five or even 10 years’ worth of digital projects being brought forward across the board, this has surely been a massive opportunity for CIOs to shine. Enabling and supporting work from home and the so-called new normal certainly defined 2020 for most CIOs, but with so much trust – and power – vested in them by the c-suite and senior management, the past six or so months have been an opportunity to chart ambitious new digital roadmaps extending well into the future. Last year’s awards reflected a profession changing in important ways, with a woman claiming top spot in New Zealand, and a record three women named in the top 10 in Australia. There were also encouraging signs of greater ethnic diversity, which we look forward to seeing replicated, or even bettered for 2021. And as Connolly and Putt both emphasise, the CIO50 is as much about the recognition of great technology teams, as it is about individual achievements, so we encourage anyone working in tech across Australia and New Zeala