Chief Disruptor LIVE made an incredible in-person return last week at The May Fair Hotel. Members, partners and speakers all converged for a day of keynotes, interviews, panels, roundtable discussions and networking. We discussed and debated the meaning of disruption, data transformation, work and wellbeing, tech for positive change, the metaverse and so much more. There might also have been a few glasses of prosecco to top it all off! Join me as we reflect upon five key takeaways from a jam-packed Chief Disruptor LIVE:

Whether organisations are mid-migration or yet to start their journey, complex, risky and expensive big data cloud migrations are staring them in the face. Siloed data, cultural issues, high costs, a skills shortage and end of support life can block the path towards a unified data platform. And, the case for innovative, data-driven insights is weakened by risks associated with information security and regulation. So what can organisations do to simplify and de-risk these big data cloud migrations? Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Unravel Data, Appsbroker and Google Cloud, brought together members from across industry to lend support, share challenges and, perhaps most importantly, enjoy a cheese twist or two. The evening began with a presentation from Eric McCarty, Solution Manager for Data Warehouse Modernization at Google and Matt Penton, Head of Data & Analytics at Appsbroker.

Hiring new talent is no longer just about what the employees can offer, but what value the organisation can provide in return. As our State of Recovery Report found, “hiring new talent” to be the top initiative for organisational growth. Mike Miller, the Director of Talent Acquisition at Chipotle has seen first-hand which strategies work best for onboarding new employees, and he relishes crafting the people experience at the restaurant chain. We spoke with Mike to find out what the modern talent landscape looks like, and what Gen Z employees are looking for when considering a new role at Chipotle.

Sales and marketing teams have been under immense pressure from the unpredictability and uncertainty of the last 2 years and, arguably, today’s business environment is more competitive than ever. Now, organisations are realising the need to accelerate sales technology innovation to adapt to changing markets. However, this process is often hampered by outdated tools, ineffective human processes and poor forecasting. What emerges is a widening sales execution gap, the gap between potential and actual performance. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Outreach, brought members together to discuss strategies for building a data-driven, future-fit sales strategy that can meet the buying expectations of a digital-first world.

Cyber and ransomware attacks have bumped up the priority list of board-level decision makers, and for good reason - 75% of UK businesses have been affected by an attack. However, what is often overlooked is the role of technology risk management. Organisations now have more distributed, complex and, ultimately, risky, technology infrastructure than ever before. Hybrid working, supply chain challenges, as well as untracked mispractice, such as unsanctioned applications and password files, are adding to this complex picture. And, with out-of-date, inaccurate and manual technology risk management, tech and business leaders aren’t always well equipped to tackle the growing level of technology risk. It is, therefore, a crucial time to embrace and further a new, data-driven technology risk management paradigm. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Tanium, brought together technology and business leaders to share experiences of implementing, adopting and communicating a new approach to technology risk management. The evening, full of insightful debate, cat stories and food, began with a scene-setter from Oliver Cronk, Chief IT Architect for EMEA at Tanium.

Our 2022 Disruptive Trends Report highlighted that augmented reality and virtual reality will become a key tool to engage audiences in the next 3 years. So how can leaders apply immersive tech as an opportunity to give customers memorable CX? Joe Williams, Head of Immersive Tech at UK publishing group LADBible, joined us at Chief Disruptor LIVE last October to give us an insight into what it really means to work in the extended reality sector, and what opportunities can be grasped across industries.

Does our supply chain include Russia? Should we be in the metaverse? Do we have a ransomware recovery plan? Even, should top managers have landlines? 2 years ago, some of these questions would be laughed out of meetings or boardrooms. However, these questions of risk, whether that be financial, operational or political, now occupy the headspace of business and technology leaders. Our interconnected and complex world has seen businesses begin to rethink risk and, more crucially, how to manage it. In particular, over the last two years, emphasis has been placed on rethinking how to mitigate and manage technology risk; with tech and business leaders feeling ill-equipped to tackle the level of technology risk found in modern technology infrastructure. It is, therefore, a crucial time to consider a new technology risk management paradigm. Below, I lay out the fundamentals of this new TRM approach and examine how adopting a new approach could benefit your organisation.

The Superbowl is known for being the annual event of the year in the US, with a staggering viewership of 100 million back in 2019. That same year, the competitive gaming event ‘League of Legends’, run by EXCEL ESPORTS, surpassed the famous sports event, drawing in an audience of over 103 million. So, as the gaming industry grows to £228bn worldwide in worth, what is the future for digital sports, versus the traditional? At Chief Disruptor LIVE, we sat down with Co-Founder of EXCEL ESPORTS, Kieran Holmes-Darby, to hear about how the company was born in the local pub, what it meant to be digital-first, and the future of the gaming industry.

25 years ago, social media was an alien concept, involving only a singular platform: SixDegrees.com. Fast forward to 2022, and having a social media presence has not only become part of our daily lifestyle but an essential tool for businesses, if they want to stay in the competitive lane. MOB Kitchen is the social media born food company, whose 1-minute recipe videos now attract an audience of 856k followers on Instagram, and leads the example in how to successfully build an online audience. We sat down with the founder, Ben Lebus, to find out how he grew MOB Kitchen from nothing, and where he sought out new opportunities to grow with online platforms.

2022 has seen a monumental shift as organisations mitigate the risks of legacy platforms and seek to capitalise off the myriad of new capabilities and possibilities modern platforms present. For tech leaders at the start of their optimisation journey, mastering their data platforms can be a daunting challenge. Those further along their journey, face complex data ecosystems often plagued by rising costs, dwindling performance levels and limited observability. The route to optimisation is not always clear. It is, however, those little-known insights into how to maximise tooling, free up capacity and troubleshoot issues faster that can provide the key to these common challenges. Nimbus Ninety, in partnership with Unravel Data and Databricks, brought together technology and data experts to connect, share challenges and offer up actionable insights to master a modern data platform.