CIO_awards_header_2015IT heads at Manulife, Ageas and AAHK named CIOs of the year

By Sheila Lam | 30 Mar 2015

Hong Kong CIO Awards has reached its fourth year. Aiming to identify IT leaders who demonstrate outstanding vision and execution, the awards program is organized by Computerworld Hong Kong and CIO peer network CIO Connect. Winners were announced on March 19, during Computerworld Hong Kong’s CIO Leadership Forum.

Selected by the panel of judges led by the panel chairperson Nick Kirkland, chief executive at CIO Connect, this year’s winners are Manulife’s Lilian Wong, Ageas’ Henk ten Bos and Andy Bien from Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK).

Awarded for Large Enterprise CIO for 2015, Wong at Manulife was singled out for her “clear vision of understanding

[and] setting up structured IT initiatives to support the business,” according to the judges. Wong is also the first female CIO to receive this Award.

“I am honored to receive the Hong Kong CIO Award 2015. I would like to thank the panel judges for their recognition of the accomplishments of our work at Manulife,” said Lilian Wong, Vice President and CIO at Manulife. “This is also a company and team award. We could not have achieved so much without such a committed team, nor strategic vision from our senior management in investing in IT.”

Meanwhile, Ageas’s CIO Henk ten Bos, also from the insurance industry, scooped the prize of Medium Enterprise CIO of 2015. He was identified by the judges for “his commitment in changing the traditional IT environment to support the fast changing face of the insurance industry.”

“It’s good to see two insurance companies winning this award, proving it is not really a boring industry. A great CIO should be a visionary leader seeking not only operational improvements but also creation of strategic values so as to bring real business returns,” said Henk ten Bos, CIO of Ageas.

New category for pubic sector
Aiming to recognize the different achievements of CIOs from the private enterprises and public sector, a new category—Public Sector CIO—was introduced. The first winner of this award goes to Andy Bien, CIO at Airport Authority Hong Kong.

CIO-awards2015-2“I’m very honored to receive this award. It’s a very warm feeling because the judges are also ex-CIOs, so they truly understand our challenges and winning this award makes me feel deeply moved. This award also goes to my team, because the CIO is also part of the team and without their support, I can’t achieve anything. I thank you for the encouragement and will continue to work harder to make IT a more impactful profession,” said Andy Bien, CIO at Airport Authority Hong Kong.

Judging process and criteria
These awards were created specifically to put the spotlight on IT leaders in Hong Kong and Macau with submissions accepted only if the nominating CIO is based in these two cities. Past winners have come from Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Broadband and MTR.

CIOs who led companies with an IT budget of USD10 million and above were considered in the Large Enterprise CIO category. IT leaders from government departments, statutory bodies and non-profit organizations were eligible for the Public Sector category.

Award nominees had to provide testimonial from their superior, and complete a detailed submission form to demonstrate their achievement. Judges evaluated the submission based on the following key areas:
• Technology-led or technology-enabled innovation
• Creation of significant business value
• Delivery of business/technology transformation
• Development of IT organization and staff

Winners of the award are truly IT leader that deserve recognition and served as an inspiration to our CIO community in Hong Kong.

Judging Committee:
Nick Kirkland, CEO CIO Connect (Judging Committee Chairman)
Ted Suen, Head of IT at MTR (2013 winner – large enterprise CIO)
Eric Ho, CIO Hong Kong Broadband (2013 winner – medium enterprise CIO)
Andy Chun, CIO, City University HK (2012 winner – medium enterprise CIO)
Po-Chi Wu, Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
YB Yeung, formerly at HSBC
Raymond Wong, formerly at Immigration Department, HKSAR Government
Tom Sheppard, formerly at Cable and Wireless HKT
Steve Ungs, former Field CIO, PepsiCo Asia Middle East and Africa (AMEA)
Reza Bahrami, former CIO Asia Pacific, HanesBrands.

Link to the article of CWHK: http://cw.com.hk/news/it-heads-manulife-ageas-and-aahk-named-cios-year

Homepage ComputerWorld Hong Kong – March 2015: http://www.htenbos.nl/wp-content/uploads/20150330-ComputerWorld-HK-Homepage.pdf