“I love IOT, but not because I love IOT is because we love what we can do with IOT. We love what we can do with APIs. We love what we can do with the different pieces of technology.”

How is digital immersion leveraging innovation? What is more important: inclusion or diversity?

In this #LeadershipDeepDive episode Marina Bellini, CIO & CDO of BAT talks with Hendrik Deckers about the organisation’s transformation journey, creating new channels to directly connect with the customer in a company that has traditionally been an indirect business, the importance of inclusion, cloud-first strategy and practical value of data. Marina and BAT put huge emphasis on sustainability :

✅ On the way to become carbon neutral
✅ Bringing more customers into the reduced risk products
✅ Powering data centers with green energy
✅ Reducing plastic & becoming paperless

Marina is a truly empathic leader, demanding, yet always understanding and caring. She is a visionary, who in spite of an amazing career, remains humble. “I just know how much I don't know, and I still have to learn in my life”, she says. Make sure you watch the whole interview and absorb all the knowledge of this expressive digital leader!

Every year CIONET nominates top CxOs as finalists of the European Digital Leader of the Year. Marina represents UK in the B2C category. Join us on the special edition of #CIONEXT on November 10 at 14:30 CET where we will feature all the finalists of the B2B & B2C categories and announce winners. Register at https://www.cionext.com/

Table of contents:

01:03 | Introduction and Marina Bellini’s background

02:54 | About BAT

04:22 | Multi-category strategy to fit customer needs

06:14 | Role of technology and digital in BAT’s transformation

07:41 | New ways of getting to know the customer

15:07 | Mastering the data

18:59 | Bringing the change

22:55 | Digital sustainability

25:22 | Cloud-first strategy

27:24 | Marina’s digital team

29:39 | Becoming agile

32:14 | Changing role of CIO

36:13 | Setting up innovation

43:21 | Marina’s management style

47:16 | Marina’s leadership style

48:33 | MBTI: the Campaigner

50:02 | Marina’s ways to relax

56:22 | Marina’s core values

57:28 | Important mentors

01:02:40 | The best & worst moments in life

01:05:50 | Advice for people starting out