Miao Song of MARS Petcare wins “CIO of the Year Europe 2020”
GDS Group, the global events, research and technology services company, has today announced the winners of its annual Europe CIO of the Year awards.
- CIO of the Year awarded in recognition of business transformation efforts during the pandemic which helped support pets and their owners during the crisis
- CIO of the Year Awards took place during virtual ceremony at CIO Insight Summit hosted by GDS
- Silver and Bronze awarded to Stefan Latuski, CIO, Siemens Mobility and Nicolas Bogucki, CIO, L’Olivier Assurance (Admiral plc) respectively
4th November 2020, Bristol, UK: GDS Group, the global events, research and technology services company, has today announced the winners of its annual Europe CIO of the Year awards. Miao Song, Global CIO of MARS Petcare (based in Belgium) was awarded Gold Winner, at the CIO of the Year Awards Europe during a live virtual ceremony at the CIO Insight Summit 2020.
MARS Petcare is responsible for some of the world’s most recognisable pet food brands, including PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS® and ROYAL CANIN®. It’s 85,000 associates globally work towards the common purpose of providing A Better World For Pets™, a world where they’re healthy, happy and welcome.
In awarding Miao, the judges commented, “Miao impressed us with her personal leadership of the business transformation project, the scope and scale of which is truly staggering. She demonstrated great use of digital technologies and AI to transform the business, provided innovative direct-to-customer solutions (during lockdowns) and helped to connect pet owners with their vets. All of this contributed directly to the wellbeing of many, with healthy pets playing a lifesaving role for many during the recent crisis.”
“To do all of this while having the best business year ever is amazing, and is why she gained high scores across the board.”
Spencer Green, chairman and founder of GDS Group comments, “With pets playing such an important role in the support of our mental health, the need to look after them so they can look after us has never been more important than it is now. These awards recognise those CIOs that delivered value through innovation, doing the right thing and improving outcomes for their organizations. Against these metrics, Miao delivered in spades.”
Miao said, “As the global CIO of MARS Petcare, I am proud to work with a business of 85,000 associates who are inspired to create a better world for pets. To achieve our goals and ambition and future proof our petcare business, my team and I are delivering measurable value at speed and scale by harnessing digital and technology capabilities to drive business priorities faster, making digital interventions to enable savings and efficiencies, enable digital consumer experience and modern and future ready digital supply chain, and building new digital capabilities to capture business growth and innovate during the crisis. It is breakthrough.”
In addition to the Gold “CIO of the Year” award, two further awards were announced. Stefan Latuski, CIO, Siemens Mobility received the Silver Leadership Excellence Award Europe 2020 and Nicolas Bogucki, CIO, L’Olivier Assurance (Admiral plc) received Bronze.
About the Leadership Excellence Awards
The Leadership Excellence Awards recognize excellence in senior leadership within large enterprises, whether that be through innovation, inspiring colleagues, making excellent decisions, bravery, or achieving outstanding business growth.
About the CIO Digital Summit
A three-day virtual event for CIOs which took place 2-4th November 2020. Through a series of multi-dimensional keynotes, live Q&As and interactive sessions, the CIO Digital Summit provided a platform for CIOs to tackle pressing industry challenges & opportunities with likeminded IT experts.
Media resources
- Download photo of Spencer Green, chairman and founder of GDS Group here
- Press release: Physical events will not return until 2022
About GDS Group
GDS Group is a global events, research and technology services company dedicated to helping clients meet the challenges posed by a fast-moving, disruptive business environment. Our B2B summits and events bring purchaser and provider communities together to find solutions to real-world business challenges. To learn more about the events we produce and the challenges we help overcome, check out our website here.