Computacenter CIO on Leadership, Innovation & Transformation

The technology leadership landscape has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Once viewed primarily as technical stewards of infrastructure and systems, CIOs now find themselves at the forefront of business strategy and organisational transformation. This evolution reflects a fundamental change in how companies perceive technology — no longer as merely a support function, but as the driving force behind competitive advantage, customer experience, and operational excellence.

In the IT services sector, this transformation holds particular significance. Companies like Computacenter operate at the intersection of technological innovation and business value, navigating complex client demands while managing their own digital evolution. The sector faces unprecedented challenges: cloud migration, cybersecurity threats, talent shortages and the AI revolution have all converged to create both opportunities and pressures for technology leaders.

It is within this context that John Gibbs operates as Group CIO at Computacenter, bringing a wealth of experience from his previous roles at International Airlines Group and Rolls-Royce. With 35 years in the IT industry, beginning as a developer and architect before leading major transformation programmes, John embodies the modern CIO archetype — technically proficient yet business-focused, strategic yet practical.

“I’ve got responsibility for all aspects of IT and technology inside Computacenter,” he explains, describing a remit that encompasses everything from hardware infrastructure to applications. “Unlike a lot of CIOs, I also have responsibility for business transformation, and some operational aspects like business continuity and disaster recovery.”

Computacenter’s three-legged business model drives technology value

Computacenter operates what John describes as a “three-legged stool” approach to delivering technology services. This model addresses the full spectrum of client needs, from technology sourcing to managed services and professional services including strategic advice.

The first leg comprises value-added reselling of hardware and software technology products. “We can procure, build, configure, deliver, support through life and, ultimately, recover and recycle infrastructure from PCs for users through to high-end AI infrastructure for the Hyperscalers.” John notes.

The second leg extends into professional services, drawing on the expertise of over 2,000 consultants who advise, design, architect and implement solutions. 

The third leg completes the model with managed services — a comprehensive offering that spans workplace, networks, servers and storage, and cloud services. This capability enables Computacenter to innovate and collaborate with their clients to deliver real value.

Evolving CIO role requires business transformation at Computacenter

The transformation of the CIO role that John embodies is reflected in how he approaches technology leadership. Today’s technology leaders, he explains, must drive business outcomes and value through digital initiatives.

“There’s no part of the business that now isn’t digitalised in some shape or form,” John observes, “and people are looking to improve the outcomes from the investment in that technology.” This might involve enhancing customer experiences, increasing employee productivity or optimising operations.

What makes the CIO position valuable is the holistic perspective it provides. Unlike other executive roles that view the organisation through specialised lenses, the CIO role offers a comprehensive view. “The CIO is uniquely positioned to see what’s really going on inside a company,” John explains, “looking top to bottom and side to side, and actually probably has a better insight into how the business works.”

This perspective has informed Computacenter’s transformation initiative; rather than pursuing technology upgrades for their own sake, John and his team have taken a business-focused approach, identifying structural barriers to growth.

“We started off by asking, what are the things that really block or hinder the company going forward? These are things that actually have allowed us to grow for 19 years in a row, but actually, maybe now, a hindrance to us growing for the next 19 years.”

A central component involves the migration from SAP’s ECC 6.0 platform to the more advanced S/4HANA environment, providing an opportunity to reimagine business processes.

“The move to S/4HANA is a key component of that because we’ve been on ECC 6.0 now since 2011. We’ve got a huge amount of benefit out of that platform, but as everybody knows, SAP is moving away from ECC6 to S/4HANA, and the time is now right for us to move to do that journey,” John explains.

The S/4HANA implementation is being approached strategically, with careful consideration of which capabilities to standardise and which to customise. “S/4HANA presents a completely different set of opportunities than what we had with ECC6. So, we’ve been looking at how we maximise the exploitation of out-of-the-box capabilities to address the fundamentals, and thenapplying configuration focus where we see the potential to drive unique competitive advantage.”

Cybersecurity presents constant balancing act for Computacenter operations

The threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by geopolitical tensions and economic motivations. Computacenter faces these challenges both as an organisation protecting its own assets and as a service provider helping clients.

“We live in uncertain times,” John acknowledges. “Cybersecurity threats often reflect the political situation at a point in time. The risks to organisations range from state-sponsored cyber-attacks all the way down to individuals trying to infiltrate a business for the intellectual challenge - and everything in between.”

This reality drives Computacenter’s defensive strategy, which incorporates multiple layers of protection. The challenge lies in implementing robust protections without stifling business operations. “It’s a balance between risk and the need to protect the business, and then the balance is actually allowing the business to operate,” he explains, highlighting the tension between security and usability that all technology leaders must navigate. “So, we aim to defend against each one of the threats in different ways with different tools. On the flip side, you’ve got to allow the organisation to breathe and to be able to operate and to deliver effectively your customer commitments.”

Computacenter’s AI strategy focuses on four business areas

AI represents both an opportunity and a challenge for Computacenter. The company has developed a strategy that addresses AI from multiple perspectives: as a product to sell, a capability to enhance services, a consultative offering and a tool for internal optimisation.

The first element leverages Computacenter’s partnerships with leading AI technology providers to deliver advanced AI solutions to our customers such as the Hyperscalers. The second component incorporates AI capabilities into managed services, enhancing customer experience through intelligent automation.

The third aspect involves professional services, with Computacenter positioning itself as a trusted advisor for AI implementation. The fourth dimension focuses inward, applying AI technologies to enhance Computacenter’s own business processes.

“We’re using AI in terms of understanding customers’ requirements, mapping our portfolio to them, and generating the draft of a bid,” John notes. “We’re using it in terms of how we use inventory management in our warehouses. We’re using it in terms of finance and understanding our cost base.”

To accelerate innovation, Computacenter conducts global AI hackathons. A recent competition yielded 10 projects, half of which have progressed to production deployment, demonstrating commitment to practical implementation.

John emphasises that this advancement must occur responsibly. Computacenter has established an AI strategy board with representation from human resources, strategy and development, and legal departments to ensure initiatives align with organisational values and regulatory requirements.

“One of the big challenges of adopting AI is the ethical or responsible AI element,” John observes. “We’re working with our union representatives and works councils to make sure they’re comfortable with our AI strategy, because everything we want to do, we want to do it in the right way for our shareholders, the employees, and of course, our customers.”

Future CIO role requires diverse skills beyond technology management

John envisions further evolution of the CIO role, potentially expanding into broader operational and strategic leadership positions. As AI and automation increasingly handle operational tasks, technology leadership will focus more on orchestrating technological capabilities than managing human resources.

“As you move forward, and you start to see AI agents actually doing the work on a much bigger scale than currently, delivering the operational performance of the business becomes much more about controlling the technology and using the technology agents than it is just about how you get the best out of people,” he predicts.

John foresees a future where technology leaders could advance to the highest executive positions, even in non-technology companies. “I think you’ll eventually see, perhaps in another five years’ time, the upcoming CIOs now actually starting to become the CEOs of the future, not the CEOs of technology companies, but the CEOs of the consumer companies.”

This evolution demands an increasingly diverse skill set. The modern CIO must function as a visionary, architect, planner, change agent, orchestrator, security guardian, communicator, coach, ethical leader, financial manager and global citizen — all simultaneously.

“I always describe the role of the CIO as the rounded individual who really understands the technology, really understands the commercials of the business and the market levers, but also has really strong people leadership skills,” John reflects. “You need to bring all of that to the table. If you’re strong in one aspect and not the others, then you won’t make a very effective CIO.”

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.

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