Benelux CIO interview: Richard Ventre, SHV Holdings

Cross-industry focus at SHV

Six months later, Ventre was supplied a job at SHV Holdings and the chance to maneuver again to the Netherlands. He joined in January 2022 and now spends the week in Utrecht and weekends with the household in Liverpool.

“The opportunity attracted us because we knew the Netherlands and we liked the place. It also got me out of the ports and shipping sector, which is a good sector, but I didn’t want to become pigeon-holed,” says Ventre. “As the group CIO, [I work] across several industries, which was a big attraction for me.”

At SHV, Ventre has seven individuals reporting on to him. These embody heads of structure, info threat and safety, and the pinnacle of digital information, who all have their very own groups.

The companies inside SHV Holdings even have their very own IT groups. “We are a holding company and each business within SHV is completely independent with its own CIO and management board,” says Ventre.

The range of the companies within the group means there isn’t any one-size-fits-all digital transformation strategy. “This is a really key point,” in line with Ventre.

A various set of companies has various digital transformation methods. “Each business has its own digital strategy, and as a CIO at a group level that can be difficult. I am working with seven very different business strategies,” mentioned Ventre.

To handle this, the group has established a method, often called Better Together. “Whilst we are very different in terms of our operating models, businesses and industries, we have got a lot of commonalities in what we do around the classic commodity IT like networks, servers, service desk and application support,” he says.

“The Better Together strategy is looking at consolidating the supply chain for global partners who can introduce standards across commoditised IT. That created the platform to allow CIOs to focus on digital transformation of the business,” provides Ventre. “It will be low-cost, repeatable and based on standards, allowing CIOs across the group to focus on what’s important.”

He says he can’t drive digital transformation at group degree, however can help the CIOs of their endeavours. His technique is to scale back the price of commodity IT, set structure ideas and pointers, and permit CIOs the liberty to execute their digital transformation.

“We try not to get too involved in part three beyond governance. We respect the decentralised nature of our business, and the CIOs need autonomy, but there are some things that are non-negotiable, such as commodity IT and governance around certain digital transformations if a certain size,” says Ventre.

Digital transformation in prepare

Digital transformation throughout the group is effectively underway. For instance, SHV’s testing, inspection and certification enterprise, Kiwa, is utilizing digital expertise to enhance enterprise operations.

“A lot of that can now be done remotely using internet of things (IoT) technology. Component parts are hooked up to the internet and sending messages to enable predictive maintenance,” says Ventre. “Predictive maintenance is already being done, but eventually there will be remote certification and no need for the engineer to go onsite to check maintenance.”

SHV’s Eriks enterprise, which manufactures gear, can also be utilizing IoT expertise to supply digital providers. With prospects comparable to massive beer producers, Eriks would historically promote components and gear, however it now sells providers on prime. “The product now comes with software that allows the user to understand the product’s health through IoT technology.”

Ventre provides that upkeep groups at Eriks are additionally utilizing digital actuality for coaching and help throughout upkeep.

Meanwhile, in its Mammoet cranes enterprise, the usage of digital expertise is enhancing tasks. “A lot of time is wasted debating whether a job can continue during high winds,” says Ventre. “In the long run sensors can decide the wind velocity and permit for truth primarily based choice making ”

It can also be utilizing information to forecast, plan and threat assess jobs, which might have been carried out much less effectively on spreadsheets previously.