IT Life: Ron Tolido, Capgemini CTO
Global Chief Technology Officer for Capgemini’s Insights & Data organisation, Ron Tolido, discusses hit IT career, excitement for AI, and a love of Apple products
What is your role and who do you work for?
Global Chief Technology Officer for Capgemini’s Insights & Data organization.
How long have you been in IT?
Actually, when I was 12, our school was the first in the country to have a PDP 8 and I started programming right away; if that’s a valid start of being in IT, I’d be 45 years in now.
What is your most interesting project to date?
We developed commercial, graphical IT modelling software and captured a significant part of the West-European market from scratch; we were literally a startup within our global enterprise and it felt like nothing else.
What is your biggest challenge at the moment?
There is the sheer luxury of many exciting digital projects going on across the globe; I’m still working on replicating myself, in order to get involved in more of the fun.
What technology were you working with ten years ago?
A lot of mobile application development was going on at that time; the concept of smartphones was quickly emerging.
What is your favourite technology of all time?
That would have to be the MacBook Air; I’ve had quite a few by now and they still amaze me. In terms of programming languages, I still consider Smalltalk coming from outer space.
How will the Internet of Things affect your organisation?
The Internet of Things will seamlessly merge with IT as we know it; so everybody will be impacted by it. Soon, we won’t be able to recall the times without it.
What smartphone do you use?
An iPhone. Again. I have stubbornly tried several Windows Phones for two years, but the apps were simply not at par yet. I don’t like the messy Android user experience.
What three apps could you not live without?
I’ll have to be boringly predictable here: our corporate BlackBerry Work app (I know, I know), Spotify, LinkedIn. The Philips Hue app is pretty crucial too, especially when it gets dark outside.
What new technology are you most excited for a) your business and b) yourself?
The next generation of AI (artificial intelligence) technologies is absolutely compelling, and this time it’s here to stay. For myself, augmented and virtual reality are more than promising; I won’t mind a few drones either.
If you weren’t doing the job you do now, what would you be doing?
I’d be writing dark, confusing novels. Still might, sooner or later.
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