Boldo | IT Transformation: the Commando Method for IT Performance

Graduated as an engineer from EPFL in microtechnology, Florian Simonet has built a career of more than 30 years at the heart of information systems transformation, in complex industrial and international environments.

As a CIO, he has led large-scale initiatives combining organisation, processes and systems, before focusing more deeply on IT transformation roles. This dual perspective, both business-oriented and IT-driven, now forms the foundation of his approach.

In early 2024, Florian chose to work as an independent CIO, taking on targeted assignments where the priority is to regain control of the information system, deliver a rapid diagnosis, align stakeholders and define a transformation path that can realistically be executed.

In this interview, he shares a very hands-on view of IT performance, the role of enterprise architecture as a steering tool, and execution in constrained and high-pressure contexts.

From CIO to IT Transformation Leader

Sylvain Melchior : Hello Florian. Your background is particularly rich. After many years in senior roles within large organisations, what led you you to focus on IT transformation as an independent consultant?

Florian Simonet : It is something that has been on my mind for a long time. I have been working for about 30 years now. I had the opportunity to build a career in IT, holding CIO roles in several organisations, but I also worked as a Supply Chain Director. This dual role always kept me very close to the business.

As for the turning point, I had long considered ending my career as a consultant. I even tried it once about twelve years ago, but my first client ended up hiring me internally again.

What changed two years ago is that I felt the timing was right to make this move for good. My career had been marked by long and stable cycles, with assignments lasting four, eight, sometimes even thirteen years. What I enjoy today in independent transformation assignments is discovering radically new environments.

Sylvain : What do you enjoy the most about it?

Florian : The ability to step into worlds I had never encountered before. In a recent assignment, for instance, I worked on an oil terminal. It was a completely new environment for me. Similarly, I had the opportunity to work with Latin America, a region I had never collaborated with before.

Independent IT transformation work allows you to keep learning continuously while immediately bringing the value of your accumulated experience. It is this balance between discovery and expertise that drives me today.

The “commando” method, mastering the first ten days

Sylvain : Let’s talk about this value creation. When you join a new client, time is usually very limited. We often hear about the first 100 days for executives. Does that kind of timeframe exist in your reality, and how do you regain control of a CIO function?

Florian : (Laughs) In independent transformation assignments, the so-called 100 days usually turn into ten. Things move very fast. You need a Pareto mindset and accept that some areas will be deprioritised to focus on what really matters.

My approach is always structured around three main steps.

First, a no-compromise diagnosis. I look at the current situation, what works and what does not. And honestly, what works is not the priority. The focus is on delays, pain points and what is off track.

Second, alignment on the objective. This is critical. What does the executive team expect? Why bring in an independent CIO or transformation leader? Often because the previous CIO has left, sometimes by choice, sometimes not. The mandate needs to be clarified so everyone knows what it means to get the system back on track.

Third, the path forward, the roadmap. Once you understand the current state and the target, you need to outline how to get there, usually through phased steps without getting lost in excessive detail.

Sylvain : And you manage to do all of that in such a short time?

Florian : Yes. With this approach, you can present a high-level action plan within about ten days and get validation from decision-makers.

But the real challenge starts afterwards. Defining the strategy is not the hardest part. Execution is. Execution is where most failures occur, and that is where the focus must be once the plan is approved.

Sylvain : Does the initial objective often change along the way?

Florian : Adjustments do happen. In one assignment, the original mandate was mainly to keep the lights on and manage ongoing projects while waiting for a permanent CIO to be hired. But very quickly, I identified structural issues. I proposed revisiting the target operating model and rebalancing internal and external responsibilities. We expanded the scope of the mission because there were clear opportunities to capture additional value.

What makes a high-performing IT organisation

Sylvain : From your experience, what really differentiates an IT organisation that performs from one that struggles?

Florian : I have a very strong conviction here. Proximity to the business is absolutely essential. The information system is not an island. It is the backbone, the nervous system of the company. Everything flows through it. To deliver operational efficiency, IT and business must co-build.

A common issue is that IT teams do not fully understand the business, and business teams do not fully understand IT. That is normal, each side is expert in its own field. This is why I often impose a dual project leadership model, with one IT project manager and one business project manager working together.

Sylvain : Some organisations are reluctant to adopt such dual structures, aren’t they?

Florian : They are, but I believe it is necessary. You also need relay roles. I like to set up Business Relationship Managers within IT, aligned with key domains such as Finance, Supply Chain or HR. It is essential that this IT role faces a business-side subject matter expert with a certain digital sensitivity. This connection is what enables mutual understanding.

Sylvain : Does that mean business teams also need to invest in digital literacy?

Florian : Absolutely. Internal clients with low digital sensitivity are often the hardest to work with. Acculturation must happen on both sides. Business teams do not need to know how to code, but they need to understand the language well enough to frame their requests. They must be able to grasp why a feature is not delivered in three days but in six months. Without this shared understanding, failure is inevitable.

The CIO’s X factor

Sylvain : Communication clearly plays a central role. What would you call your X factor to navigate between these worlds and adapt your message?

Florian : For me, everything comes down to vocabulary. That is what determines whether a CIO succeeds or fails in engaging top management. If a CIO enters an executive committee and starts using technical jargon, it is over. They lose their audience immediately.

At that level, the message must be framed in terms of value creation, efficiency gains and cost reduction. You need to speak the language of the business.

Sylvain : But that language does not work with developers or service providers.

Florian : Exactly, and that is the difficulty of the role. You must switch hats instantly. With internal teams and vendors, you need to speak the technical language. If you do not manage providers with technical precision, things fall apart.

A CIO must be a universal translator, capable of understanding the technology well enough to run operations, and translating it into business outcomes so that executives see IT as an investment rather than a cost centre.

The Boldo experience, moving beyond Excel chaos

Sylvain : To conclude, I would like to come back to what brought us together. You used Boldo during a recent assignment. Can you explain how that choice came about and what it changed in your mission?

Florian : In that assignment, I was acting as a CIO advisor and enterprise architect. One critical dimension was documenting the existing landscape. The context was complex, a multi-business, multi-region, multi-country information system built through multiple acquisitions. It was highly heterogeneous and largely undocumented.

Sylvain : The usual reflex in that situation is often to open Excel.

Florian : That is exactly what I did at first. I started with inventories in Excel. But very quickly, you realise that spreadsheets become unmanageable. They are static, hard to maintain and do not show relationships between elements.

I looked for an alternative and discovered Boldo on LinkedIn. What struck me during our discussion and demo was that the tool manages a difficult balance. It offers the power of a relational database to link applications, flows and infrastructure, without becoming overly complex.

Sylvain : If you had to summarise the value in a few words?

Florian : Balance. You have found the right balance between ease of use and flexibility of the data model. It allows knowledge to be captured quickly, without creating a heavy, overengineered system. That is what really differentiates Boldo from other solutions I have seen on the market.

Working with Boldo

Boldo regularly supports CIOs and consulting firms on complex transformation assignments, including IT master plans, large-scale programmes, enterprise architecture and IT governance, application mapping and dependency management.

Our approach helps teams quickly structure the existing landscape, share a clear and readable vision with stakeholders and secure execution in constrained environments.