Welcome to
CIO Mirror™
CIO MIRROR CIC
Become the leader you see in the mirror
The CIO Mirror™ is a complete leadership transformation journey designed to move seasoned technologists from being operators of technology to becoming influential enterprise leaders.
Our vision, drawing on over 100 years of collective experience, we help you accelerate your journey to leadership and unleash your pioneering potential.
CIO Mirror CIC is a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee. As a not-for-profit organisation, we do not operate for private gain; any surplus or assets are used principally for the benefit of the community, specifically individuals seeking professional development and charities within the UK and internationally.
Step Into the Mirror
The Three-Stage Journey
Stage 1: The Reflection (30 Days Prior): Detail the virtual orientation and the Leadership Self-Assessment used to set a personal growth baseline.
Stage 2: The Decode (2-Day Workshop): Describe the in-person experience featuring global keynotes, Persona Decoding, and the signature Boardroom Simulation.
Stage 3: The Transformation (60 Days Post-Workshop): Outline the virtual follow-up and the sharing of progress on the Shift Plan Canvas™
Proprietary Frameworks and Toolkits
CIO Mirror™ brings proprietary frameworks and toolkits that underpin our unique experience.
CIO Personas™: Interactive exploration of 10 leadership archetypes (such as the Taskmaster or Innovation Junkie) to identify your style and its impact.
Boardroom Strategy Playbook™: A guide to decoding 10 Boardroom Personas and navigating the high-level dynamics of the board.
Shift Plan Canvas™: Your proprietary roadmap for evolving into the leader your organisation needs.
Self-Reflection Scorecard: A tool to rate yourself across four pillars: Strategic Awareness, Self-Mastery, Influence & Communication, and Transformation Leadership
OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM
Meet the Executive Team
Venkatesh Mahadevan
Transformative CIO powering digital futures with human-centered leadership
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Venkatesh is a visionary CIO and technology leader with over three decades of international experience across India, South Asia, the Middle East and North America. He has held senior leadership roles with Fortune 100 companies including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Motorola and most recently as Chief Information Officer at Dubai Investments PJSC, where he led group-wide digital transformation and technology strategy. A Fellow of the British Computer Society and a recipient of multiple CIO and CXO leadership awards, he is widely regarded as a transformative executive who bridges business strategy and technology execution.
Today, Venkatesh serves as a strategic advisor for technology and digital transformation, working with marquee clients in India and the UAE to design and deliver next-generation digital programs. His expertise spans enterprise architecture, shared services, information security, risk management and large-scale change, with a track record of keeping organizations at the forefront of innovation. In parallel, he is an active board member, startup and CXO mentor, and angel entrepreneur, helping emerging leaders and founders scale with robust technology and operating models.
Passionate about human potential, Venkatesh is also an acclaimed ENERGY and peak performance speaker, podcaster and talk show host, best known as the creator of “ZENPod.” An MBA and research scholar, internationally qualified counsellor and premier skills coach, he regularly teaches at leading management institutes and mentors engineering and management students. Whether in the boardroom, classroom or on stage, he focuses on enabling leaders to navigate disruption with clarity, resilience and purpose.
Julia Padget
Strategic CIO and Leadership Catalyst
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Julia is a people-centred, commercially astute technology leader with a proven track record of delivering at scale in complex, highly regulated Financial Services environments. In her most recent role as CIO for Retail, Business Banking and Payments at Santander UK, she was accountable for banking technology, innovation, resilience and growth across one of the UK’s largest retail banks.
She has led significant engineering and data teams, driven digitisation and AI programmes, and guided organisations through complex build, migration and decommissioning — under real regulatory and operational pressure. Julia is known for being pragmatic, direct and genuinely invested in the people around her.
Her particular strength lies in legacy modernisation: helping executives use digitisation, AI and automation as catalysts for change — not just technical fixes, but levers for evolving operating models, culture and capability. She believes sustainable growth only follows when technology strategy is grounded in clear thinking about people and organisation.
Julia is driven by the belief that the technology voice in the boardroom matters — and that earning it takes more than technical credibility. The modern CIO must be politically aware: able to navigate competing agendas, build coalitions and drive a clear narrative through ambiguity and noise. This is the capability she has built across her career, and she is committed to sharing what she has learned to help the next generation of CIOs lead with authority and authenticity.
Professor Alastair Irons
Bridging Academic Excellence with Strategic Governance in Technology & Education
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Alastair is Emeritus Professor of Computer Science and former Deputy Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor at Abertay University in Scotland. Before joining Abertay in July 2022 he was Academic Director for Digital Education at the University of Sunderland, having previously been the Dean for the Faculty of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Sunderland in 2008 he worked at ONE North East, Northumbria University and ICI. Alastair became a National Teaching Fellow in 2010. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Cape Town in South Africa from 2013 – 2017 and is a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg, at the British University in Egypt and at the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Alastair served as Vice President (academic) of the BCS and chair of the BCS Academy board from 2020 to 2026. He is a founding trustee of the BCS Foundation and continues to work with that group. Currently he is the UK representative on IFIP and serves on the IFIP Board (General Assembly). Recently he has taken up a non-executive role on the board of Dumfries and Galloway College and is chair of the Board of Governors at the Percy Hedley Foundation in Newcastle.
Professor Llewellyn Thomas
Shaping Digital Entrepreneurship
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Llewellyn D. W. Thomas is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School and a Visiting Professor at Imperial College Business School. He was previously at IESE Business School and Imperial College Business School. His career spans academia and industry, including leadership positions at Hummingbird and Valid Information Systems, alongside entrepreneurial ventures. With a PhD from Imperial College London, an MBA from Bayes (previously Cass) Business School, and an LLB (Hons) and BA (Hons) from the University of Sydney, Llewellyn excels in strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Llewellyn has pioneered research on ecosystems, platforms, and framing. His scholarship explores ecosystem legitimacy, distributed innovation, and business model disruption, influencing fields such as responsible computing, data markets, and the circular economy. Recognized globally, his publications appear in top journals such as the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Journal of Management. His teaching focuses on digital transformation and corporate strategy.
Beyond academia, Llewellyn has contributed as a trustee for PayPal Giving Fund and board member for AIIM International, blending scholarly rigor with practical governance. His multifaceted expertise positions him at the forefront of transforming how organizations navigate complex, ecosystem-driven markets.
Rashik Parmar MBE
Pioneering Responsible Technology Leadership
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Rashik is a distinguished digital leader and technology visionary with over 42 years of experience shaping responsible and impactful IT solutions across global enterprises. As a former IBM Fellow and Vice President, he drove IBM’s European technical strategy, guiding clients toward cloud, AI, and IoT transformations while pioneering concepts like responsible computing through influential Harvard Business Review articles such as “New Patterns for Innovation” and “What is Responsible Computing?”. His tenure as Group CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, elevated the organisation’s role as a trusted authority on computing’s future, fostering strategic modernisation and growth.
In advisory capacities, Rashik serves as Commissioner at the Electoral Commision, Council Member at The Open University, and Chair of the Industry Advisory Board at Digit Lab, while also guiding research at Leeds University Business School. Previously Fellow of both IBM and BCS (FBCS), he held key roles including President of IBM’s Academy of Technology, impacting over $11 billion in revenues, and chaired the Employment and Skills Panel for the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership. His contributions earned him an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services to business and innovation, alongside the Freedom of the City of London.
Beyond corporate leadership, Rashik is a founding Executive Director of Rangoli Radio, a Leeds-based community station serving the global Indian diaspora, and author of the acclaimed “Sunday Sprinkles” happiness blog, ranked among the world’s top 50. An Adjunct Professor at Imperial College London’s Business School and Visiting Professor in its Electrical & Electronic Engineering Department, he remains a sought-after speaker on digitization and inspiration. Rashik’s blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and community commitment positions him as a pivotal figure in the CIO community.