NEU im ConfareBlog
Behind the Badge with Confare Swiss CIOAWARD Winner Anna Maria Blengino – Inside the Modern CIO Role at Sunrise
With 20 years at Sunrise, Anna Maria Blengino brings deep insight into both the company and the Swiss telecom market. As CIO since 2023, she is driving IT from a support role to a strategic force — focusing on agility, cultural transformation, and business alignment.
In this Behind the Badge interview with Michael Ghezzo, and as the winner of the Confare Swiss CIOAWARD, she shares how IT can earn trust, lead change, and deliver measurable impact — from AI adoption to creating a learning organization.
It’s a must-read for anyone rethinking the role of the CIO in today’s digital world.
Experience how the leading CIOs from the DACH region are celebrated at the Marriott Zurich – and get inspired by the digital success stories that are shaping the future. Register now!
Michael: Hi Anna. Nice to see you. You’re nominated for the Confare Swiss CIO Award and part of Sunrise, one of the major telecom providers in Switzerland. Maybe you can tell us something about the current telecom market and your role as a CIO?
Anna: Sure. Sunrise is one of the three big players in the Swiss telco market. The industry has evolved from simply offering mobile services to providing fixed net, TV and now a wide range of OTT and value-added services like streaming, security products, or even insurance. Connectivity has become the foundation for complete customer experiences.
Sunrise started over 20 years ago as a standalone company, then merged with UPC under Liberty Global. Just last November, we spun off and are now again an independent Swiss company listed on SIX. I became CIO in April 2023, but I’ve been with Sunrise for 20 years.
Michael: That gives you a deep understanding of the company. How has the CIO role evolved over this time?
Anna: Massively. In the past, we didn’t even have a CIO – the CTO covered everything. But with the merger and transformation, IT became more central. Today, I sit at the executive table and drive strategy. We’re no longer just receiving requirements – we’re suggesting innovations and guiding the business. The CIO is now a change leader, not just a change manager.
Michael: How do you define the difference between a change leader and a change manager?
Anna: A change manager implements change. A change leader inspires and explains why the change matters, pulling the team forward and creating a safe space for contribution and innovation. That level of trust and shared purpose drives better results.
Michael: That proactive mindset changes collaboration with the business. How did you implement this shift?
Anna: It wasn’t easy. We had to overcome silos and assumptions from both sides. We invested in training – teaching IT to speak business and educating business units in tech basics. That created a shared language. We also had to change how we budget and plan, aligning top-down leadership with agile principles. Agile isn’t chaos – it’s structured. But it has to be supported from the top.
Michael: Sustaining agile is hard. How do you make it stick?
Anna: By linking outcomes to OKRs and KPIs. Agile is often misunderstood as freedom, but it comes with discipline. Measuring outcomes helped convince stakeholders. When they saw faster time to market and real results, adoption followed naturally. Trust is crucial.
Michael: What advice would you give to other CIOs to gain that trust?
Anna: Always have a North Star. Measure, share successes and failures. We’ve failed with some AI use cases while exploring them, but we celebrate the learnings. Failure is valuable if you reflect and adjust. That’s also how we handle AI now – we experiment, we fail fast, and we learn.
Meet over 800 IT decision-makers from across the DACH region at the Confare CIOSUMMIT in Vienna.
Michael: You emphasize learning. How do you build a learning organization?
Anna: Internal mobility is key. We give priority to internal candidates for new roles and promote horizontal moves. We have training partnerships with vendors and hyperscalers, graduate programs with universities, and even reverse mentoring. I learn AI from young talent. I grew up in Sunrise myself, so I believe in growing from within.
Michael: Let’s talk AI. How central is it to your agenda?
Anna: It’s huge. I have the mandate to democratize and accelerate AI. That means cultural change, not just technical know-how. People need to feel safe experimenting. We set up secure environments and clear guidelines before scaling. We also protect our models and data.
Michael: Many companies struggle to scale AI. What are your tips?
Anna: Don’t start big. Start with a focused use case, validate it quickly in a sandbox, and scale from there. And make sure IT doesn’t act alone – align closely with users. Think “like a non-union approach” – small, modular, and adaptable.
Michael: You’re also active in the Confare Female IT-Mentoring. Why is diversity important to you?
Anna: I studied engineering decades ago – we were 3 women out of 300. Not much has changed. I want to see 50/50 in tech roles, not because it’s a quota, but because it reflects society. Diversity brings richer ideas – gender, culture, age, all of it. My best projects had diverse teams.
Michael: What advice do you have for young women aiming for a CIO role?
Anna: First: Stay curious. Never stop learning. Second: Don’t underestimate yourself. If someone sees potential in you, trust that. Third: Be yourself. Don’t conform. Diversity matters only if we stay different.
Michael: You’re nominated for the CIOAWARD. Why is visibility for IT so important?
Anna: IT is often behind the scenes. If everything runs smoothly, no one notices. The award is a recognition of the hard work my team puts in. Preparing the application reminded me of how far we’ve come. It’s an honor to share this with them.
Michael: Anna, thank you so much for this inspiring conversation. I look forward to seeing you at the Confare CIOSUMMIT Zurich.
Anna: Thank you, Michael. See you soon!