Shaping the Future : CIO Insights from Peter Adams

Peter Adams, Chief Information Officer for the IM Group, shares his insights into the changing world of technology and what the future might look like.

Peter has been involved in technology ever since he was ejected from a metalwork class as school – he was sent to the school library, which had a computer and there began his introduction to coding. He realised that technical knowledge allowed him to make changes and improvements to programmes, from there he became an IT professional and the rest, as they say, is history. During a varied career, in which he has worked for multiple blue-chip brands, he is currently CIO for the IM Group, a major automotive business that has been operating internationally for over 50 years with over 500 staff around the world.

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How has the world of technology evolved during your career:

IT was initially more akin to magic for the general public, who had little or no understanding. It was generally left to ‘boffins’ as a dark art, with few interested in peaking behind the curtain to understand more.

People began to recognise the importance of technical knowledge, schools saw greater access to computers and began focussing on technology skills, before the internet arrived and changed everything. Ultimately technology has become a commodity, an essential part of any business that can have a transformational effect on its success or failure. Everyone has a view on technology and a voice – technical capability is just one part of the whole picture and success in technology requires a much more rounded skillset.

How do you see the future of technology developing?

The pace of change in technology is only accelerating; this will undoubtedly continue, and ability to adapt to this change is what will set apart companies and individuals. Technical skills will become obsolete and the ability of computers to take on programming tasks will increase exponentially. AI’s ability to pass the google code writing exam is a sign of things to come.

The cost of access to technology, already much reduced, will ultimately disappear. The primary role of technology is to make processes easier; a few years ago it would have been unthinkable to run a team covering multiple global territories without a physical presence on the ground; something we now take for granted.

How do you see the role of artificial intelligence evolving?

AI has proved to be a game changer for generating content, summarising and distilling information into a succinct, usable format. For example, if I want a working from home policy to be written, Copilot can give me five templates and a final version in a fraction of the time it would have previously taken me. AI is constantly refining its ability to generate usable content and it will only get better as more people use it. What is more limited is AI’s ability to identify process improvements, particularly for niches such as, our business as an example, focussed on vehicle importing. The next decade could be really exciting if we see developments that allow for more original problem solving.

What do you see as the key skills of a successful CIO in 2025?

Critical is the ability to understand what a business’s imperatives are and extrapolate, ultimately to find better ways of doing things. Understanding the priorities for a company, creating ways of achieving those priorities whilst reducing or removing cost and thereby improving margin is what the CIO of today must achieve.

Equally, it’s the ability to take non-technical colleagues with you on this journey that defines success at a leadership level. Change is often resisted, and you need to be able to speak in language that everyone can understand, not just IT professionals.

One key change is that, Technology is now, more than ever a critical capability in a business in its operations and aspiration. Where it has been a bastion for efficiencies and margin protection, it is now a direct source of revenue and route to markets otherwise un reachable. Understanding this critical role and how such opportunities can be seized by the melding of technology to business development. Understanding this much broader role than the previous ‘caretaker of technology’, is vital to the success of a CIO and their team in the future.

What advice would you give to aspiring IT professionals?

First and foremost, a focus on providing value in business terms and not just in technical capability. Delivering meaningful support and service to enable the business to meet its objectives, effectively and safely is now the vital as technology continues to advance and consequently lower barriers to entry for competition. The ability to straddle both worlds – technology and business – diving into the technical details with your team whilst stepping outside into the business as a enabling colleague is what will allow you to progress in your career.

Our special thanks to Peter Adams for his insights, ideas and valuable contribution for this article.