The goal of the Digital Value Institute is to fast-track the digital learning curve for business transformation and innovation. 

• What is the state of play?

• What is keeping us from moving forward?

• What can we learn from visionaries and early adopters?

• Via what process[es] can we best identify value-maximizing options for moving forward?

CXO Advisory Council

The activities of the Digital Value Institute is coordinated by an Advisory Council of CXO thought leaders from both user organizations and solution providers.

Thornton A. May, Futurist, Author, Educator

Thornton May is a futurist, author and educator. At Dartmouth College, Keio University [Tokyo] and the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan, Thornton studied Japanese technology policies and practices during the Meiji Restoration [1868 through 1912], post-World War II and 1970s. Living in Tokyo Thornton worked at a series of global Japanese companies assisting managing “emerging technology” investments.

Thornton was hired by noted futurist Alvin Toffler [Future Shock, Third Wave, Power Shift and Revolutionary Wealth] to assist the “technology futures” program for Toffler Associates. Toffler Associates designed and delivered the strategic plans for South Korea [President Kim Dae-jung] and Singapore [Minister of Finance Lew Kuan Yew]. These plans specified the technology investments necessary to sustain economic dominance in the twenty-first century.

Thornton returned to America to lead technology research at the Nolan Norton Institute. His research team is credited for coining the phrase “Chief Information Officer” in 1981. Thornton pioneered the multi-client research program designed to discover strategic and operating insights associated with emerging technologies.

His work as a futurist and anthropologist position him as part Paul Revere [the one to sound the alarm] and part Arnold Toynbee/Edward Gibbon [the one who explains what has happened/what is happening].

Thornton has taught at four major universities, written columns on technology for multiple leading publications [25 plus years at Computerworld], advises major organizations and government agencies on how to think differently about technology, all the while conducting seminal anthropological field research into technology-use behaviors of the various tribes comprising modern society.

Thornton began his career as an anthropologist studying tribal behavior in the modern Japanese corporation. He received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and did post-graduate work in Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. At five feet, seven inches, he played professional basketball in Japan. 

Thornton brings a scholar's patience for empirical research, a second-to-none gift for storytelling and a stand-up comedian’s sense of humor to his audiences. His book, The New Know: Innovation Powered by Analytics examines the intersection of the analytic and executive tribes.

The editors at eWeek honored Thornton, including him on their list of ‘Top 100 Most Influential People in IT.’ The editors at Fast Company labeled him ‘one of the top 50 brains in technology today.’ Thornton is a founding member of the Internet of Things World Forum.

Twitter: @deanitla 

Atle SKjekkeland, Digital Business Explorer and Evangelist

Atle is a digital business explorer and evangelist. His interest in the business impact of cloud, social, mobile, IoT, and artificial intelligence has made him a frequent keynoter and workshop facilitator at events across the world.

Atle has MSc in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics with a specialization in business strategy and marketing. He has since 1996 spent his career in IT and Information Management, with a focus on how information can be be used to add value, reduce costs, manage risks, and/or create new opportunities. This has made him into a leading information management innovator and educator.

From 2004 to 2018, he worked as VP, COO, and SVP at AIIM – a global association for intelligent information management. While at AIIM, he founded the AIIM annual conference, online community, certification, and training programs with over 30,000 students. He also served several years as the General Secretary of the DLM Forum for the European Commission, responsible for creating standards for electronic records management and digital archiving.

Atle led for almost a decade AIIM´s information management think-tank in EMEA and NA with a focus on identifying the future and impact of cloud, mobile, social, AI, etc. He also participated in several task-forces about the future of Enterprise IT with industry experts like Geoffrey Moore [best-selling author of Crossing the Chasm] and Andrew McAfee [best-selling author of Race Against the Machine]. The task-force with Geoffrey Moore introduced the concept Systems of Record vs Systems of Engagement, and a Forbes blogger named this the best social media idea of 2011. While at AIIM, he also developed and delivered custom information management programs for several large organizations like Chevron, European Central Bank, HP, Konica Minolta, and Oracle.

Twitter: @skjekkeland