Sue Liderth
CIO, EMEA
The Coca-Cola Company
Sue Liderth is CIO, EMEA, at the Coca-Cola Company serving a $7 billion revenue business spanning 120+ markets. In this role, Sue leads business engagement at the president level and is accountable for digital delivery and value creation across three operating units. Sue's prior experience spans more than 20 years across broad-ranging technology leadership roles in some of the world's leading FMCG companies, including P&G, Unilever and adidas.
Learn more about the UK & Ireland CIO community here.
Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
Having been enamoured by the transformative power of technology in my early career as a teacher in Sri Lanka, I built my technical foundations in the world of investment banking before embarking on a 9 year journey with P&G, growing from application developer through project and programme manager to associate director.
From there, I made some exciting career moves which expanded my experience across industries and technology domains - from Head of Data & Analytics at Anglo American I moved to Unilever as Strategy & Transformation Director for Employee Technology before taking the plunge to run IT for adidas Emerging Markets out of Dubai. It was in the UAE that I joined The Coca-Cola Company as CIO of their two regional business units and I took on the new challenge to build the EMEA digital delivery centre in January 2021.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
The best kind of sustainable change is created when both digital and human capabilities are developed in tandem - our people are truly our greatest asset.
With disruption being a key theme of the past few years, where do you see your role as a CIO going in the next 1-2 years?
In order to drive significant and meaningful transformation, it's critical to have the business leaders onboard. I spend a lot of time developing my skills - and those of my leadership team - in the areas of clear communication and powerful storytelling.
As well as delivering high value and well-executed solutions, our role is shifting to educator, influencer and visionary. We need to be able to inspire our business partners with possibilities and give them the confidence to commit to the changes that will enable business to thrive in the future.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CIO?
Believe in yourself. Be humble, be curious, ask questions and always be open to learning, but don't deviate from your core values and be confident about the unique value you bring.
Tell us a few fun facts about yourself.
- I love yoga and practice regularly.
- I own a greyhound called Nora.
- I have lived in 19 houses in 5 different countries.
What is the value of joining an Evanta community?
Being a member of an Evanta community is a great privilege. Having the opportunity to network informally and learn from each other in a safe environment offers pragmatic and real time support with the 'day job' whilst also opening your mind to new opportunities for the future.
Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
by CIOs, for CIOs
Join the conversation with peers in your local CIO community.