Chief Information Officer / China · Global perspective
Tao Xu
I connect enterprise technology decisions with the way an organisation serves customers, manages risk and gets work done.
Open to Board appointments · Advisory roles · Speaking invitations
Start a conversation ↗ Modernisation September 2026 3 min read
Modernisation begins with a business capability An application replacement is easier to describe than the business change it is meant to enable.
I start by identifying the capability that needs to improve, the people who own it and the dependencies that constrain it.
Continue the essay ↗ The enduring idea
Enterprise technology must support change while keeping essential work dependable. I begin with business capabilities, make dependencies visible and agree ownership of the transition with operating leaders. Resilience and adoption belong in the investment case from the start.
A philosophy in practice ↗ The journal
Further reading. 02 Cyber resilience June 2026 3 min read
A recovery plan is incomplete if the people who must make decisions have never worked through it together.
03 Data March 2026 3 min read
A system can be available without becoming the organisation's way of working.
Applications retired 62% Simplified estate in three years
Core platform availability 99.98% Through a full modernisation
Run-cost released ₹740 Cr Reinvested in digital products
Countries on one ERP 14 From nine legacy systems Beyond the page
The record behind the perspective. In the boardroom Westmoor Housing Finance Independent Director · 2022 — Present The Digital Public Goods Council Advisory Board Member · 2020 — Present Recognition CIO 100 The Technology Leaders Review · 2024 Digital Transformation of the Year The Enterprise Technology Awards · 2022 In conversation “Retiring 600 applications without breaking the business” The Technology Leaders Review · 2025 “What boards should ask about cyber resilience” The Boardroom Review · 2024 “Episode 98 — Technology debt is a strategy decision” The Leadership Ledger podcast · 2023 Made technology a boardroom conversation about outcomes, not acronyms. Priya Raman Chair, Risk Committee, Westmoor Housing Finance The full record ↗ Continue the conversation
Ideas are tested in conversation. For board, advisory and speaking invitations, and for readers who want to take an argument further.
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