A CIO, acronym for Chief Information Officer, is the company's IT manager. CIO, with extensive experience, is Pasquale Testa (Camomilla Italia, Alcott, Gutteridge, Frankie Morello Milano e oggi Sole365). Pasquale is the founder of CIO Club Italia, an association that brings together all professionals operating in the field of information technology, whether for work or passion. We host him to tell us more about his project and the partnership his association has established with Assoprovider and with OpenTLC.

From Naples to Europe: the birth of CIO Club Italia

Pasquale reveals how the spark that led to the birth of CIO Club Italia: "I attended all the CIO events in Italy, but they were always in the North. So I thought it was right to try to bring together CIOs starting from the South and I began contacting them on LinkedIn. The first event, in Marechiaro, was in September 2019. There were 35 of us, few but enthusiastic. Then we started to push the initiative, and in just two months, there were even 100 members, including those from other Italian regions."

In a year of work, events multiply, becoming almost 30 and sponsors also arrive (there are 130 today) and many projects initiated, such as the CIO Academy to train young people in IT: "One of the common problems for CIOs is the difficulty in finding qualified resources. According to studies, there are 300,000 open positions in IT that cannot be filled. The Academy aims to be one of the solutions."

Many events and initiatives for CIO Club Italia have attracted the attention of European players, with whom Pasquale reveals he is in contact to provide training and offer their services in Italy.

The partnership with Assoprovider and Open TLC

From the meeting between Pasquale Testa e Marcello Cama, head of communications at Assoprovider and one of the founders of OpenTLC, a partnership is established that will create new training and business opportunities for Assoprovider members. Based on this partnership, members of CIO Club Italia join Assoprovider with one of our Green Card. “The connections and networking opportunities that will arise from this partnership are numerous. As CIO Club Italia we already have a space on OpenTLC to offer our perspective on topics such as smart working or cyber security. Becoming a member of Assoprovider will then help share information with an even wider audience. Only in this way can all operators in the sector improve and stand out."

The common mission of Assoprovider and CIO Club Italia

There are three objectives that Assoprovider and CIO Club Italia share: the creation of open events to introduce the world of telecommunications, training new recruits, and the desire to unite different associations with similar goals. And then there is a common mission, which Pasquale summarizes as follows:

"Together we want to promote the culture of digitalization. Helping companies understand that IT, when well managed, does not lead to job losses, but significantly contributes to creating new ones."