20 digital transformation leaders to follow on Twitter in 2020

Committed to digital transformation this year? Follow these people for perspective and emerging lessons
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One of our New Year's resolutions was to refresh and expand our Twitter feed for digital transformation leaders, reviewing them not just for the use of the right hashtags but for the content they share.

There are a few repeats from a similar list we shared last year, but for the most part we tried to give you new Twitter handles to follow. This year's list includes CIOs, authors, consultants, and cloud computing leaders. Some only post on technology topics, while others share thoughts on family, culture, politics, and favorite movies.

The common denominator we looked for was a thoughtfully curated feed that's not entirely self promotional but adds to the conversation we're all having about how to understand the potential of digital transformation and put it to work for our organizations.

Martin Mocker aka @martinmocker

Bio: Co-author of Designed for Digital. Professor at ESB Business School, Research Affiliate at MIT. My views are my own.

Why to follow: "Designed for Digital" from MIT Press provided powerful insights on how to achieve transformation success and how to organize for transformation. The book left us wanting more, and Mocker tweets more frequently than his research partners Jeanne W. Ross and Cynthia M. Beath. For example, he recently shared an interview he conducted with Mattias Ulbrich, Porsche CIO and CEO of Porsche Digital.

Melissa Swift aka @meswift

Bio: The human side of the digital journey. Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry, Leader, Digital Advisory for North America/Global Accounts. All opinions are my own.

Why to follow: Swift has been one of our most popular writers here at Enterprisers Project, because she calls it like she sees it when it comes to digital transformation. In her work with Korn Ferry clients, she gets a clear understanding of the realities of transformation. Follow her for a breath of fresh air on getting things done and leading people through change.

Sarbjeet Johal aka @sarbjeetjohal

Bio: Storyteller, Architecting #Cloud & #DigitalTransformation programs/teams. ex: @ORACLE @Rackspace @VMWare @EMC Investor/Advisor @TheBatchery Incubator

Why to follow: We featured Johal in our recent article on Digital transformation: How to personally brand yourself as a leader. One reason he has built a large following for cloud and digital transformation topics is the effort he puts into his feed. "If I cannot read that thing, I will not post it, I will not comment on it," Johal says. In other words, he makes sure everything he shares is something he either recommends or has some additional insight to offer on.

Rahul Welde aka @RahulWelde

Bio: EVP Digital Transformation at Unilever. Love for travel,food & sports. Passion for people & brands. Zest for life & doing good. Always excited. Liverpool Red.

Why to follow: Welde is one of the executives who has "digital transformation" explicitly in his title, meaning he takes the lead on adding a digital component to Unilever's consumer products. Want to know what's on his radar screen? Most of what he shares is content from others that he finds interesting.

Joanna Young aka @jcycio

Bio: #CIO Unplugged, #Digital Advisor, #603 by way of UK #WomenInTech #leadership #STEM #Broadband #UNHWildcat

Why to follow: This former higher ed and insurance CIO now serves as a digital advisor to the C-suite on how best to take advantage of accelerating technology change for competitive differentiation. As a result, her tweets offer a great overview of components of digital change and leadership as well as tutorials for educating C-suite peers and board members.

Didier Bonnet aka @didiebon

Bio: @IMD Affiliate Professor of Strategy & Digital Transformation, EVP @CapgeminiInvent - Digital Practice, Chelsea FC, good food + wines, drummer in Mockchop

Why to follow: Bonnet shares insight from the perspective of leader at a global consulting firm. He speaks on how to speed up digital transformation work, for example. Based on his feed, he has an interest in quantitative analysis of many kinds (and shares a variety of enlightening stats) – plus a fondness for robots.

M. Nadia Vincent aka @ITTransLeaders

Bio: Author, Keynote Speaker, Digital Strategist, MIT Certified CXO Advisor, MBA, PMP #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #AI #Strategy #Innovation #Digital #CXO #CIO

Why to follow: Vincent, who offers training and advisory services for IT and business leaders through TransformationalLeaders.com, frequently writes and posts on AI topics and digital strategy.

Kevin Coluci aka @kcoluci

Bio: Chief Information Officer, Technology Leader, Digital Transformation, #CIO #CyberSecurity #Boston #GovTech #LegalTech #FutureOfWork

Why to follow: This CIO of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office since 2011 (and Deputy CIO before that) shares insight on digital transformation, particularly as it relates to government entities.

Marc Touitou aka @TouitouMarc

Bio: Digital Transformer, former CIO of the World Health Organization, frmr CIO of San Francisco, Master Change Jedi. Loving father, husband, friend. Chess geek.

Why to follow: After serving as CIO at the Nature Conservancy and the World Health Organization, Touitou is currently on the market as an interim CIO / CXO and advisor to digital leaders under the umbrella of 2e2 Digital Transformation Consulting. Posts about AI, cloud, and other transformational technologies.

Leon Wilson aka @leon_clevefdn

Bio: Technomist, Chief of Digital Innovation and CIO - Cleveland Foundation; tweets are mine.

Why to follow: It's wise to follow some CIOs outside your industry, perhaps in academia or non-profits, like Wilson. He is particularly active with posts on leveraging technology for social good, like this one. He also posts with an eye to interesting finds on innovation, education, open government, broadband access, and 5G.

Adriana (Andi) Karaboutis aka @AndiKaraboutis

Bio: B4:Tech@Ford & GM; CIO@Dell; EVP@Biogen; Now: Chief Info & Digital Officer@NationalGrid; BoD AAP & Perrigo; ALWAYS: DIGITAL= INNOVATION*IMAGINATION+TECHNOLOGY

Why to follow: Currently the CIO/CDO of National Grid, the multinational electric and gas utility, Karaboutis has worked across a variety of industries. She brings an infectious enthusiasm to her feed, always looking to celebrate the transformational power of technology and innovation.

Jesus San Segundo aka @JesusSanSegundo

Bio: CDO CIO Technology expert. Digital transformation leader through Innovation. Opinions here are my own.

Why to follow: Segundo is Group Digital Transformation Director for Spain's Banco Santander, which last year put out an investor day press release pointing to digital transformation as the key to the company's future growth. One progress report he shared to Twitter was the announcement of a blockchain-based bond.

Giuliano Liguori aka @ingliguori

Bio: Digital Transformation Advisor | CEO @glwebeu | CDO @BE_Informatica | #CIO | #InnovationManager | #AI #Cybersecurity #IoT #DigitalTransformation #Blockchain

Why to follow: Liguori is the CIO of CTP Napoli (operator of public transport services for the City of Naples, Italy) and an advisor to other CIOs. He also serves as Data Protection Officer to a number of other firms, meaning he supervises their compliance with Europe's General Data Protection privacy rules. A prolific tweeter, he often posts about AI, cybersecurity, and the evolution of cloud technologies.

Tim Crawford aka @tcrawford

Bio: CIO Strategic Advisor | Board Member | Host of The CIO In The Know podcast | #CIO #DigitalTransformation #Cloud #AI #Edge #CIOitk

Why to follow: Crawford, a prognosticator of all things tech, generously shares other people's content rather than only promoting his own. This former CIO shares insights from many industry conferences. He also hosts the CIO In The Know podcast, featuring lessons from IT leaders in a variety of industries.

Jacob Abboud @jacob_abboud

Bio: Leader and CIO in Financial Services & Insurance - named on Global BT150. Digital/AgileTransformation champion with Interest in Data, IOT, AI and Fintech

Why to follow: Abboud maintains an active feed on digital transformation, particularly as it applies to financial services. You'll also find many posts highlighting privacy and security articles.

Les Ottolenghi aka @LesOttolenghi

Bio: Founder of entrepreneurial ventures. Contributor to @CIOonline All opinions & expressions are solely mine #ces2020 #entrepreneur #investor

Why to follow: This 30-year IT veteran has an eye for emerging trends. He posts frequently (often several times per day) about topics in technology and leadership. He has a particular interest in data analysis and AI issues. See his inspirational note for 2020.

Jay Ferro aka @jayferro

Bio: #CIO for the @Quikrete Companies | Dad | #Speaker | #Angel Investor | #Board Director | Love #Leadership & #Technology; Hate #Cancer | #ENTJ | #GoDawgs

Why to follow: "I like 'concrete' steps," said the CIO of Quikete, when sharing an article he wrote on how to tame big data and analytics — one published here at The Enterprisers Project. Ferro has long taken an active role in promoting the community of CIO leaders. He's a former CIO of the American Cancer Society.

Marcus East aka @marcuseast

Bio: CTO with a passion for tech for social good. Technical Director in Office of the CTO at Google HQ specializing in Cloud, eCommerce and Digital Transformation.

Why to follow: Besides providing a Google perspective on the future of digital, East has a work history that includes a stint as CIO/CTO for the charity Comic Relief. Thus his emphasis on apply "tech for social good." Among his first posts of 2020 was one celebrating the potential of AI to spot breast cancer better than any expert.

Peter Weis aka @PeterFWeis

Bio: Digital transformation leader, advisor, #CIO, speaker, teacher, dad, husband, citizen. Trying to do it right.

Why to follow: Weis formerly served as CIO of trucking and transportation company Matson Navigation, where (as he puts it on his LinkedIn profile) he led a "9-year transformation from a 100 percent legacy environment and culture into a company that now operates 100 percent in the cloud." He now works as an advisor to other business and technology leaders and teaches a graduate course on "Where Business Meets Technology" at University of California, Berkley. He also wrote one of our site's most popular articles on digital transformation: See Matson CIO: The most painful, gut-wrenching part of leading transformation.

Marcus Borba aka @marcusborba

Bio: Top Global Influencer: #AI #MachineLearning #DataScience #BI #DigitalTransformation #BigData #Analytics #IoT #ArtificialIntelligence | #BBBT Member | Consultant

Why to follow: This consultant and entrepreneur offers a strong variety of news and analysis related to AI and big data. He's also a former CTO.

[ Culture change is the hardest part of digital transformation. Get the digital transformation eBook: Teaching an elephant to dance. ]

David F. Carr is a writer, speaker, student of digital business, and the author of "Social Collaboration for Dummies." He previously served as an editor for InformationWeek, Baseline Magazine, and Internet World and has written for Forbes, CIO Magazine, and Defense Systems.