This invitation-only executive roundtable, hosted by AWS and IBM Consulting, will explore how organisations can accelerate application migration and modernisation, build an AI-ready foundation and take advantage of cloud innovation without compromising the level of digital sovereignty their business requires. The discussion will move beyond sovereignty as a compliance exercise and focus on the decisions leaders face in practice.

• Modernisation without losing control: How can organisations migrate and modernise critical applications while maintaining strategic choice, resilience and the right level of sovereignty?
• Building an AI-ready enterprise: How should today’s application and cloud decisions prepare organisations for AI and increasingly agentic workloads? AWS identifies AI integration as a modernisation pathway for existing application portfolios.
• Resilience in a changing geopolitical landscape: How should operational resilience, technology dependencies and regulatory requirements influence cloud and application strategies?

Julien Verbeek, IBM Senior Partner and Country Leader in IBM Consulting Carrying the overall responsibility for the Netherlands business, Julien has over 25 years of consulting experience, his core competence is deeply rooted as an Executive Partner in IBM’s Consulting and Systems Integration division, and its predecessors. He has developed a track record in business and relationship development, transformational and IT consulting, complex program delivery and service line management. As Benelux service line leader for business transformation services, he brought together the capabilities in Consulting, Analytics, ERP, AI and Business Operations, managing over 700 professionals in 20 practices. Over his career, Julien has worked with leading Dutch and European clients, across Public, Consumer Products, Retail, Industrial sectors and Financial Services.

Sander Nieuwenhuis, IBM Governance, Risk & Compliance Lead With more than 20 years of experience in information security, cloud, and AI governance. He focuses on helping organizations translate regulatory and compliance requirements into practical approaches for cloud adoption, digital sovereignty, risk management, and responsible AI.