이기열 지사장은 한국 내 킨드릴의 전략적 비전을 수립하고 실행하는 핵심 리더십 역할을 맡아, IT 인프라 및 디지털 전환 분야에서 혁신과 운영 우수성을 강화하도록 킨드릴을 이끌 예정이다. 또한, 통신·금융 등 주요 산업 분야에서의 시장 입지 확대, 전략적 파트너십 구축, 지속 가능한 성장과 미래 경쟁력 확보를 위한 조직 운영을 총괄한다.

이기열 지사장은 30여 년에 걸쳐 기술 및 비즈니스 전환 분야에서 경험을 쌓아온 전문가로, 다양한 산업과 지역을 아우르는 최고경영진 역할을 수행하며 대규모 디지털 전략을 총괄하고 인재 육성과 전략적 파트너십 구축을 주도해 왔다. 복잡한 전환 프로젝트를 성공적으로 이끌고 디지털 생태계를 조성하며 고성과 조직을 이끈 그의 역량은 기술 분야에서 비전 있는 리더이자 전략적 설계자로서의 명성을 입증한다.

킨드릴 동남아시아 및 한국 총괄 앤드류 림은 “이기열 지사장은 공공 및 민간 부문 전반에서 디지털 전략, 클라우드, AI, 대규모 혁신에 대한 깊은 전문성을 갖추고 있으며, 이는 한국 기업들의 디지털 전환 가속화에 중요한 기여를 할 것”이라며, “그의 리더십 아래 킨드릴 한국 지사가 지속적으로 성장하고 새로운 성과를 창출할 것이라고 본다”라고 말했다.

킨드릴 코리아 이기열 신임 지사장은 “한국 기업은 현대화를 가속화하면서, 미션 크리티컬 시스템이 혁신, 회복탄력성, 장기 성장을 어떻게 지원해야 하는지 재정의하고 있다. 한국의 우수한 팀과 파트너들과 협력해 미션 크리티컬 서비스를 제공하고, 전략적 파트너십을 강화하며, 고객의 현대화 목표 달성을 지원할 수 있기를 기대한다”라고 말했다.

이기열 지사장은 킨드릴 합류 전, AI, 블록체인, 양자컴퓨팅 기반 디지털 전환을 전문으로 하는 컨설팅 기업 디지털 닥터 주식회사(Digital Doctor Ltd)의 CEO로 재직했다. 그 이전에는 SK그룹, IBM, PwC컨설팅에서 주요 리더십 직책을 맡았다. 한양대학교에서 산업공학 석사 및 학사 학위를 취득했으며, 하버드 비즈니스 스쿨(Harvard Business School)과 서강대학교 경영대학원에서 고급 리더십 과정을 수료했다. 또한, MIT 슬론 경영대학원(MIT Sloan)에서 기술 관련 고급 과정을 이수했다.
dl-ciokorea@foundryco.com

In today’s rapidly changing digital landscape, CEOs and CIOs are under constant pressure to do more with less, reduce costs, increase agility, and ensure technology investments directly enable business growth. One of the most effective ways to achieve these objectives is by optimizing your third-party IT services portfolio.

An optimized portfolio not only unlocks cost savings but also enhances flexibility, strengthens risk management, and fosters innovation by aligning IT delivery with broader strategic goals. Here are the top 10 benefits to such a strategy:

Cost efficiency

An optimized portfolio can help with cost reduction and better financial management of IT services spend. By outsourcing certain IT functions to specialized vendors, companies can often achieve cost savings compared to in-house solutions. CEOs are always focused on maximizing profits and reducing unnecessary expenses, making cost-efficient IT services a priority.

Optimizing a decentralized portfolio into a centralized model can reduce IT services spend by up to 30% in fees alone. Beyond direct savings, consolidation creates a stronger base of institutional knowledge around systems, culture, and talent, accelerating onboarding and ensuring continuity of delivery.

Concentrating spend among a select set of strategic partners also creates meaningful leverage. Expect sustainable volume discounts, provider-led investments in technology and COEs, andbest-in-class commercial terms. The result is a more cost-effective, stable, and performance-driven services ecosystem.

Focus on core business

Outsourcing non-core IT functions allows the organization to concentrate on primary business activities. This aligns with the strategic goals of the CEO, who wants the company to excel in its main areas of expertise.

Technology is advancing at its most aggressive pace in decades, and staying current requires time and specialized skills. By entrusting day-to-day IT operations to trusted providers, organizations can reallocate internal resources toward higher-value initiatives such as digital transformation, automation, and product innovation. This accelerates adoption of emerging technologies, and allows internal teams to deepen business expertise, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, and focus on driving growth where it matters most.

Scalability and flexibility

A well-structured third-party IT services portfolio can provide flexibility to scale up or down based on business needs. This is particularly valuable for CEOs who need to adapt to changing market conditions and seize growth opportunities.

Securing talent in the market today is challenging and time consuming, so tapping into the talent pools of your strategic IT services partner base allows organizations to leverage their bench strength to fill immediate needs for talent.

Highly optimized IT service provider portfolios benefit from the institutional knowledge partners obtain over multiple engagements to ensure onboarded resources are the right fit for the organization’s culture. Provider partners often tap resources to fill needs that have worked in some capacity for the organization on prior engagements, allowing resources to hit the ground running by having experience in the environment, with people, and processes.

Innovation and expertise

Outsourcing IT services can grant access to specialized expertise and innovative technologies that the organization might not possess in-house. CEOs are often interested in staying ahead of the curve and leveraging the latest advancements to drive competitive advantage. They also increasingly look to IT service provider expertise in IT security solutions, as well as in advancements and innovation by leveraging AI.

IT service providers continuously invest in advanced tech and talent development, enabling clients to benefit from cutting-edge innovations without bearing the full cost of adoption. As AI, automation, and cybersecurity evolve, providers offer the subject matter expertise and tools organizations need to stay ahead of disruption.

By tapping into this ecosystem, businesses can improve stability, enhance operational efficiency, and accelerate transformation, positioning IT as a true driver of competitive differentiation.

Risk management

CIOs and CEOs share a concern for managing and mitigating risks. By partnering with reliable and experienced third-party IT service providers, organizations can offload some risks associated with technology management, cybersecurity, compliance, and regulatory issues.

The largest risks reside within the security of an organization’s data, its platforms, and applications. Providers like Accenture, Wipro, and TCS have built strong security services platforms that allow organizations to leverage the depth and breadth of partner resources to keep up with technology advances.

Focus on strategy

With operational stability ensured through a balance of internal talent and trusted third parties, CIOs can dedicate more focus to long-term strategic initiatives that fuel growth and innovation. As technology evolves, shifts in spend across your provider landscape can reveal new leverage opportunities, whether through volume consolidation, strategic renewals, or rebalanced sourcing models.

A well-optimized portfolio gives CIOs the visibility and flexibility to adjust quickly, align investments with business priorities, and continually extract greater value from every provider relationship.

Agility and time to market

Third-party IT services can accelerate project timelines and improve time to market for new products or services. This aligns with CEO desires to be agile and responsive to market demands. 

An optimized IT services portfolio enables organizations to tap into providers with proven delivery methodologies, agile frameworks, and global delivery centers that operate around the clock. This delivery model shortens development cycles, enhances responsiveness, and ensures critical initiatives move from concept to deployment faster. When providers are strategically aligned to your business priorities, they proactively identify opportunities to streamline workflows and eliminate bottlenecks, turning IT into an enabler of innovation rather than a constraint on progress.

Resource allocation

CEOs and CIOs can allocate internal resources more effectively by leveraging external expertise. This can lead to better resource allocation, improved efficiency, and enhanced overall performance.

Optimized portfolios ensure that resources, both internal and external, are strategically aligned with enterprise goals. By clearly defining roles and responsibilities across your IT ecosystem, internal teams can focus on initiatives that differentiate the business while third-party providers manage standardized or commodity functions. This balance creates organizational clarity, eliminates duplication of effort, and enhances operational efficiency.

Over time, this structure supports workforce planning and succession development, allowing organizations to invest in the right internal skillsets for long-term strategic growth.

Competitive edge

A well-managed third-party IT services portfolio can provide an edge by allowing organizations to leverage external partner expertise and resources to outpace competitors. Organizations that view their IT service providers not merely as vendors, but as strategic extensions of their teams usually have an upper hand.

Through continuous engagement, co-innovation, and shared investment models, organizations can pilot emerging technologies faster than peers and bring differentiated offerings to market. Providers with deep domain expertise often introduce industry best practices and benchmark insights that inform strategic decision-making. When these partnerships are managed proactively and built on mutual value, the result is a sustained competitive advantage rooted in speed, innovation, and operational excellence.

Business continuity

Outsourcing certain IT functions can contribute to business continuity planning by having redundancy and backup systems in place through third-party providers. Optimized third-party portfolios enhance resilience by ensuring redundancy across critical infrastructure, applications, and operations.

Leading IT service providers invest heavily in high-availability architectures, disaster recovery capabilities, and geographically diverse data centers, all of which strengthen your organization’s continuity posture. A diversified yet coordinated provider ecosystem ensures rapid recovery in the event of outages, cyber incidents, or natural disasters.

Overall, an optimized third-party IT services portfolio can contribute significantly to achieving the strategic objectives of CEOs and CIOs, including cost savings, efficiency improvements, innovation, risk management, and competitive advantage. However, it’s important to carefully select and manage third-party vendors to ensure they align with the organization’s goals. Otherwise, significant value and cost savings could be left on the table.