Daniel Sinni
Global Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Eviden
Few startups are like Eviden. A new carve out of French multinational information technology service and consulting company Atos, Eviden’s mission is to help its clients accelerate their digital future.
As Daniel Sinni, Global Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Eviden’s Financial Services & Insurance business, explains, the purpose of Eviden is to be the leader in data-driven, trusted, and sustainable digital transformation.
Speaking with Sinni just two weeks after the official launch of Eviden, his enthusiasm is clear. “We just learned the name Eviden,” he says. “Eviden evokes this response of creating new paths forward, transforming possibility into reality, and that's really what the company is going to drive. We are all super excited to go!”
“It's rare that you can say you're part of a €5bn startup, but that's what Eviden is,” Sinni adds. “It's got nearly 60,000 people and 2,100 patents. It is purpose-built to take our clients into the next phase of digital transformation, which is digital integration. That's where a lot of the problems need to be solved, and I'm really proud to be part of that.”
With a deep passion for building empowered teams and enabling clients to leverage technology as a competitive weapon, Sinni has spent his career advising Fortune 500 clients in digital transformation – specifically disruptive, open-source software, AI, and cyber risk management.
A passionate leader who believes he “works with the best team in the world”, Sinni’s experiences have shaped his career in a way few can imagine.
After graduating from the University of Delaware, Sinni took a role in the emerging telecoms space in New York with Network Plus. His office, on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center, was just 12 floors below where American Airlines Flight 11 impacted the tower on 11th September, 2001.
“That is something that deeply impacts you and changes you, especially being on such a high floor and making it out safely when so many did not,” he says. “Having a perspective on that doesn't relate to technology, but it underscores that there is a purpose for me and never take anything for granted. Life is short and enjoy it to the fullest with people and things you love.
“I'm not a super religious person but I am a spiritual person, and I think there's a reason for things. So that experience really taught me something about myself being here and being surrounded by things I am passionate about. Since my company no longer had an office in the towers we moved our NYC team to our data centre in Chelsea. I was exposed to the nerve centre of how our company and technology works - I was captivated and wanted to learn more...”
From there, Sinni moved to the consulting space with Deloitte, where he went through the ranks to senior manager and was on the partner track before leaving to start up a legal process outsourcing company.
“I was a founding member and COO,” Sinni explains. “I ran that and led the sales side, helped with the investor side, built out the technology capabilities and a review centre in lower Manhattan. It was awesome.”
After selling the business, Sinni rejoined Deloitte before joining Pivotal Software before it was acquired by VMware. “I really learned from the brightest people in the industry. Pivotal was an amazing place and its people and clients loved to be part of the organization. I was living cloud-native technology as it was skyrocketing and helping people migrate to the cloud using these new ways of doing agile software development and culture shift.”
Having joined Atos, now part of the Eviden spin out, Sinni says he feels he has come full circle. “I've had the sales expertise side, the deep consulting, cybersecurity, cloud-native, AI you name it,” he comments. “I’ve had my own startup. And, now, I'm in this role where I can really talk with clients, lead teams, and drive innovation for a company that's launching a €5bn startup. It’s like I landed in the right spot at the right time, and there's a purpose for me.
“Change is good. Change is hard. I think you embrace it and it makes you successful in your career, your family, whatever you do. And I've really taken that to heart.
“My parents really instilled that into me,” he concludes. “Work hard, do your best, learn. Whether you're sweeping the floor or running a Fortune 100 company, have passion in it. My experiences, I think, have really propelled me into that. And I think that's what gives me the passion for what we do.”
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