CITIC Group is a large diversified conglomerate with major businesses across financial services, advanced materials, manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure. You are interviewing for an Engineering Manager role supporting a group-level digital engineering office that builds shared platforms used by multiple CITIC subsidiaries, including CITIC Bank, CITIC Pacific Special Steel, and CITIC Heavy Industries. The group has historically funded engineering projects bottom-up by business unit, which has led to duplicated systems, slow delivery, and weak linkage between technology spend and business outcomes.
The Group CIO and Strategy Office want to reset the next 24-month engineering portfolio. The core question is not whether to invest more in engineering, but how to ensure engineering projects align tightly with business strategy. Three strategic priorities have been set for the group: (1) grow fee-based digital revenue, (2) reduce operating cost through shared platforms and automation, and (3) improve risk and compliance resilience. You must recommend how CITIC should prioritize engineering investments across competing initiatives and define a decision framework that business and engineering leaders can use consistently.
Several projects are under consideration for funding in the next planning cycle:
| Initiative | Primary Business Sponsor | 2-Year Cost | Expected 2-Year Benefit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unified customer identity platform for CITIC Bank and wealth products | CITIC Bank | RMB 120M | RMB 260M revenue uplift | Enables cross-sell and lower onboarding friction |
| Predictive maintenance platform for CITIC Heavy Industries equipment | CITIC Heavy Industries | RMB 80M | RMB 150M cost savings + service revenue | Requires IoT integration across installed base |
| Shared procurement workflow automation across 5 subsidiaries | Group Operations | RMB 60M | RMB 110M cost savings | Standardizes approvals and vendor data |
| Group-wide data governance and compliance controls | Group Risk/Compliance | RMB 90M | RMB 40M direct savings; risk reduction not fully quantified | Required by regulators within 18 months |
| Legacy ERP modernization at one manufacturing subsidiary | Local subsidiary CEO | RMB 140M | RMB 100M savings | High local urgency, limited group reuse |
Additional planning assumptions: