InformationWeek

November 27, 2000

Chiefs Of The Year:
Team Of The Year

By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

More on IT management:

From Panic To Pragmatism (11/6/00)

Quest For Calm Waters (10/30/00)

Who's In Charge Of IT? (10/16/00)

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hat an unusual year it's been, full of bangs and busts, cliffhangers and duds. The Y2K bug was a big bust, as were many once-promising dot-coms. Weeks after Election Day, the country still couldn't figure out who the next president would be. Bush? Gore? How about Bush and Gore?

Of course, the Constitution doesn't allow for a coalition presidency. But in E-business, coalitions aren't only allowed, they're vital to a company's success.

E-business requires a strong CIO who understands both the business and technology, and a CEO who provides the support, motivation, and vision needed for business to leverage IT's potential.

While any company can benefit from a strong CIO-CEO team, such partnerships are crucial to brick-and-mortar companies as they transform decades-old procedures and cultures into Internet opportunities. Recognizing the influence executive teams have in E-business transformation, InformationWeek is honoring five CIO-CEO duos at traditional brick-and-mortar companies as our Chiefs of the Year.

This year's winners are Charles Schwab's vice chairman and CIO Dawn Lepore and president and co-CEO David Pottruck. Together, their technology expertise, business aptitude, determination, and vision have positioned Schwab as the leading online brokerage, outpacing traditional competitors and dozens of Web startups.

Other exceptional teams are Eastman Chemical CIO Roger Mowen and CEO Ernie Deavenport; Federal Express CIO Rob Carter and CEO Frederick Smith; General Electric CIO Gary Reiner and CEO Jack Welch; and General Motors CIO Ralph Szygenda and CEO Rick Wagoner.

Key to these teams' success is the CEO's acknowledgment that IT isn't just important when it comes to running an E-business--it's critical. In the end, as our Chiefs of the Year illustrate, a balance of power at the top is what helps ensure a company's success in this fast-paced economy.

InformationWeek's Chiefs Of The Year

David Pottruck, CEO; Dawn Lepore, CIO; Charles Schwab