Dan Drawbaugh's focus on growth, new opportunities, and strategic vision exemplifies the new role of the CIO.

Drawbaugh, CIO of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says UPMC has spun off 26 new businesses in the past three years -- that's about one every 6 weeks -- and also has aggressively expanded its core medical and health-care practices over that time into Italy, Qatar, Ireland, and soon into parts of the United Kingdom.

Drawbaugh's recent activities also underscore the counsel given by keynote speaker Ram Charan at this week's InformationWeek 500 Conference, where the globally renowned management consultant exhorted the crowd of business-technology executives to "look over the horizon to see where your business is going" and to vigorously pursue higher margins, not necessarily by cutting costs but rather by pursuing innovative approaches that avoid the trap of commoditization.

At UPMC -- a $7 billion organization with four business units and more than 40,000 employees -- Drawbaugh oversees not only 1,100 IT professionals but also 160 biomedical engineers who help UPMC capitalize on opportunities that span the gap between information technology and medical technology. As his biography notes, "Mr. Drawbaugh serves as a key technology advisor to four UPMC-partnered joint venture funds. His contributions involve development of the relationship, creation and management of the fund, and governance positions in identification of new opportunities for investment focused on health care technology innovation."

In that context, Drawbaugh represents not only the CIO of the Year but also the CIO of the Future: business-driven, opportunity-focused, and externally engaged. As the CIO role across all industries begins to undergo significant transformations, Drawbaugh provides an outstanding example for where it is headed.