MICHELE GOINS Senior VP and CIO, Juniper Networks

How long at current company: Seven months

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I was responsible for successfully integrating a large England-based high-tech company into the product and technology road maps of Hewlett-Packard, while increasing market share, revenue, and profit margins.

Most important career influencer: Bill Craven, a former VP at HP. He was a great mentor and a source of career inspiration for me. In fact, he was the one person whom I trusted enough to accept the role managing the acquisition and integration process of that English high-tech company. He had more confidence in my ability than I did, at a very pivotal point in my career.

Decision I wish I could do over: I have no regrets!

The next big thing for my business will be ... effectively scaling IT to enable both the company and employees to be successful.

Advice for future CIOs: Pursue opportunities to lead cross-functional strategic initiatives integral to the company's success.

View on the benefits of offshore outsourcing: It adds flexibility, agility, and the availability of the global workforce.

Size of IT team: 725

Top three initiatives:

• Juniper 2.0, a marketing initiative
• A business process reengineering effort for Siebel and Oracle upgrades
• A global network upgrade

How I measure IT effectiveness:

• Project portfolio delivery performance
• Service-level agreement performance
• Employee satisfaction
• Meeting financial commitments

Key technology partners: IBM and Oracle

College/degree: Bachelor's degree in computer science from Santa Clara University; MBA from Northwestern University

Favorite leisure activities: Golfing and swimming

Last vacation: Sydney, Australia

Best book read recently: Gut Feelings: The Intelligence Of The Unconscious, by Gerd Gigerenzer

If I weren't a CIO, I would be ... the CEO of a technology/change management consulting firm.