David Riley CIO and VP of IS and Technology, Foundry Networks

How long at current company: Three years

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: In 2002, I went back to school and completed a master's of business administration degree from Pepperdine University.

Most important career influencer: Bobby Johnson Jr., CEO, Foundry Networks. Bobby's success in the network industry is the envy of most. He started three companies, selling two, and taking the third--Foundry Networks--public. He's committed to producing quality, cutting-edge products and created a company nominated as "One of the Bay Area's Best Places to Work."

Major decision I wish I could do over: It's human nature to look back and think I should have sold that stock and bought that one, had kids earlier or more of them, or taken that other job. ... I'm extremely grateful for my successful career and focused on making the most of today and each day ahead. We should learn from the past, not dwell on it.

The next big thing for my business will be ... data center consolidation. This is a major push and I see further consolidation around NAS/SAN network switching in the area of Fibre Channel over Ethernet.

Best advice for future CIOs: Continue business education and networking with peers at larger companies.

View on offshore outsourcing: If the outsourced model works in your corporate culture, nourish it.

IT budget: Approximately $8 million for 2008 (payroll, operations, and projects)

Size of IT team: 22 (infrastructure and help desk, corporate applications, compliance)

Top three initiatives:

• Implement local and remote failover environments and establish solid recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives to recover the business in a short time frame with minimal data loss.
• Implement a global MPLS network to all major offices to support voice over IP (2008) and video over IP (2009)
• Implement Web-based, automated quote-to-cash for direct, reseller, and partner sales; implement online self-service for employees to access/update personal information, procurement, and time-off requests.

Colleges/degrees: BS in business administration; MBA

Leisure activity: Martial arts with my son

Best book read recently: Execution, by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck

Last vacation: Italy

If I weren't a CIO, I'd be a Starbucks barista in Key West listening to Jimmy Buffett.