CIO Profiles: In Their Own Words
IT leaders share their top priorities, biggest mistakes, and career dreams if they weren't a CIO.
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CIO, Los Angeles Community College District
CAREER TRACK
How long at current organization: 21 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Hosting a national conference on information technology.
Most important career influencer: My first boss, Mary Ann Breckell, VP of administrative services. She served as a role model for my style of leadership and management. She always preached team building, and her emphasis on management as a partner in helping staff achieve their potential and the concepts of loyalty and integrity have proven invaluable.
VISION
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Take advantage of the downturn to make dramatic improvements to processes. In good times, there's often less urgency to improve the way we do business. During a downturn, suggestions that can save money or improve processes have more traction.
The federal government's top technology priority be ... to explore all and adopt many of the optimization measures that private industry has pioneered. There's no need to start from scratch when many great minds have paved a path that can be emulated. From this analysis can come cost savings and improved services that would benefit the entire country.
Kids and technology careers: I wouldn't steer kids in a particular direction. If they're interested in a career path, I'd provide them with as much knowledge as I possess and let them determine that it's right for them. I'd encourage my children to find something that they're passionate about and become great at it.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $10 million
Size of IT team: About 60
Top initiatives:
Building a high-performance, high-availability fiber-optic network to meet the communications needs of our students, faculty, and support functions.
Planning, designing, and implementing a modern student information system to meet the technology support and customer service needs of our core business.
Expanding our investment in virtualization. Desktop virtualization will be a major initiative--we've already deployed virtualization for our network, servers, and storage.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We have the traditional metrics and key performance indicators that revolve around dollars. In addition, we include measures such as student success and initiatives that address our core mission.
Personal
Colleges/degrees: California State Los Angeles, School of Business and Economics, MS in information systems; University of Phoenix, Online BS in computer information systems
Favorite president: Teddy Roosevelt--you have to admire his style
Biggest business-related pet peeve: People who don't know our business telling us our business
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Google's Eric Schmidt
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... CEO
CIO Of UniGroup
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Nine years at UniGroup, the parent company of United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Developing a strong architectural and governance framework that has provided the foundation for industry-leading innovation and competitive advantage. The framework has led to a solid partnership between the business units and IT while enabling improved strategic alignment.
Decision I wish I could do over: Earlier in my career, I was in a major company that experienced difficulties, and loyalty to the company prompted me to stay longer than I should have. You have to be objective about the future and understand that nothing is forever--particularly when it involves your career.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $30 million
Size of IT team: 180
Top initiatives:
Rollout and expansion of a new sales management system
Continued growth and exploitation of the enterprise business intelligence initiatives
Expansion of the SOA-based architecture, allowing us to develop innovative systems and improve the quality of IT delivery.
How I measure IT effectiveness: There are many ways to measure the effectiveness of IT. From a financial perspective, running IT like a business and managing to the bottom line provides a strong foundation. Operationally, delivering projects on time and below budget is essential to build credibility with business partners. But the foremost measurement of IT effectiveness is your business partners' assessment of whether the technology investment is generating the expected business value.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: CIOs have to not only be part of the executive team but provide a key enterprise leadership role by developing a unique understanding of the business issues and finding solutions where technology can better enable the business. It's equally important to surround yourself with dedicated people who can execute technology to achieve the business vision.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... changing the business model. The need for process change and innovation is great, and as nontraditional companies find more effective ways to service customers, competition will get more intense.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: It's important to remain focused on adding value to the business while at the same time paying attention to resource management and continuous improvement opportunities.
Kids and technology careers: Opportunities will be abundant for those who choose to pursue tech careers. Even if kids are unsure, the analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills learned in math and science course work will serve them well in any career.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Webster University, MA in computer systems management; Murray State University, BS in agribusiness and systems management
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan, because he understood leadership in that he led from the heart, but with strength and conviction
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Warren Buffett
Pet peeve: Those in leadership positions who don't have a sense of urgency
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an entrepreneur
VP of IT and CIO, Toromont Industries
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 5 years at Toromont, an industrial machinery and equipment distributor.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: My proud moments come from anecdotes and comments. For example, a recent hire from a competitor remarked about how much more information was available from our IT tools, and that helped him be more successful. That's what it's about--beating the competition with better information and technology.
Most important career influencers: I have three. The first is a cost accounting professor in my MBA program. I don't remember his name, but he scared the crap out of everyone. You either knew your stuff, or got fried like bacon. I still use lessons I learned in that class. The second is an old boss who taught me you can find a positive outlook to just about everything in business. Third is a former manager, when I wasn't working in IT. He was an SOB and tried to sabotage my career. I learned that some walls are made of concrete and can't be moved.
Decision I wish I could do over: A bad hiring decision--it set me back a year and a half.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $15 million
Size of IT team: Approximately 50
How I measure IT effectiveness: I monitor traditional spend-to-plan and results-to-plan. However, my key assessment of our group's effectiveness is feedback from senior and line-of-business management. If they're more effective and gaining a competitive advantage, they know it and say so. If not, we have a problem, no matter what the reason.
Top initiatives:
Mobility of people Smartphones, netbooks, 3G, 4G, and remote video lead to faster decisions, better customer collaboration, and more efficient resource use.
Mobility of things. We're implementing increasingly sophisticated on-board electronics and systems that integrate real-time operating data with management information.
Customer connectivity and engagement. Combining these technologies with knowledge-based systems lets us work with customers in very tangible and measurable ways.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... embedded electronics and machine-to-machine IT. Our business involves selling and servicing increasingly sophisticated industrial equipment. Combined with mobile user devices, connecting people to people and to their assets creates enormous opportunities.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Read Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People and focus on the first habit, which is Be Proactive. Concentrate on the things you have control and influence over.
Kids and technology careers: Technology is our future. My oldest son specializes in search engine optimization at an ad agency. I wouldn't steer them in this direction at the cost of some other passion, however.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Toronto, BSc in engineering and MBA
Favorite sport: Ice hockey
Last vacation: Huatulco, Mexico--I like warmer weather
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Kent Kushar of E.&J. Gallo
Business-related pet peeve: The phrase "Someone needs to" and sentences that start with "Yeah, but"
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... doing something related to marketing
Senior VP and CIO, Acxiom
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've spent 18 months at Acxiom, a global intractive marketing services company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: At a former company, getting to the No. 1 spot on the InformationWeek 500 ... twice.
Most important career influencer: David Fuente, CEO at Office Depot, because he taught me that there shouldn't be a distinction between the way you treat people at work and the way you treat people at home. He's a great business leader and an even better man.
Decision I wish I could do over: Leaving a CIO role at a Fortune 500 company to chase an entrepreneurial dream.
Also, while every career move was a step up, sometimes I wish I'd moved my family around less. That's the wisdom of hindsight.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $350 million
Size of IT team: 1,500 employees
Top initiatives:
Support company Insights Factory strategy
Further the use of infrastructure virtualization
Develop integrated suite of products and services around service-oriented architecture
Rearchitect our 10-year-old cloud computing platform
How I measure IT effectiveness:
Cost reduction--expense as a percentage of revenue by line of business
Customer service-level agreement attainment
Fiscal responsibility--consistently beat budget
Security--external and internal vulnerabilities reduced, independent audit confirmation
Project excellence--on time, within budget, goals achieved
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Change careers! Other than that, stick up for your convictions and stand up for the people who make you successful.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: Vivek Kundra is a great leader who doesn't need any advice from me--our country is lucky to have him at the helm. My advice to our government leaders would be: Listen to him. I've had the pleasure of meeting him at the White House and find him to be singularly impressive.
Kids and tech careers: I wouldn't steer kids toward a technology career. The pinnacle of the career is CIO, which jokingly stands for Career Is Over. I've experienced the pressures generated by the unrealistic expectations behind that joke--needing to be perfect, fast, and cheap in a world where complexity and lack of consensus around requirements work against those expectations.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Yale, BA with honors; PhD at Yale not completed
Favorite sport: Golf
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Apple's Steve Jobs, for having the consumer's pulse
Favorite president: Abraham Lincoln, for his courage of conviction amid tumultuous upheaval
Biggest business pet peeve: Corporate antibodies that fight change and transformation
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a Latin percussionist!
Managing Director of Credit Suisse and CIO of Credit Suisse Investment Bank
CAREER TRACK
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: When I was the Asia-Pacific CIO, working out of Hong Kong, we successfully delivered Credit Suisse's global equity platform throughout the region--from Australia to Mumbai. It proved to be a real lesson in how if you stick to a strategy, you can achieve a lot.
Most important career influencer: Many people have had an impact on my career. One in particular was Steve Landles, who was my manager when I was a consultant at a U.K. professional services firm. He taught me a lot about the value of being able to think on my feet and problem solve under pressure.
Decision I wish I could do over: I've been lucky in this respect. There are some instances, though, where I regret decisions I didn't make. In general, I've found it's wrong to be cautious when driving change. There are moments where I wish I'd made bold decisions sooner--for example, around the implementation of a new operating model and organization.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Stick to the plan--your plan. It's a volatile world, and you have to deal with the unexpected. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue what you believe is right. The events of the day are unlikely to disprove the rightness of your plan.
What the last few years have taught us ... is that the need for very robust solutions supporting very accurate and critical information is absolutely paramount. This isn't just an IT issue, but from an IT perspective, we have to focus on supporting critical functions--the ones that if they go wrong, threaten the life of the firm.
The next big thing for my business will be ... the increasing convergence in the way business is transacted. We've been very siloed because our products and business are diverse, but there's more and more commonality in the way business is transacted, and electronic trading is becoming more common across all asset classes. We're moving toward a core platform that provides scalability and adaptability, and does it all efficiently and with low touch.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: Nearly $1 billion
Size of IT team: Approximately 4,000+ employees
Top initiatives:
Deploy new front-to-back platform for over-the-counter derivatives business. This is being developed in-house, rolled out in phases, and should be completed by the end of the year. It covers risk management, trade capture, trade life-cycle management, and downstream feeds to risk and finance systems.
Invest in electronic distribution of flow fixed income products as part of our client-focused capital-efficient strategy. This will involve upgrading the IT systems that price, trade, and risk manage these products, together with improving the performance and scope of our connectivity to market venues.
Improve efficiency and control of securities system. We're moving it off of a mainframe platform to a consistent global process addressing control weaknesses and driving efficiency.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: BA in economic and social history from University of Sheffield; MSc in operational research from University of Strathclyde
Favorite sport: Running
Favorite pro team manager: Jock Stein of the Glasgow Celtic Football Club
Best book read recently: 1918: A Very British Victory, by Peter Hart
Smartphone of choice: iPhone
Last vacation: Italy
Personal computer: MacBook Pro
If I weren't a CIO ... I'd have tried my hand at acting
Senior VP and Global Chief Information Officer, Manpower
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at Manpower, an employment services company, three years.
Most important career influencers: I'm fortunate to have had supportive parents who instilled in me the core values that I've always counted on to guide my career decisions.
Decision I wish I could do over: I took a job once that I knew wasn't a good fit for me personally but convinced myself I should take it anyway. The company had some significant challenges, which is what excited me about the opportunity. In the end, I was able to address most of the challenges, but it took a significant toll on me personally.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Collaborate and communicate constantly with your team, your peers, and your suppliers. Once you've effectively communicated your strategy, vision, execution plans, and the value IT is providing to your business, you most likely have only scratched the surface.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... having a solid understanding of the changes that will continue to occur in the world of work and the challenges these rapid changes will present to individuals seeking employment.
How we're coping with the economic downturn: It looks as if the worst is behind us, so we need to focus on how we move forward. We're looking at innovative ways to deliver offerings that are elastic and cost effective. Cloud and SaaS are interesting, as is the use of a flexible mix of permanent and contingent workers to reach our strategic goals.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... integrating the various intelligence systems in a way that provides meaningful information that will prevent another terrorist attack.
Kids and technology careers: Technology has provided a great career for me, but I wouldn't steer anyone's career choice in any one direction. Choose a career that you enjoy and that will challenge you.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $300 million
Size of IT team: 600 globally
Top initiatives:
Enabling a business transformation initiative to make our branch offices more efficient, which includes implementing an ERP product in multiple global markets.
Implementing new digital branding solutions, a program I'm co-leading with our chief marketing officer. This includes a project to consolidate several of our business-to-consumer offerings and add more content and functionality for our associates and clients.
Implementing a way to provide our sales team with the ability to generate revenue and better understand the needs of our strategic clients across the world.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Our metrics are designed to demonstrate how we're contributing to the company's revenue, efficiency, innovation, thought leadership, and organizational goals.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Nova Southeastern University, BS in computer information systems; University of Maryland, MS certificate in information technology
Leisure activities: Cycling, playing guitar, astronomy, reading
Best book read recently: The Quants, by Scott Patterson, a good overview of some of the forces that caused the economic downturn
Tech vendor CEO I respect most: Salesforce.com's Mark Benioff
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an astronomer or a starving musician
Senior VP and CIO, CUNA Mutual Group
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been with CUNA Mutual Group, a financial services provider, for 6-1/2 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Developing and implementing a stronger customer perspective within the CIO role after leading customer operations for CUNA Mutual for three years.
Most important career influencer: One of my important career influencers early on was Dennis Kuester, who is now the chairman of the board for Marshall and Ilsley. Over a span of 12 years, I worked for him directly and indirectly in many different and diverse roles. Consistently, he provided sound guidance on leadership, managing organizations, and creating and executing business strategy. He was a pivotal mentor for me who catapulted my career to the next level.
Decision I wish I could do over: We attempted a project replacement without adequate business process engineering. I have new checkpoints in place now to ensure we have the right information and processes for the future.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Your job is all about people: customers, employees, partners, and peers.
The next big thing for my business will be ... how we can drive revenue growth. For example, how we can leverage new proven technology to deliver revenue that a business unit may not be aware of, like we did with our voice signature technology, which delivered significant improvement in sales.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: These unprecedented times reinforce the importance that CIOs, and all leaders, must demonstrate to their CEOs and CFOs what cost containment strategies are in place that also drive value and align with business strategies.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... data integration.
Kids and technology careers: I haven't steered my children toward a tech career, but I wouldn't discourage them either. It has been good to me.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $100 million
Size of IT team: 670 employees and contractors
How I measure IT effectiveness: We measure IT effectiveness through the business value is delivered, how the project is aligned with business strategy, and thought leadership in the technology. We use a project scorecard as our gauge for tracking the business results and value. Before a project is approved, it must also have a clear plan to generate business results within six months. If it doesn't, we need to question why we're doing this project.
Top initiatives:
Business intelligence
Virtualization
Sales force automation
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Marquette University, MBA in information technology and finance; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, BBA in management information systems
Leisure activities: Competitive sailboat racing and cruising, and some ice boating when the conditions are right!
Biggest business-related pet peeve: Leaders behaving like victims of their circumstances instead of using their circumstances to drive positive change
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a sailing charter boat captain in the Caribbean
CIO, General Motors OnStar
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: More than six years with General Motors, and 20 years in the automotive IT industry. Currently with GM's OnStar unit, which provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, and emergency services.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Applying IT as part of a life-saving business.
Most important career influencers: My father, a former IT professional in the automotive industry, has given me great advice and guidance throughout my career. He encouraged me to take my first assignment in manufacturing, which allowed me to really learn the car business from the ground up. Also, my wife, who's been with me since the beginning of my career, always gives me straight advice.
Decision I'd like to revisit: Rewriting an enterprise-wide quality and defect-tracking system one more time, versus using software-as-a-service or a commercial, off-the-shelf product.
VISION
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Find ways to immediately realize cost savings, scaled in line with the downturn in revenue. Also, prepare for the recovery, which there are already signs of.
The next big thing for my business: Building on our core technology and industry leadership in safety and security to deliver new and innovative services in cars and trucks. Also, connecting the vehicle to other cloud-based services that we use to manage our personal and business lives, such as MapQuest, Google, and Facebook.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... supporting American innovation through American companies. Also, by supporting education at every level, not just post-secondary.
Kids and technology careers: I'd encourage a tech career by exposing them to science and technology, not just IT. Ultimately, they need to decide if a career in a technical discipline is what they want to do for a lifetime. It's important for America's long-term success to continue to encourage our youth to pursue technical career paths. GM volunteers are highly active in the Society of Automotive Engineers' World in Motion program, which promotes student involvement in technology.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... data integration.
Kids and technology careers: I haven't steered my children toward a tech career, but I wouldn't discourage them either. It has been good to me.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: Approximately $250 million
Size of IT team: 130 internal employees, plus around 500 outsourced resources
How I measure IT effectiveness: Information technology is behind the OnStar product, service, and brand reputation. We measure ourselves by the satisfaction of our subscribers and the success of the business. We base this on regular customer satisfaction surveys, ROI on features and investments in service enhancements, service renewals, and typical IT measures such as uptime and system performance.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Toledo, computer science in engineering; University of Michigan, MBA
Favorite sport: Tennis--big fan, poor player
Business pet peeve: Requirements that say things like "new system should work just like old system" or "user friendly"--I still don't know exactly how to code that
Best book read recently: Open, by Andre Agassi
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a race-car driver
CIO, Providence Health & Services, Western Region
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Three years at Providence, a healthcare provider.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm extremely proud of the fact that I was able to juggle an executive MBA at the same time I was working full capacity at my organization, all while our second child was born. It's not for everybody, but I'm very proud of this. The other piece that I'm proud of is that I received a promotion to CIO after just 1-1/2 years of service here at Providence.
Most important career influencers: I have two. First, my former boss at a previous job because he challenged me as someone who I wasn't at the time, meaning he extracted the very best out of me. The other is Charles Hill, professor at the University of Washington, whose unique teaching style and brilliance helped shape a part of who I am today.
Decision I wish I could do over: I would have pursued my executive MBA earlier in my career.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Build a bold, positive self-affirmation and stick with it until you achieve it!
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Build a solid strategy that aligns with your vision and don't waver from it.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... healthcare reform.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... the elimination of disparate and closed-loop systems. Also, to promote competition and innovation through open system requirements.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 160 full-time employees
Top initiatives:
• Computerized physician order-entry implementation;
• Health information exchange program;
• Optimization of existing systems.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We utilize a regional IS balanced scorecard measuring financial indicators (operating and capital budget utilization and variance), employee development indicators (development plan, succession, and progression planning metrics), customer satisfaction progress indicators (annual customer satisfaction, monthly customer satisfaction, and stakeholder/customer rounding metrics), and operational progress indicators (service desk call volume, IT infrastructure, and capacity measures).
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Washington, bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and executive master's degree in business administration
Leisure activities: Golf
Tech vendor CEO I admire most: Apple's Steve Jobs
Biggest business-related pet peeve: Awe-inspiring visions with absolutely zero operating plan
Personal computer: Dell
Smartphone: iPhone
Last vacation: Oahu, Hawaii
CIO, Qwest Communications
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been with Qwest, the telecommunications carrier, since 2006.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm especially proud of the low-cost, high-value structure we have in my IT group. Qwest's global IT operations utilize strong talent in both the United States and India to provide services at about one-third of the industry norm.
Most important career influencer: At Bell Labs, my boss taught me the value of coupling strong business acumen with IT. He taught me not to get enamored with technology for its own sake but for what it can do for people.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: I oversee an IT department of about 4,000 Qwest and contract employees with some functions handled by Qwest's strategic partners.
Top initiatives:
• Increasing our service delivery capacity so Qwest can roll out additional initiatives without increasing budgets. Qwest is embracing cloud computing so that everything is delivered as a service.
• Helping Qwest evolve to be an industry leader in the cloud.
• Turning IT into a source of revenue for the company.
How I measure IT effectiveness: The mission is simple--enable the delivery of a quality customer experience and deliver new customer capabilities. Every efficiency IT introduces means a gain in our ability to do more of just that. For example, through programs like data center consolidation, maintenance cost reduction programs, and server virtualization and consolidation, IT has reduced business costs significantly. This frees up resources that Qwest feeds back into delivering innovative solutions to our customers.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Stay focused on business results by keeping collaboration, efficiency, and transformation top of mind.
The next big thing for my business: My challenge as CIO is to integrate Qwest's partners and services into competitive offerings. IT fosters the creation of innovative solutions, improves time to market, and helps drive costs out of the business. The variety of rapidly developing technologies will push us to ask, "How do we uniquely make these services work better for our customers?"
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: To deliver a quality customer experience, critical in tough economic times, get in touch with your best customers to understand their business challenges. Then you show stakeholders how to leverage IT for growth.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... cybersecurity. As hacking attacks and other threats rapidly evolve, security countermeasures must stay ahead of that constant change. By collaborating with industry, federal agencies can take advantage of our research, development, and innovation to protect the nation's critical infrastructure.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Banaras University, master's in physics; City University of New York, Ph.D. in physics
Leisure activities: Tennis gives me plenty of exercise and motivates me to improve myself in other ways
Tech vendor I respect most: Apple's Steve Jobs has an amazing ability to be creative and constantly delight us
Biggest business-related pet peeve: Sitting through meetings that aren't well thought through with respect to their agendas and desired outcomes
If I weren't a CIO, I'd go into ... a research and a laboratory setting; I'm excited by innovation that pushes the edge of technology frontiers
CIO, Sidley Austin
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at Sidley Austin, an international law firm, for 10 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Our ability to improve user services without increasing IT costs. By significantly reducing costs in tactical areas, we're able to reallocate and redeploy financial and personnel resources to strategic initiatives.
Most important career influencer: A former Arthur Andersen manager taught me that delivery of service is one of the most important qualities of a successful professional. But to deliver what clients want, you must first listen to their problems before offering answers.
Decision I wish I could do over: I'd focus more on working directly in the areas of sales and marketing operations to further enhance my understanding of the demand and revenue side of the business, as well as running a world-class IT organization.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $10 million
Size of IT team: More than 200
How I measure IT effectiveness: Surveys, focus groups, and personal interactions with our lawyers and clients.
Top initiatives:
• Data center consolidation;
• High-definition videoconferencing;
• User experience and productivity improvements
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Understand the needs of users and clients versus their wants. Much of my time is aimed at IT direction and keeping resources focused. It's very easy to get team members distracted by having resources focused on the latest and greatest gadgets or technology, which may have limited overall value for the company.
The next big issue for my industry: Consumerization of IT products and services into the place of business will place tremendous strain on IT organizations to support consumer products in a secure, operationally efficient, and cost-effective manner.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Continue to focus on your staff. Without making sure you have the right team, it's very hard to ensure you're delivering a quality product or service to your internal and external clients and customers.
Kids and technology careers: Much of technology will become commoditized over time. I'd have my kids focus more on the interactions and use of technology to support and enhance their chosen careers rather than on technology by itself.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Illinois, BS in finance; DePaul University, MBA/MIS.
Leisure activities: Jogging, tennis, and boating
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: John Chambers of Cisco--his ability to move such a large organization toward new markets and products and his focus on innovation are amazing
Business pet peeve: Overusing buzzwords
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a vintner (or, more realistically, a wine guide in Napa)
CIO and Senior VP of Innovation, Technology, and Service Operations, Aetna
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Seven years
Most important career influencer: A combination of family influences, education, and work exposure led me here. My mother has a healthcare background and oriented me toward a career in this field. I earned my master of public health degree at Yale, and to offset graduate school costs, I joined the Navy. This was an amazing opportunity to work at a leading teaching facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, and to get to know the complexities of delivering healthcare within the military.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We measure our success by a company scorecard. We also track on a variety of metrics, including those specific to timeliness and quality, business partner satisfaction, and the availability of our infrastructure.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: Approximately 4,800 full-time and part-time (consultant) employees
Top initiatives:
• Drive a competitive cost structure through greater operating efficiency;
• Be the leading provider of health IT and intelligent evidence-based health information offerings to facilitate optimal health outcomes;
• Implement system changes as a result of healthcare reform legislation.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: To succeed as a CIO, you must innovate with clarity and perform with agility. You must communicate a clear, compelling vision of where the company as a whole and your shop in particular are going next, while remaining open to ideas and opportunities that arise organically as the industry moves forward.
The next big thing for my industry: Actionable health information, delivered at the point of service and based on the best available medical evidence, must be an integral part of the future of healthcare if we're going to deliver value for limited healthcare dollars.
Best way to deal with the economic downturn: Always keep an eye on what's coming next and be ready to deliver the next big thing to better serve customers. You may concurrently need to fine-tune operations, making sure you're best utilizing resources without compromising customer service or neglecting cutting-edge innovations.
The federal government's top technology priority: To realize the benefits and opportunities that health IT advances can provide, the healthcare sector, including government entities, must invest in and adopt new technologies supporting long-term, evidence-based healthcare offerings that empower individuals. The federal government should partner with the private sector to set workable marketplace conditions and rules, while allowing for innovation and flexibility to meet customer needs of the future.
Kids and tech careers: I'd recommend technology as a career for any forward thinkers--people who are intrigued by solutions that enable, improve, and enhance our daily lives.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Providence College, BA in philosophy; Yale University, master of public health
Leisure activities: Golf
Favorite author: Nelson DeMille
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Warren Buffett
Personal computer: Hewlett-Packard
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an interior decorator
Of IntercontinentalExchange
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 14 years
Most important career influencer: Our CEO, Jeff Sprecher--the most brilliant business mind I've ever been around. He also had the confidence to let me run our technology from startup and through our most rapid periods of growth.
Career achievement I'm most proud of: The spring of 2005 was the most challenging time in my career, when we decided to move ICE Futures Europe's largely floor-based business to our electronic platform. The plan called for a transition to a new architecture in two years, including new high-performance servers, a new network design, low-latency middleware, a new software architecture, a high-speed matching engine, and hundreds of code optimizations. Today, the ICE platform can handle hundreds of thousands of transactions a second, and at 2.5 milliseconds, the average transaction time makes this the fastest commodities trading platform in the world.
Decision I wish I could do over: At one point, I selected a software product largely based on reputation because it was considered the best in the industry, and because it was what everyone else was using. We wasted a year of development time until we switched gears. Every vendor and product must be vetted, regardless of its past success and reputation.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $30 million
Size of IT team: 250 employees
Top initiatives:
• We will expand products and services provided by our credit default swaps clearinghouses, ICE Trust and ICE Clear Europe.
• We'll also transition our ICE Clear Europe technology infrastructure away from a third-party vendor and onto our own technology.
• Recently enacted financial reform legislation will require reporting and registration of all over-the-counter derivatives trades at a central trade repository.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Our technology initiatives are aligned 100% with our business initiatives. If we execute our technology, then our business is successful.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... effectively navigating the emerging waves of mobile computing, social media, and financial regulation.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Understand that, increasingly, technology isn't just a cost center-it's also essential for execution of your business.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... the security of our networks, energy infrastructure, and other critical infrastructure from cyberterrorism.
Kids and tech careers: Technology is needed in every industry, and that provides you with many options. I also view technology as a creative endeavor.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Florida's College of Engineering, BSc degree
Leisure activities: Baseball; I play third base and manage an adult recreational baseball team
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Steve Jobs
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry Tech vendor I respect most: Google co-founder Eric Schmidt
If I weren't a CTO, I'd be ... a high school baseball coach
CIO, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 32 years, six years as CIO
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: A little over a year out of school and working as a system administrator/programmer in a research group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), I suggested to my manager that there were opportunities for improvement in how we were organized to support and operate our scientific computers. I was invited to write a short white paper, and a few months later I was asked to run a new group formed to do just that. It was my first management position, and that small group of a dozen engineers was the seed that grew into the 250-person-strong IT organization we have today.
Most important career influencer: I've got to say my father. Growing up in the Great Depression and lacking the advantage of a college education, he worked his way up from the shop floor to become executive VP and COO of a large West Coast printing business. His success provided me the advantage of a college education, and from him, I learned the values of hard work, treating people fairly and respectfully, and balancing family and career.
Decision I wish I could do over: Very early in my career I was asked, "Do we need to connect to Arpanet?" (the DOD-funded network that later grew to become the Internet). I answered, "No." I put that response in the same league as when Digital Equipment's Ken Olsen said, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $46 million
Size of IT team: 250
Top initiatives:
• Complete our enterprise architecture, including mapping of core business processes and the applications supporting those processes.
• Finish deployment of role-based portals supporting project management and line management functions.
• Improve the reliability and ease of use of remote access to PNNL information systems and scientific instruments, while staying secure.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: The best advice I got as a new C-level executive is to find an executive coach. Mine happens to be someone in our own HR department who is appropriately trained, but you can hire one from outside as well.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... America's energy challenges have become more acute. Working with industry, the federal government must deliver affordable solutions to eliminate emissions from the combustion and utilization of hydrocarbon fuels, sufficiently predict climate change to deliver adaptation solutions, and sustainably reduce our dependence on imported oil.
Kids and tech careers: Career success, no matter how you define that, comes from loving what you do. My wife and I exposed our kids to many different careers. They both chose careers in healthcare.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Washington, BS in electrical engineering and an MBA
Leisure activities: Hiking, bicycling, kayaking, and scuba diving
Best book read recently: Tears In The Darkness, by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman, on the Bataan Death March
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry, but I'm trying out an Android-based phone as part of our remote access improvement project
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a teacher and soccer coach
Executive VP and CIO, First Horizon National
CAREER TRACK
How long at the financial services company: Two years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Leading a small group of people to start a new software product, a load origination system called LoanXchange, and seeing the product and people grow into a successful software company. It was ultimately acquired by Alltel information Services.
Most important career influencer: My father taught me two important lessons: Work hard and enjoy what you do, and make a positive contribution for people in whatever you do.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $77 million
Size of IT team: 350 employees
Top initiatives:
• Core systems transformation: Replacements, upgrades, and renewals of nearly every core application system, branch delivery system, and channel direct system at First Horizon.
• IT infrastructure renewal: In anticipation of the new application systems, the IT infrastructure at First Horizon is being totally refreshed with new, state-of-the-art equipment.
• Data center insourcing: Positioning the data center for growth by consolidating from multiple vendor hosting sites to two internally managed centers.
How I measure IT effectiveness: I use a monthly scorecard containing quantitative and qualitative metrics for three items: IT operational service delivery quality, business value delivery (via project execution and resource management), and IT risk management.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Stay close to business leaders and their priorities to bring value to the company beyond quality IT operations. To do that, understand how to apply technology to help grow core product lines, and remember that the customer is the boss and strategies must result in winning customers.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... to improve the technology infrastructure within the U.S. to keep pace with innovation around the globe. We're currently lagging other countries in broadband coverage and adoption.
Kids and technology careers: My kids are still a little young -- Lauren is 13 and Matt is 10 -- for a chosen career direction. I haven't really steered them one way or the other yet, but I definitely wouldn't discourage them from a technology career. There's so much potential within IT. Whether it's the convergence of social networking and mobile devices or the use of technology in microbiology, there will be a lot of exciting career options that blend exciting new technology innovations with future trends.
PERSONAL Colleges/degrees: Tennessee Technological University, BS in math, minor in computer science
Leisure activities: Spending time with my family, playing guitar, and reading
Tech vendor I respect most: Hewlett-Packard founder David Packard
Best book read recently: The Big Short, by Michael Lewis
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... running a personal business br />
Executive VP and CIO, Ross Stores
CAREER TRACK
How long at the retailer: Five years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Moving from consulting to industry--consultants often find industry skepticism over whether they can make that switch. I started my career at Arthur Andersen, which became Andersen Consulting and then Accenture. Becoming a partner at Andersen Consulting was a personal milestone, but I wanted to be on the other side of the table. Transitioning to a CIO role and then to have my responsibilities expanded to include key business functions, including the supply chain, has been a career highlight for me.
Most important career influencers: I have two: Ed Kennedy and Michael Balmuth. Ed, at Andersen Consulting, taught me to have intense loyalty for clients, focus on delivering my best efforts--and not to micromanage my career. Michael, Ross' CEO, placed his confidence in me as CIO during a unique time at Ross and has given me the support and opportunity to contribute even more.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
• Continue to provide the tools and information that our merchants need to help them obtain the best bargains for our customers.
• Drive supply chain productivity and capacity through process and system improvements.
• Roll out company-wide business intelligence capabilities.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Besides the classic metrics, such as ROI and customer satisfaction, I use more "top-line" metrics, including: The ratio of time I'm spending on new capabilities vs. nondiscretionary operations; the amount of time I spend managing my IT vs. business responsibilities; and the types of discussions I'm having with my boss and my peers. That is, are we talking about IT more in the context of operational and finance results or about complaints of system performance and IT responsiveness?
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Boil down and communicate complex technology jargon into business decisions that everyone can understand.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... the impact of the younger generation on traditional brick-and-mortar retailing. Mobile computing, social networking, and other factors will place different expectations on our industry and its IT function.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Make sure your nondiscretionary functions are as lean and flexible as possible to allow you to focus your spending and resources on those things that will truly help drive top-line and margin-improvement opportunities.
Kids and technology careers: I think technology would make a good career for my children, but they aren't going to be able to develop their skills in the way I was allowed to. To have the best career opportunities, they must have strong foundational skills but also develop their ability to innovate. They're going to have to be more well rounded and enter the workforce higher up the skill curve than I did.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of California at Davis, BS in managerial economics
Leisure activities: Golfing and spending time with family
Favorite sports coach: Bill Walsh, formerly with the San Francisco 49ers, who showed you could dominate the game with skills other than brute force
Business pet peeve: When vendors don't take the time to learn about my business before trying to sell me on their products
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... in some other executive position (while remaining a closet CIO)
Ranked No. 31 in the 2010
VP and CIO, Royal Caribbean Cruises
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 26 years, three of them as CIO
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm most proud of mentoring people across the company into leadership positions. I'm also very proud of having led multiple business disciplines successfully--before becoming CIO, I was the leader of the North American contact centers. How's that for diversity?
Most important career influencer: That's easy. I've worked for the same person for the past 16 years: Brian Rice, Royal Caribbean's executive VP and CFO, who has molded my career into what it is today.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: Approximately $100 million
Size of IT team: Around 500 employees
How I measure IT effectiveness: The best measure is one that describes how much value you're adding to the company. We have scorecards and metrics for just about everything, but truly getting to the value add is deeper than the metrics--you have to understand that some metrics, while popular and interesting, have nothing to do with adding value.
Top initiatives:
• Allure of the Seas: Delivery of the newest ship in the our international fleet and sister ship to Oasis of the Seas. Allure is our fifth ship to utilize a fully converged IP network that delivers in-stateroom entertainment and Wi-Fi throughout the vessel. It also uses VoIP for a wide range of wireless applications.
• Celebrity Eclipse: Delivery of the newest ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet and the third Solstice-class ship. The Solstice class also features a fully converged network.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm most proud of mentoring people across the company into leadership positions. I'm also very proud of having led multiple business disciplines successfully--before becoming CIO, I was the leader of the North American contact centers. How's that for diversity?
Most important career influencer: That's easy. I've worked for the same person for the past 16 years: Brian Rice, Royal Caribbean's executive VP and CFO, who has molded my career into what it is today.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Get a business degree, and if possible, run an operating group first. It will help you understand how technology can impact--both in good ways and bad--a business unit.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... consumer-facing technology. Our Oasis class of ships had a dramatic impact on how we could leverage technology to improve the guest experience with back-of-the-house automation. Further development of BI also will be big.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Be patient and look for the opportunity to leverage the upturn. We've found an increased desire to invest in technology at all levels to make our business processes more efficient.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... healthcare infrastructure. If you've ever tried HealthVault or Google Health, you know it can be empowering to track your medical history. While some may question whether the federal government should build the infrastructure, it should provide guidelines and the incentives to make this happen.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: BSBA from the University of Phoenix (while working full time and before online education was an accepted norm)
Leisure activities: Reading, walking, biking, and playing games with the kids
Best book read recently: The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team, by Patrick M. Lencioni
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a teacher--I still will be when my four kids are grown and a little less dependent
Ranked No. 41 in the 2010
Senior VP of Corporate Service Center and CIO, Del Monte
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Eight years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Partnering with Del Monte leadership to dramatically transform our supply chain planning, management, and execution to be best in class over the course of two years. Effective partnering allowed us to take prudent risks and deliver improvements in terms of service and cost reductions.
Most important career influencers: My father (an engineer) and my wife (a psychotherapist). My father taught me to explore new things and not to fear early adoption. He got me my first warehousing job and also encouraged me to take my first computer course. My wife taught (and continues to teach) me to listen and to be sensitive to the individual.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 130 employees
Top initiatives:
• Continue to increase our supply chain and operations speed and responsiveness to drive out cost and improve service levels, for ourselves and our customers.
• Provide improved analytics and predictive capabilities to fuel innovation, marketing, and sales growth.
• Bring social media trends into our business to positively transform the way people work, fueling innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We measure IT effectiveness through direct alignment of our initiatives with delivery of our corporate business strategy, the Accelerated Growth Plan. Each project in our portfolio is prioritized against growth drivers--productivity improvement, building core brands, and accelerating innovation--and measured against specific business benefit targets.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Identify the one or two areas where you can make a strategic impact on the business, partner with winners, and make it happen. Business performance is primarily driven by focused, highly successful execution--not by being adequate across the board. The CIO's value to the business is to create that focus and success.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... true collaboration across the food supply chain powered by shared visibility from field to shelf.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Continue to emphasize a balanced mix of efficiency and effectiveness of IT delivery. It's imperative to get the most out of the resources at hand. An increasing portion of the funding to implement and support new technologies and to deliver new business capabilities will have to come from efficiency gains in other IT service areas. Using methodologies that focus on efficiency such as lean performance improvement can help drive this message throughout IT.
Kids and technology careers: I haven't steered my two teenage kids toward a technology career. They need to explore a wide range of opportunities that they might enjoy so they can gravitate to what makes them happy. Success will follow.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Carnegie-Mellon University, BS in civil engineering; Kellogg School at Northwestern University, MM in marketing and operations
Leisure activities: Golf
Favorite pro sports team: Pittsburgh Pirates--how sad is that!
Tech vendor I respect most: Apple's Steve Jobs
Business-related pet peeve: CYA behavior by people who are supposed to be leaders
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... spending more time with my family and relaxing
Ranked No. 47 in the 2010
Senior VP and CIO, Avon Products
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Two and a half years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Developing three of my direct reports at my last company, Wrigley, so that they could become CIOs, one as my successor and the other two at different companies.
Most important career influencer: Ian Pepe, a former boss in the U.K. He ran IT at Lucas Industries, but he also understood the business operations and took the lead on a number of business issues. This posture--an IT leader as both a business leader and a technology leader--has impacted how I view my role and myself.
Decision I wish I could do over: When I was 25, I dropped out of an executive MBA program because my employer at the time halted its financial support. I figured that I'd complete it later but never did. Later in my career, I completed the executive program at the University of Michigan, and realized how much I had missed by not completing my MBA earlier.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: More than 1,000
Top initiatives:
• Customer Connect is series of technology-enabled solutions to capture customer data, track relationships between each customer and her Avon representative, and reattach customers whose reps have left to other suitable people.
• Today's customers and reps expect to place an order online and get it delivered at home within 24 hours. Our Service Model Transformation initiative addresses this expectation, and it will be a major IT program investment for us over the next three years.
• We're working on a number of programs to bring our direct selling model fully online to make it easier for our representatives to manage their businesses.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Work outside IT for at least three years in a function that's critical to revenue growth for your business. Become an expert in that area and become perceived as a business leader who happens to have tech expertise.
Best way for CIOs to cope with the economic downturn: Find the growth levers for your business, and create relevant capabilities to enable growth. Moving from a primary focus on efficiency to a focus on growth is critical right now.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Dublin Institute of Technology, BSc in engineering
Leisure activities: Tennis, travel, reading
Favorite president: John F. Kennedy: His family came from my home town area of Wexford in Ireland, and I grew up in an environment where he was deeply respected
Advice for future CIOs: The Big Short, by Michael Lewis
Advice for future CIOs: own a vineyard
Ranked No. 42 in the 2010
Senior VP and CIO, The Associated Press
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Six years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Transforming the reputation of AP's IT department over four years from one that was unresponsive, disengaged, stuck in silos, slow to deliver on projects, and out of touch with industry and technical trends to one that is engaged, proactive, efficient, forward reaching, innovative, collaborative, focused on partnerships with business colleagues, and invested in the success of the company. It was a bumpy journey and required changes in most of the IT leadership team over the past four years, but we find ourselves in a good place.
Most important career influencer: A now-retired executive editor at USA Today who convinced me, while I was a deputy managing editor at the newspaper, to attend law school at night. Although I decided not to practice law after I completed my degree, law school changed the course of my career, opening doors that led to jobs in product and business development, executive management, and technology innovation, including the planning and launch of USA Today's Web site in the early days of the Web.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $125 million
Size of IT team: 500 globally
Top initiatives:
• Completing the first phase of development and launching a new Web-based service called the AP News Registry, which uses a microformat and a usage tag to collect data on how consumers use AP and other news content on the Web.
• Starting the global rollout to AP's 2,500 journalists of our first new editorial system in 20 years. The multimedia system is an elegant product built on Microsoft SharePoint 2010, integrated with a customized version of Word, Office Communicator, and Outlook.
• Transitioning AP's domestic newspaper customers off legacy satellite delivery of text and photos to Web-based distribution and starting the transition of global newspapers and broadcasters off satellite.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: When developing your priority list, give a No. 1 ranking to "understanding the business and business expectations." Internal and external customers focus on the results, not the elegance of the solution or the process for delivering it.
The next big thing for my industry will be ... tablet computers, like the iPad, and all things mobile. They're the new printing presses and newsprint and TV screens for the media industry.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: If we're to believe the reports, the downturn is over, and we're seeing the first signs of economic improvement. Which is good news and--for an IT department--bad news. A downturn is a great time to pick up some top-notch talent that finds itself out of work. Now that the economy is improving, so too is recruiting, and the stable staff of the recession is turning into a fond memory.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Seton Hall University, BA in English; American University, MA in public affairs journalism; George Mason University, JD and course work toward PhD in public policy
Leisure activity: Gardening; it plays havoc on manicures, but it's good for the soul
Best books read recently: Stieg Larson's Millennium trilogy; I haven't come across such innovative fiction in a long time
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... back at work on a deferred PhD in public policy, probably with an emphasis on privacy law and policy
Ranked No. 12 in the 2010
VP and CIO, University Of Pennsylvania Health System
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Three and a half years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: In 2001, I established MedMatica, a healthcare information technology consulting firm. It has grown to over 30 consultants and has been recognized as a three-time Inc. Magazine 5,000 winner as one of the fastest-growing privately held organizations in the United States.
Most important career influencer: The founder and president of First Consulting Group, Jim Reep, had perhaps the most profound impact on me. Jim had a masterful ability to develop and communicate a common vision to the entire organization, which served to bond and motivate all employees. This ability to forge unity among a wide range of employees is one of the key qualities of a leader.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I had the opportunity to create a technology-oriented IT staffing consulting firm. Given my lack of business experience, I was unsure how to proceed and passed on the opportunity. What I've learned since then is that you're never completely sure how to proceed. Trusting your instincts, working hard to exceed expectations, and having a positive attitude help compensate for the absence of full knowledge that no one will ever truly possess anyway.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $95 million
Size of IT team: 320 employees
Top initiatives:
• Complete access to and training on using ambulatory electronic medical record for all 1,800 Penn Medicine physicians.
• Replace current ambulatory practice management applications (scheduling, registration, and billing) with a state-of-the-art system.
• Provide nurses and other care providers the ability to document their patient's care electronically through the use of in-room devices.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: The linking of patient care attributes (phenotype information) and genetic research (genomic information) is coming as part of the development of personalized medicine. New technologies show great promise for helping caregivers and researchers provide patient-specific care plans that will allow for maximum benefits from the prescribed medication or therapy.
What should the federal government's top tech priority be? Assigning a unique healthcare patient ID number to all patients would significantly simplify the identification, management, and tracking of patient information. I recognize that some have privacy concerns, but patient safety will be enhanced through the careful development and introduction of such a system.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Rider University, BS in accounting and decision support; Villanova University, masters in business administration.
Leisure activity: Ice hockey and surfing.
Business pet peeve: People who say they will follow up and get back to me and then never do.
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... selling Italian ice at the New Jersey shore. I like the idea of providing a product that brings instant gratification. For a CIO, gratification can take years to be recognized. A more immediate type of recognition in the form of smiling children's faces looks pretty appealing!
Ranked No. 54 in the 2010
VP and CIO, Healthways
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Five years at this health-services software company
Most important career influencer: Dr. Adrian Lewis, professor of military history at the University of Kansas and graduate program director at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He provided a lifetime of advice on how to take one's skills and passions and direct those toward some meaningful good.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: Size of IT team: 750
How I measure IT effectiveness:
Confidence is the only metric that is of consequence. I'd gauge confidence across three domains:
• Board, senior management, and peer confidence that you're an astute and trusted business partner who understands and supports the mission, vision, and goals of the company.
• Customer confidence in your strategy and ability to execute.
• IT organizational confidence that your leadership and commitment will provide a directional beacon in good times and bad.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: Healthcare reform will change many aspects of healthcare. Risks, financial burdens, accountability, and business models will be in flux for a few years. I also look forward to advancements on the Web, in the 2.0 or social space, and in mobile computing impacting healthcare. We may be developing a generation of Americans who will see technology as a cornerstone to their well-being, the way past generations viewed doctors, nurses, and hospitals.
Advice for future CIOs: Lead, don't manage. In the early days of the job it will be necessary to use your management acumen. Over time, those instincts must be displaced by a higher calling to organizational leadership, and management must be left to those whom you trust.
The government's top tech priority should be ... The federal government has the richest computing capabilities on the planet. Pointing that portfolio toward one, two, or three specific opportunities would do great good for our nation. It would be a powerful statement to say, "in the next four years, we will ensure taxpayers receive the maximum potential value of the money already invested in our technology portfolio."
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: BA, MS, and MBA from James Madison, North Texas, and Maryland, respectively
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Mark Cuban (Broadcast.com, HDNet, and Dallas Mavericks)
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... I spent the first third of my working life in the military. Beyond being a CIO, my passion for the middle third, I still fully intend to spend the back third of my working life teaching, writing, and coaching.
Ranked No. 8 in the 2010
VP and CIO, Teva Pharmaceuticals Americas
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Eight years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Transforming Teva USA's legacy platform into a common integrated platform of real-time systems. This boosted our ability to integrate acquired companies into our common platform at a speed that becomes a competitive advantage.
Most important career influencer: Bill Marth, president and CEO of Teva, for his insight into the business operation and decision-making process. Bill is able to get buy-in across the organization. He does this through his ability to clearly articulate his vision, letting him rally people in support.
Decision I'd like to do over: There are some hiring decisions I wish I had a second chance at. Resources are a precious commodity, and making a hire that doesn't fit is a drain on the organization. If a person doesn't have the core values and behavior that mesh with the vision of the company, it won't work out.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $90 million
Size of IT team: 290 employees
Top initiatives:
• Our ePedigree system, which can track and trace all our pharmaceutical products throughout the supply chain, enabling full chain of custody from point of manufacture through consumer sale.
• Automation of our lab and manufacturing processes through the implementation of electronic lab notebooks and manufacturing execution systems. This will allow automation of the weighing and dispensing of raw materials into the drug production process.
• A fully automated, high-availability platform to let our businesses recover faster after a disruption.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: Recent FDA regulations and healthcare reform are paving the way for biologicsÑmedicinal products created by biological processes. These are important medicines and represent a huge market and tremendous therapeutic value to patients. However, biologics are much more difficult to develop and manufacture than traditional chemical medicines.
The government's top tech priority should be ... Besides security, from a pure IT perspective, the government should be focused on consolidation and shared services.
Kids and tech careers: A career in IT can certainly be rewarding. You're viewed as a problem solver. You can be a developer, a network engineer, a project manager, or somewhere in between. You can be hands-on or get into management. My main advice would be that whichever avenue you pursue, make sure you understand the business you support.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Southern Methodist University, PhD
Favorite sport: Basketball
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Jack Welch, General Electric's former leader
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry
Last vacation: China
Tech vendor exec I respect most: Google's Eric Schmidt
Ranked No. 48 in the 2010
VP and CIO, Sparrow Health System
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Two years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: here's nothing quite like knowing you've enabled a physician or nurse to improve someone's health, or simply made someone's hospital stay more comfortable. I'll use the story of a recent cancer patient as an example. She was going to miss her son's high school graduation because of her chemotherapy. We brought in some videoconferencing equipment so she could view the graduation from her hospital room. It meant the world to her. Bringing the family together that day might be my proudest moment.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $67 million
Size of IT team: Around 160
Top initiatives:
• Deploy an electronic medical record system for our physician practices. We're turning them from paper to completely electronic.
• Deploy a document management system across Sparrow. This will let us scan and digitize our current paper inpatient records and streamline the discharge process.
• Redesign and rehost all our Web sites and content for the entire Sparrow Health System. This will improve the Web experience for our patients and community, and allow us to deploy new capabilities.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Get to know the culture of your own organization and the strengths and weaknesses of that culture. Often, new execs will quickly reorganize a department or change strategy as a vehicle to achieve success. The reality is that culture more often determines how employees execute rather than who they report to on an org chart. If you build a culture that reflects your priorities, you'll be well positioned for success.
The next big thing for my industry: A big challenge for healthcare providers will be collaboration. Reaping the benefits of electronic health records depends on bringing people together across multiple disparate entities in collaboration to deliver the best care. Finding new ways to do this will be critical to the industry's success.
The government's top tech priority should be ... to continue achieving the pace of innovation we've experienced in recent years, the federal government should foster an environment where small businesses can thrive.
Kids and tech careers: A career in IT can certainly be rewarding. You're viewed as a problem solver. You can be a developer, a network engineer, a project manager, or somewhere in between. You can be hands-on or get into management. My main advice would be that whichever avenue you pursue, make sure you understand the business you support.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Albion College, BA in economics
Leisure activities: Golf and coaching my kids' sports teams
Biggest business-related pet peeve: When people meet instead of act
Smartphone of choice: Droid
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a public servant of some sort--I love the state of Michigan and want to do everything I can to facilitate our economic recovery
Ranked No. 22 in the 2010
Senior VP and CIO, McCoy's Building Supply
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Thirteen years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: That would be the point-of-sale rollout project at McCoy's in 1998. At the time, there was literally no automation anywhere in the building supply company. In nine months, the IT team converted 98 stores from manual cash registers to a real-time POS, receiving, and inventory management system. Of utmost importance was to ensure the kind of training and support that would enable everyone to make the transition to computerization.
Most important career influencers: Larry Smith was my manager in the very early days of my career as a programmer. He not only had the technical skills in development and analysis, he knew how to develop collaborative relationships with end users. His recommendation was a key in my promotion to my first management position, and we're friends to this day. Brian McCoy has been a great influence on me since I joined McCoy's. He has demonstrated integrity, respect, and many other principles through the very toughest of times.
Decision I wish I could do over: This isn't really all that major, but it sure was aggravating. I switched from our local exchange carrier to a competitor, to save about $120,000. In my zeal to save money, I didn't do the necessary due diligence. The savings was there, but the timeliness for repair and new service didn't support our business requirements. In addition, its billing systems were a disaster and added an incredible amount of work.
ON THE JOB
• An application that lets our customers build electronic materials lists from our real-time Internet catalog and have it available at point of sale in the store of their choice.
• A mini Web site for our professional contractors to post their company profile, services, job pictures, and references.
• Fine-tuning our internal replenishment system and the parameters that drive it. We want to reduce inventory by $2 million or $3 million.
How I measure IT effectiveness: All of our major systems are totally integrated and real time, so tracking application availability is critical. ROI is always measured for major projects. A unique measure of effectiveness is the feedback we seek from our internal customers on how IT interacts and treats them.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Know your team and those you interact with on a personal level. Be able to share their celebrations and support them during their life struggles. Allow yourself to share your own celebrations and struggles. Knowing each other on this level builds the kind of trust that enables incredible teamwork.
The government's top tech priority should be ...Kids and tech careers: I wanted my son to make his own choices based on his desires, not mine. He always wanted to be part of the TV industry. He's now an executive producer of the morning shows for a major network. I don't know anything about his industry and it makes for some great stories and experiences for us to share when we're together.
Kids and tech careers: I wanted my son to make his own choices based on his desires, not mine. He always wanted to be part of the TV industry. He's now an executive producer of the morning shows for a major network. I don't know anything about his industry and it makes for some great stories and experiences for us to share when we're together.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Florida Atlantic University, bachelor of applied science with a major in computer systems and a minor in business
Leisure activities: Travel and watching the Texas Longhorns
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: John Chambers; Cisco has had an incredible track record of producing quality products with outstanding customer support
Business-related pet peeve: People not taking personal responsibility for their actions
If I weren't a CIO, I'd ... own a drag-racing speed shop
Ranked No. 26 in the 2010
CIO and Executive VP, Mansfield Oil
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Almost four years
Decision I wish I could do over: We waited to launch our startup in 1999 instead of 1998. What a difference a year would have made! We had an actual working Web application in 1998 that we coded in ColdFusion. While others were raising tens of millions of dollars with Power Point presentations, we had something real with live customers testing it for us. It was a big mistake to wait. Now I believe: Go with your gut; be bold; be optimistic; don't listen to naysayers. This is all advice you hear often but don't truly understand until you find out what a year of indecision can cost you.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $9 million
Size of IT team: At the peak of 2011, we/ll have 47 full-timers
Top initiatives:
• Increasing the standard for high availability across the enterprise, leveraging our investment in virtualization.
• Implementing a new platform for commodities trading and bulk inventory management.
• Providing access to fresh data for all systems of record, along with corresponding tools to analyze and visualize data.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: The growth of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles is going to radically change the demand for networked technology solutions that manage the energy supply chain. What is largely disconnected today will be networked, remotely monitored, and, in many cases, controlled.
One thing my company wants to do better this year: We want to service our field offices more effectively. We've grown faster than our IT organization was prepared to support. Field effectiveness for sales force and remote offices has suffered. We're looking for a services partner, with feet on the ground in each market, to be an extension of our internal team.
Lesson I learned from the last recession: Don't stop investing. From 2008 through 2010, we increased our technology investment each year by more than 25%, and we'll be taking a bigger step this year. These are the times when you create competitive separation. Technology is a key way to do that.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... to prioritize creating more wireless bandwidth availability for new technologies and developing a framework where some amount of bandwidth can be accessed by startups and spur innovation. When a tiny slice costs billions of dollars, we limit ourselves to offerings from the traditional telco providersÑthis is not the path to innovation. Yes, net neutrality is an important issue, but wireless is key to future growth.
PERSONAL
Business-related pet peeve: Managers who bring me problems without proposed solutions -- give me options!
Favorite president: George Washington, because starting anything from scratch is hard
Best book read recently: Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Last vacation: Scotland with my Âentire extended family for the British Open at St. Andrews
If I weren’t a CIO, I'd ... love to run -- another startup
Ranked No. 24 in the 2010
Senior VP and CIO, Concentra
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been with Concentra, which operates medical centers and clinics in 40 states, for 10 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Running a technology organization that's viewed as a value-added partner.
Most important career influencer: Early in my IT career, I met the female CIO of a large tech company and asked about her career path. She told me that it took tremendous passion and bravery to do the job. To be an effective CIO, you must have passion for leading technology people, enabling the business through technology, and being focused on customer service. You must also show bravery to be a respected member of senior management and be engaged in strategy, finance, and operations.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $27 million
Size of IT team: 160 employees
Top initiatives:
• We're deploying a customer management system, allowing us to better track customer interactions over time.
• The technology team is closely aligned with the business side to develop and execute a new clinical systems strategy.
• Continued rollout of the Medical Informatics Engineering electronic health record management system to all of our employer worksite locations.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Concentra ranks each business unit annually, including the technology organization. This allows us to understand the satisfaction of end users and make improvements.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: The future of healthcare is boundless. There are many opportunities we can obtain through advanced information exchange, automation, and operational and quality improvement.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... to lead technology into more aspects of the healthcare system, creating more cost-efficient and quality outcomes.
Kids and technology careers: I'd encourage my child to find a career she's passionate about and one that makes her happy. If that's in the technology industry, I would support the decision.
PERSONAL
Colleges: University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas
Leisure activity: Golf
Business-related pet peeve: Talkers, not doers
Tech vendor I respect most: Steve Jobs
Personal computer: Mac
Smartphone: iPhone
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a lawyer or judge
Ranked No. 33 in the 2010
CIO, Lockheed Martin
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 24 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Back in 2008, Lockheed Martin decided to merge three groups under the office of the CIO. I've had the privilege of leading this team since that merger and have watched three cultures come together to focus on four main cultural attributes: accountability, trust, partnership, and innovation. We now have a common vision and are working to realize cost savings and to increase service levels through transparency and accountability.
Most important career influencer: My mom. She instilled in me the belief that there wasn't anything I couldn't do if I put my mind to it. That's been a driving force throughout my career.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
• Completing the consolidation of 40 applications into a single corporate-wide procure-to-pay system.
• Consolidating our data centers.
• Continuing the evolution of our cybersecurity defenses.
How I measure IT effectiveness: When the phone isn't ringing, things must be going well. In all seriousness, we use the standard litany of IT metrics, but I personally track how often our company's business areas are calling on us to support efforts related to their external customers. This helps me understand if we're acting as an effective resource account for them. I also look at how effectively we're reducing our operational and maintenance budgets while increasing our investment budgets.
VISION
Advice for future CIOs: Your success depends on the strength of your relationships. You can have the greatest ideas and technology, all the shiny toys, but if you don't have the trust of your business leaders you won't get very far.
The next big thing for my industry: A lot of CIOs need to look at what services their teams provide that are 'core' and what services aren't and could be performed by someone else. This kind of evaluation allows you to increase your effectiveness while reducing cost. With the current rate and pace of change, it's become critical to at least take a look at these things and make some tough decisions.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Today's economy requires CIOs to be realistic. You've must ask yourself, 'Is that really necessary?' and 'What can be put on the shelf or stopped?' Take inventory and make the tough decisions. That said, we shouldn't mortgage our future for a few dollars today. It's critical to focus on reducing your operational and maintenance costs in order to self-fund investments that will help you stay ahead of the curve.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... What I'm hearing from our federal government customers is a need to focus on affordability and cybersecurity, and I agree they're two of the biggest technology priorities.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Temple University, dual major in computer information sciences and accounting
Leisure activities: Watching my kids play sports -- that's where you'll find us on the weekends
Business pet peeve: I wish we could get rid of the 'reply all' button on email or at least help people understand when it's unnecessary to reply to everyone
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a chef -- I love to cook and entertain
Ranked No. 46 in the 2010
Senior VP and CIO, Stewart Information Services
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Four years at Stewart, which provides title insurance and related services to the real estate and mortgage industries.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Driving an aggressive two-year IT transformation to align with business. Because of the economic downturn, there were opportunities to be more strategic, to increase IT efficiency and effectiveness, and to reduce costs. This transformation had its challenges, such as fear among associates about job loss and centralized IT's ability to meet customer needs. The first few months were rough, with a lot of confusion. But with the proper communication, support from the company's leadership, and the IT team's commitment to this initiative, we were able to overcome those challenges. All these measures have helped cut IT costs by 30%. These cost savings helped fund additional strategic projects for the company.
Most important career influencer: A former boss, Kamalesh Dwivedi, who was my coach and mentor when my management career was taking off. He helped me understand what it takes to move from being a technologist to a management role.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $40 million
Size of IT team: 240
Top initiatives:
• Developing new multiplatform underwriter system to replace the current system, which is almost 15 years old and has limitations to support business needs.
• Implementation of an enterprise VoIP system to consolidate more than 150 aging PBX systems in our field offices.
• The relocation of our primary data center.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Stewart does this in a number of ways. Decisions made on core business strategic initiatives are justified based on ROI. Success is measured by on-time and on-budget delivery. We do an online customer survey on a weekly basis. The average customer satisfaction rating is 92% with the goal to move to 98%. IT metrics for systems and networks as well as monthly customer satisfaction survey ratings are given to the company leadership team on a monthly basis.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... giving customers the ability to close a real estate transaction anywhere, on any device.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Prioritize your IT investments. Work closely with IT leadership and the company's senior management team to prioritize the projects, and discuss cost-reduction options and their impact on the business. Clearly articulate the business risks, and make tough decisions when needed. Economic downturns always provide opportunity to think outside the box.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... to work with foreign governments to crack down on information hackers fast.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Florida Institute of Technology, BS in electrical engineering
Leisure activities: Spending time with family and taking short trips
Favorite athlete: Imran Khan, the world-renowned cricket player
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan -- he was a relationship builder and bridge builder
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... running a nongovernmental organization in a developing country
Ranked No. 34 in the 2010
Senior VP & CIO, Herbalife
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Three years at Herbalife, which makes and sells nutrition, weight loss, and skin-care products.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Developing and implementing an environment at Herbalife that's stable, scalable, and agile enough to handle Herbalife's changing business needs. This includes systems such as our global ERP and e-commerce platforms, but also people and processes that are key in ensuring that we align our technology with overall business strategies.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I accepted a job offer because I thought it would be 'good for my career,' even though I didn't feel it was a great fit for me personally. I quickly realized that success and career fulfillment are impossible if you're not passionate about what you do.
Most important career influencers: My parents, who sacrificed to make sure that I had every opportunity to become successful in whatever path in life I chose.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $90 million
Size of IT team: Approximately 325 to 375 employees and contractors, depending on the current project portfolio.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We measure the effectivess of our day-to-day operational support as well as project delivery. We set service-level objectives for operational support that are measured and shared with our internal customers. Our project proposals require a clear business case that outlines the ROI and how the initiative will align with our business strategies. And we leverage metrics and a project dashboard to measure the effectiveness of project delivery.
VISION
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Stay ahead by striving to find ways to operate more efficiently and focusing on initiatives that drive the greatest business benefits. Efficiencies are often found by modifying a business process, and that requires someone who understands the business and not just the technology being used.
Kids and tech careers: I steer my kids toward becoming comfortable with technology in general because it's such an integral piece of our lives. But I'll leave their career choices to wherever their passion takes them.
PERSONAL
Favorite sport: Football
Favorite president: Franklin D. Roosevelt -- he had a dramatic impact on our military, economy, and foreign policy during a time in which all three areas were under extreme duress
Business pet peeve: People who focus on pointing out problems but never have a proposed solution in mind
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a high school coach and teacher
Ranked No. 35 in the 2010
VP of IT, Do it Best
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: About two years at this hardware store retailers' cooperative.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Turning around a technology division that the company was rumored to be spinning off. Once the rumor got out, people began to leave and morale dropped. The company decided not to sell it, which left us short-staffed. The staffing situation caused our support desk to get behind on its calls, and complaints were rising.
I did a lot of listening, which was key to the turnaround. The department had 140 people in it, and I held one-on-one meetings with many of them. I sought out their opinions on ways to improve tech support and people. In the end, I replaced some leaders, reorganized staff, and laid out a vision for the future. By focusing on the new vision, we were able to turn the division around.
Decision I wish I could do over: We had a project to connect our independent affiliates to a cloud-based inventory system that would enhance supply chain decisions. In the end, the adoption risk was higher than anticipated and outweighed the benefits. The lesson learned is always to do a solid job of assessing risks.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $15 million
Size of IT team: 100
Top initiatives:
• Improving agility. This has many attributes, from data management to development methodology. The goal is to be able to respond more quickly to address business needs.
• Supply chain systems improvements, which include driving more value from key supply chain apps.
• Migration to SharePoint for our intranet.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... to leverage wireless access to information at the product level. It's easy for consumers to get information regarding any item by using the Internet; however, retailers will need to provide complete information about their products while customers are in the store as well. Employees will also benefit from mobile access to item-level information.
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: If asked to cut expenses, cut them deeper than asked. Invest the difference in high-return investments. Use the opportunity to rebalance your IT expenses to be more productive. We use a spend management team to negotiate software purchases and to renegotiate old maintenance contracts.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... national security as it relates to cybercrime and attacks.
Kids and tech careers: They really must look at what businesses require. There has been a shift in what is and isn't needed. There's a growing demand for business analysts who can relate systems design to business process requirements. There is a great need in areas like system architecture, networking, security, and database expertise. And the demand for project management skills isn't going away.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Northern Illinois University, BS in marketing and MBA
Leisure activities: Jogging and tennis
Best book read recently: The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team, by Patrick Lencioni
Favorite sports team: Chicago White Sox
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan, who created a fertile environment to grow jobs
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a college professor
Ranked No. 23 in the 2010
Executive VP and CIO, Advanced Health Media
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: More than 10 years at Advanced Health Media, which offers commercial compliance management software and other services for the pharmaceutical industry.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm very proud of the patents that we've been awarded for our technology. I can tell my son that I'm officially an inventor! In addition, I'm honored to have won the New Jersey Technology Council's CIO of the year award for 2011.
Most important career influencer: I was influenced most by Dr. Stewart Barbera back in the early 1990s. He gave me the opportunity and motivation to start my first business. The entrepreneurial lessons I learned from that have helped me tremendously in my career.
Decision I wish I could do over: I'd love an opportunity to revisit some early decisions made while growing our company. One thing that comes to mind is allowing customization of our core products. While we ultimately created a new, much more configurable system, we spent a lot of time (and resources) supporting the original platform.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: Around $15 million
Size of IT team: Approximately 130
Top initiatives:
• Fine-tuning our technology products in support of our expansion into the global market.
• Optimizing our browser-based systems for better mobile usability.
• Increasing computing efficiency and decreasing our data center footprint through server and desktop virtualization.
How I measure IT effectiveness: The best measurement is customer satisfaction. Everything else is just a number.
VISION
The next big thing for my company will be ... utilizing the tools and technology that we've developed for our U.S.-based operations to deliver our products and services globally. The U.S. is a leader in pharmaceutical regulatory and compliance management. The rest of the world is now catching on and needs systems to help manage interactions with healthcare professionals.
One thing I'm looking to change: Institute better governance using tools that provide real insight into the performance of our IT investments. We're in the early stages of enhancing CA's Clarity, our IT governance and portfolio management tool, to help us better manage our large IT initiatives.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... security to ensure that our systems are available and operational. We have all become very dependent on the availability of our Internet-based communications -- just ask the people of Egypt.
Kids and tech careers: Almost all careers are technology focused today. Technology has become part of the business fabric rather than a behind-the-scenes cost center, so I hope that my children pursue technology careers.
PERSONAL
Tech vendor I respect most: Steve Jobs: leader, visionary, decision maker
Least-favorite corporate plunderer: Donald Trump; even though he's successful, I just don't like his self-aggrandizing attitude
Business pet peeve: People who spend too much time in CYA mode rather than focusing on solutions
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan, a great leader and communicator
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a beach umbrella rental attendant
Ranked No. 67 in the 2010
Executive VP of Service Delivery & CIO, GXS
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I joined GXS, a business-to-business data integration and e-commerce company, in early 2010.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: At IBM in 1994-'95, we deployed the software that ran online ticket sales for the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. I led a team that developed and launched IBM's e-commerce software suite, WebSphere Commerce.
Most important career influencer: The people I worked with at McKinsey during 1990-'94. They helped me transition from a techie to being more well rounded. After one of my first meetings with a group of key client executives, a McKinsey partner asked me what I thought. I outlined what I thought the best technical solution was. He asked how I knew that was the right answer. The best I could come up with was, it was intuition from my years of previous experience with similar situations. He explained that without thoroughly understanding the client's business and analyzing the data around the various options, intuition could easily lead to the wrong answer.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
• Data center move: We're moving to a 'dual/dual' data center strategy, with two data centers in both North America and Europe to support our disaster recovery goals and customer service levels.
• Siebel deployment: We're rolling out some new internal capabilities.
• Continuous availability: We're replatforming our core integration services onto a new hardware architecture to drive improvements in performance and availability.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... cloud-based integration across multiple business processes. For many customers, the meaning of 'integration' is changing. Many want to integrate broader business processes and transaction types with their customers, suppliers, banks, and third-party logistics providers.
One thing I'm looking to change: We're continually looking to improve our change management process, reducing the percentage of failed changes that get rolled out. We process more than 50,000 changes in our network each year. Even a 1% error rate means we could introduce 500 failures into the network, which is unacceptable. Our goal is zero defects.
PERSONAL
Leisure activities: I race my Porsche for fun sometimes and watch the Formula 1 circuit
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Virgin's Richard Branson
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Lou Gerstner, for managing the IBM turnaround
If I weren't a CIO, I'd ... consider being a small-business owner -- maybe woodworking (cabinets) or plumbing
Ranked No. 75 in the 2010
CIO and VP of IT, SAS
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 30 years -- nine years in this position
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Successfully consolidating the IT infrastructure of one of SAS's largest European offices to SAS's corporate headquarters in Cary, N.C. This was a global effort and involved working with our international team to transition all IT support to SAS Cary while ensuring no disruption in service for our employees. I had a phenomenal team who kept the customer in mind the whole time -- in this case, our international colleagues.
Most important career influencer: My dad, who was very supportive of his daughters before that was popular. He taught me how to play golf, which he said was a good business tool, and he took me on business trips and on sales calls. He also gave me these lessons to live by: Work hard; let the boss know you're working; ask for raises and promotions; and change jobs, or at least reflect on the need to, every five years.
Decision I wish I could do over: I stayed in a situation too long that wasn't mutually beneficial for me and my team. I wasn't able to embrace the changes that were being required because I felt they didn't support the best interests of the company. I eventually took another job in SAS consulting that turned out to be very helpful for my career. I just wish I had done it a couple of years sooner!
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $98 million
Size of IT team: Around 550
Top initiatives:
We're working on cloud and grid computing projects, and becoming a globally integrated company through the adoption of global IT standards (such as data classification), as well as standardizing on development and business processes.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We do customer satisfaction surveys and calculate ROI on major projects and purchases. We also have an IT Governance Council that keeps us on track.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... high-performance computing, where 'really big problems' can run on grids in short periods of time so people and companies can make better decisions faster (and cost effectively).
Lesson learned from the recent recession: That it's important to work for smart people who are aware of what's going on in the world and are prepared to address it proactively.
The federal government's top priority should be ... to use analytics to cut fraud and catch criminals and terrorists faster.
Kids and tech careers: I would definitely encourage math and tech careers. My daughter is a math major with a master's degree in global innovation management and works as a project manager for SAS's support site. My son is a math major who wants to teach high school math, especially calculus. Technology people are just great to work with -- they want to fix problems and make things better.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: North Carolina State University, BS in math, BS in computer science, and master's in statistics
Leisure activities: Walking, bike riding, and playing tennis
Favorite president: Abraham Lincoln, because of his roots and what he accomplished in turbulent times
Business pet peeve: Rumors and people who spread them
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a full-time volunteer at Communities in Schools, a great organization that helps at-risk kids
Ranked No. 56 in the 2010
Information Services Director and CIO, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at this nonprofit managed healthcare organization 4-1/2 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Helping an IS staff member with career advancement. I feel a sense of stewardship regarding the IS staff and their career development. In this instance, I saw an opportunity to provide an employee with a new role. I tried to provide a level playing field with a chance for success, coupled with mentoring along the way. I ended up being blown away by the person's success and the results achieved. It's an immensely rewarding feeling.
Most important career influencer: I'm fortunate to have worked for a number of great bosses, and I learned from each. One former CIO emphasized the value of communication and said it was impossible to overcommunicate. Another emphasized the importance of teamwork. Both of those guiding principles have become part of my DNA.
Decision I wish I could do over: While I've had a good track record with people decisions, I would like a 'do-over' on one or two hiring decisions. One person quit after a day because of a cultural mismatch. She came from a large, regimented organization and we represented a midsize, nimble, innovative one. She wasn't comfortable in that new environment. Our hiring process is now more extensive, and includes a look at the cultural match.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $6 million
Size of IT team: 40 employees
Top initiatives:
• Implementing the technology changes required by federal healthcare regulations.
• Working to conform with ICD-10 regulations, expanding the procedural and diagnostic codes.
• Implementing the radiology module from Epic Systems. It's a continuation of our suite (vs. best-of-breed) strategy, implementing modules from Epic to supplement our use of its electronic medical records system.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... data analytics. Having implemented an EMR system in 2002, we now have a wealth of data to use in creative ways, like patient outreach or cost-saving initiatives.
One thing I'm looking to change: We're continuing to improve our project management processes. This year, we're introducing a project management office to help monitor key projects.
Lesson learned from the last recession: Always work on cost savings. Don't wait until the last minute. As a result of our ongoing efforts, our 2010 spending was 5% less than in 2006.
Kids and tech careers: We have two grown sons and didn't steer them toward technology. They ended up being highly proficient in technology anyway, and both leverage technology extensively in their careers. For me, technology has been an opportunity to continually learn. I don't see that changing much in the years ahead.
PERSONAL
Favorite sport: Football; I'm an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers
Best book read recently: 8 Things We Hate About IT, by Susan Cramm
Favorite president: John F. Kennedy, for having vision and inspiring the nation
Last vacation: Visiting our kids -- I'm not good at the concept of vacationing, but continue to work really hard at it
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a magician; I've studied and performed close-up magic since age 8
Ranked No. 52 in the 2010
Sr. VP and CIO, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been with Marcus & Millichap, which provides investment real estate brokerage services, for 14 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: We built an application called iMpact that lets commercial real estate agents rapidly input data into a listing proposal or marketing package through a WYSIWYG interface. It automatically imports property information, data on comparable nearby properties, and more, then exports the data to a SQL server that dynamically populates our e-marketing, print, and Internet media. It's really streamlined our processes.
Most important career influencer: My former manager, Guenther Braun, who was a VP at Bank of America, gave me the opportunity to transition to management. He mentored me along the path, provided projects that challenged me, and allowed me to grow, while supplying the necessary management training.
Decision I wish I could do over: IS professionals, including me, continued developing and building desktop solutions for too long. We should have transitioned to Web-based solutions across multiple operating systems earlier.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $7.5 million
Size of IT team: 25 employees
Top initiatives:
How I measure IT effectiveness:We conduct help-desk surveys from each agent after he or she receives service from our department. The index rates each agent's satisfaction with the service call. For the past five years, we've rated better than the Help Desk Institute's average index.
VISION
The next big thing for my company will be ... to connect mobile computing with various forms of video communications. This will let our sales force communicate and process property listings via their laptops, tablets, and PDAs.
Lesson learned from the last recession: It's important to remain in constant communication with my department and assist if needed. I'm available to discuss staffers' issues, both personal and business related, as well as keep them informed on how the company is performing.
Kids and tech careers: We encouraged our kids to study whatever they wanted and select careers that interested them. They didn't enter the technology realm.
PERSONAL
College: Marquette University
Leisure activities: Golf, fishing, traveling, and spending time at our Wisconsin vacation home
Favorite president: John F. Kennedy, a visionary leader who wasn't afraid to take on new challenges
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Apple's Steve Jobs
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... owner of a sports, cigar, cocktail, and wine bar
Ranked No.62 in the 2010
CIO, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: 25 years
Most important career influencer: Progressive's former CIO, Allan Ditchfield. He established a mentoring relationship and gave me some assignments that stretched me and helped me grow. This is a big reason I'm CIO today.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of I was part of the team that built the capability for us to sell insurance directly to consumers. Progressive was the first auto insurance group to have a website and the first to sell insurance to customers directly over the Internet.
Decision I wish I could do over: Several years ago, Progressive reduced IT staff by about 7%. In retrospect, I realize that we could have been more open with our team and communicated what was going on much earlier in the process.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 3,500
Top initiatives: • Continue to build momentum in the rollout of our new policy processing system. • Add high-value features to our mobile offerings. • Undertake a major infrastructure simplification project.
How I measure IT effectiveness: It's important to follow effectiveness in different ways. Among the ways we do this is financial throughput, measured as net benefit divided by net present value of labor cost. One other way is by measuring quality, including the frequency and severity of systems outages and defects in production.
VISION
The next big thing for my company will be ... leveraging mobile technology--phones, tablet computers, inside cars, etc.--to make it easier for our customers to use our services.
One thing I'm looking to change: I'm working toward removing unnecessary complexity by using an infrastructure upgrade process to identify and eliminate low-value components.
Kids and tech careers: I wouldn't suggest a tech career because I don't believe in steering my kids when it comes to a career path. I want them to find something they're passionate about if they are to have a chance at success.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Case Western Reserve University, BS in computer engineering and an MBA
Favorite sport: Football
Tech CEO I admire: Workday's Dave Duffield
Personal computer: iPad
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a football coach or a sportswriter
Ranked No. 71 in the 2010 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Senior VP of IT, Sprint
How long at current company: Eight years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm proud of many initiatives my team has executed over the years--including billing system and data center consolidations, new ERP, and Web projects--along with delivering improvements to Sprint's customer experience. But I'm most proud of building a culture that cultivates a focus on innovation, operational excellence, and efficiency.
Most important career influencer: My father, who operated a small family business for more than 60 years. He cast a long shadow with his work ethic, commitment to quality, and the well-being of his customers and employees. Through him, I learned about leadership, responsibility, and accountability.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 2,400+ Sprint employees, plus numerous service partners, including Amdocs, IBM, HP, Sapient, Oracle, and TCS
Top initiatives:
• Sprint is deploying a cost-effective network plan to enhance voice quality and data speeds for U.S. customers. A multimode base station will create network flexibility, reduce operating costs, and improve environmental sustainability.
•Machine-to-machine technologies, which let devices communicate with each other, are growing quickly in the wireless industry. Sprint recently opened its M2M Collaboration Center,which brings together Sprint partners, equipment providers, customers, and employees to develop proofs of concept and test connected devices before submitting for certification.
How I measure IT effectiveness: My team looks at all the traditional IT metrics such as on-time/on-budget project delivery, expenses as a percentage of revenue, and IT "Moose" (maintenance, ongoing operations, systems, and equipment). The most important indicator of success is knowing that we support the business by enabling increased sales, reduced costs, new product launches, and tools to combat churn.
VISION
The next big thing for my company: We expect next-generation network equipment to allow us to aggregate and more efficiently use spectrum or airwaves to boost data speeds.
One thing I'm looking to change: We want to dramatically improve project delivery cycle time to help our business partners deliver offerings to the market faster.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... to promote competition in the communications industry, which is operating under outdated regulations designed to preserve and protect the antiquated system of landline phone companies. To grow our nation's broadband economy and create jobs in communications and other sectors, that must change.
Kids and tech careers: I didn't steer our kids toward a tech career, but encouraged liberal arts and humanities as a strong foundation for their future endeavors.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Wesleyan University, BA, liberal arts; Western New England School of Law, JD; Georgetown University, executive MBA
Favorite pro sports team coach: Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, because of his consistency, competitiveness, and organization
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: A fictional lunch with Dagny Taggart, VP of operations at Taggart Transcontinental Railroad (from Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand)
Business pet peeve: Use of the pronoun "I" in formal business communications
Senior VP of Technology Products, Asurion
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been with Asurion, which provides insurance on tech equipment, for six years.
Most important career influencers: At Morgan Stanley, first Tony Lantz for helping me learn how to communicate effectively, show a sense of urgency, and prioritize my work. Then Kevin Parker, who helped me understand how to align technology with business objectives and to make IT an enabler--that is, how to turn information into knowledge to run businesses more effectively.
Decision I wish I could do over: Leaving a firm after 12 years because I became impatient. I could have waited longer for senior management to make the changes needed to effect the necessary improvements in our operating model. In retrospect, this wasn't the best move for me--though the learning experience resulting from the move was a valuable lesson and helped me become a more effective manager in international markets.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $110 million of operating expenses
Size of IT team: 900, including contractors
Top initiatives:
• Focus on the company's customer satisfaction goals and client deliverables. • Support overseas expansion in Asia and Europe. • Determine the appropriate level of IT risk management in delivering systems availability, secure data, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning
How I measure IT effectiveness: We use several metrics. First, we measure the "productivity" of an IT dollar as invested in improving the company's technology. Second, we track system availability and performance. Third, we use the management tool Net Promoter to measure our service desk and project customer satisfaction levels.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to change: I'm focused on improving service delivery with increased predictability when demand is volatile.
Lesson learned from the last recession: During economic downtimes, hire leaders to take advantage of what other companies aren't willing to do. Keep expenses reasonably variable in the event that you need to adjust spending quickly.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... The government should use automation in order to eliminate waste and errors. In that way, it will be able to return that money to taxpayers, so they can refuel the economy.
Kids and tech careers: I don't think I'd steer kids toward a technology career. The CIO job is the toughest in a company, and it requires constant education of leadership. It taxes all aspects of an individual's core values and skills, and requires tremendous energy, intellectual horsepower, and a very thick skin.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: SUNY Albany, BS in business administration and a minor in computer science
Favorite pro sports coach: Vince Lombardi, for inspiring his players to achieve what seemed impossible
Business-related pet peeve: Those who refuse to understand the potential benefits that technology can bring
Tech vendor I admire: Steve Jobs for consumerizing technology
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an auto racer or doctor (they may actually go hand in hand!)
Ranked No. 55 in the 2010 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and CIO, Catalina Marketing
CAREER TRACK
How long at company: 19 years at Catalina, which handles loyalty cards and coupons for retailers
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Our multipetabyte data warehouse. This has transformed us into one of the leaders in information management.
Most important career influencer: John King, the CIO for a large Los Angeles retailer. He helped me realize that money isn't the most important component in your career. As he said, if you enjoy your work and the people you work with, and you always strive to add value to your company, you'll be successful--and money always follows success.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $35 million
Size of IT team: 250 people
Top initiatives:
•Business process management implementation. We're on the final year of a three-year project to replace all legacy front-end tools with Web tools written on a BPM and SOA infrastructure.
• Catalina Real-Time. This project takes all of the Catalina stores and connects them to a central system, allowing all loyalty decisions to be made in real time as consumers shop. When completed, it will have more than 30,000 stores connected to one decision support system.
• Campaign management project. It combines SAS functionality and custom-built technology and will let us deliver more than 5 billion unique offers to more than 200 million people on an annual basis.
How I measure IT effectiveness: The bottom line: overall company sales. IT develops and operates the company's production systems, so everyone in IT watches our sales.
VISION
Next big thing for my industry: Understanding the type of technology a consumer wants to use to receive marketing information. Some consumers will want paper for some time, others will desire email, while others will want a smartphone app, and so on.
One thing I'm looking to change: Develop a Center of Excellence for our SOA development.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... to help industry in developing standards for information exchange. Instead of the government trying to dictate standards, it should fund a business association for companies and let them develop the standards.
PERSONAL
Leisure activities: Hiking, fishing, nature photography
Favorite pro sports coach: Tony Dungy, who proves you don't have to scream and curse to lead teams to greatness
Business-related pet peeve: The use of empty phrases to drive strategic thinking: Think outside the box ... push the envelope ... one and one is three ...
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a forest ranger, teaching people about nature photography
Ranked No. 5 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been here 18 years, 10 as CIO.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm proud of the way I've been able to bring together my clinical skills from nursing and my understanding of hospital operations with information technology to help New York-Presbyterian Hospital become highly automated and one of the most respected hospitals in the country.
Most important career influencer: My husband. He's had a career path similar to mine, and I've received the best and most frequent advice on my work and career from him for the last 20 years.
VISION
Next big thing for my organization: New York-Presbyterian's vision is to be counted among the top academic medical centers in the nation in clinical and service excellence, patient safety, research, and education. Our vision going forward is to build our IT platforms to support patient-care delivery that is more efficient and more effective.
One thing I'm looking to change: Improving communication, within the IT staff and hospital-wide. Effective communication with the IT staff regarding how our projects and services fit into the overall hospital vision and initiatives gives clarity to the importance of their daily work, and they see the impact we have as a department on the success of the hospital. Communicating to the entire hospital staff how the IT department supports their ability to meet the institution's goals leads to better partnerships and more successful use of technology throughout the organization.
Lesson learned from the last recession: It's important to tightly manage cash flow for multiple-year capital projects.
The federal government's top technology priority should be ... to make each agency more effective through the use of technology so our government leads the world in giving our citizens the highest standard of living now and into the future.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $138 million
Size of IT team: Approximately 400 on staff
Top initiatives:
• Use data analytics and predictive modeling capabilities to drive cost and quality effectiveness.
• Use technology to improve patient access to our services
• Drive interconnectivity across all facets of care in order to improve care coordination.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We track the standard metrics around service, projects, budgets, etc. But what I truly measure our success by is the institution's ability to meet all of its goals, which requires effective support by information technology. I'm proud when IT is acknowledged as a contributor to the successful accomplishment of the hospital's goals and the leadership team acknowledges the work of the IT in making their success possible.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Michigan, BSN and MBA; Wayne State University, MSN
Leisure activities: I am newly obsessed with golf
Favorite sports team manager: Sparky Anderson, a great baseball manager who knows when to pull the pitcher from the game before it's too late
Favorite president: Abraham Lincoln, for his team of rivals
If I weren't a CIO I would be ... a veterinarian
Ranked No. 23 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP & CIO, GreenStone Farm Credit Services
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at this financial services company for three years.
Most important career influencer: A former supervisor said a few things that stuck with me. The first is, "If it won't matter in 30 years, it doesn't matter that much today." This helps me deal with the pressure CIOs are always under. The second is, "Be subservient to the business you have the privilege to serve." In other words, every day is your audition, so make sure your customers would choose to hire you again if given a choice. This perspective allows me to guard against complacency and inertia.
Decision I wish I could do over: I remember making a decision without fully taking into consideration the entire team's perspective. I gathered a majority of the management team's perspective, but not the people who were actually doing the work. I thought that by incorporating their managers' opinions I was capturing theirs, and I was sadly mistaken.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $7.5 million
Size of IT team: 37 employees
Top initiatives: Server/Exchange 2010 upgrade, Office 2010/Windows 2007 rollout, SharePoint and CRM upgrades, and loan request workflow automation.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Operationally, we talk about accomplishments in our status reporting every week. Strategically, we have three departmental service-level agreements for the project management office, systems availability, and incident management. We also leverage a variety of benchmark data (i.e., IT spend as a percentage of revenue) to see how we stack up against the competition.
VISION
Next big thing for my business: Mobility and creating access to our information online in a much more accessible manner to customers.
One thing I'm looking to improve this year: Increase speed to market with product development. This seems like an every-year expedition, but our business will always want us to be better, faster, and cheaper, so we need to work toward that end.
Lesson learned from the recession: Make sure governance processes aren't too bureaucratic--because when the economy changes, so does business priority and focus.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Michigan State University, BS in public policy and computer science and an MBA
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan--he didn't have a huge ego and admitted mistakes
Best book read recently: Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: World Vision's Richard Stearns, who gave up the perks of being a corporate CEO to run a nonprofit
Ranked No. 20 in the 2010 InformationWeek 500
CIO, CRST International
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at this logistics company for seven years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: The creation of Gazette Technologies, a software development company specializing in data warehouse software to serve the media industry.
Most important career influencer: As a young IT manager, I had a great manager and mentor named Tom Redder. Tom had the unique ability to challenge you to do your very best, while teaching by example. In the process, he was able to give you enough rope on a project to let you manage the process, but not enough to let you hang yourself.
Decision I wish I could do over: Many times, it's very hard to balance the desire for growth in your career with the needs of your family. I'm lucky to have two great daughters and a very understanding wife, who have had to make several moves because of my career. I wish I had taken more time to better understand their needs when making a move. Ask for and listen to your family's feedback instead of just focusing on new opportunities.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $8.7 million
Size of IT team: 47 employees
Top initiatives:
• We're migrating our freight management system off the mainframe to an open systems environment. This will let us meet the needs of the business and reduce our technology cost of ownership by moving off the mainframe, while embracing current technologies. • We're redesigning our recovery plans to significantly reduce recovery time. Our new plans include the ability to fail over to an off-site recovery center and an off-site office facility capable of hosting 165 people.
How I measure IT effectiveness: The IT team reports to the business on 20 key items, including hardware performance, help desk call resolutions, software development resource allocations, and computer operations efficiencies. We continue to examine these metrics annually and update accordingly.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Partner with business stakeholders to better understand the issues and how technology can bring better solutions. We've created an environment built for growth and business analytics, and now is the time to drive the value home.
Lesson learned from the last recession: The importance and value of a multiyear technology plan for the company. The plan has to be flexible, of course, but such a guiding focus is especially valuable during tough economic times.
Kids and tech careers: The need to understand technology is key in any career decision given today's environment. I didn't try to steer my kids toward or away from a career in technology. Both have graduated college and are successful in their careers today. Neither are professional technologists but use technology very effectively.
PERSONAL
Leisure activity: Golf
Favorite president: John F. Kennedy, because of his ability to execute on a vision and be decisive
Last vacation: Caribbean cruise
Favorite sports team manager: Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers, who has the ability to develop and get the most out of good players
Tech vendor CEO I respect most: Cisco's John Chambers
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry
Ranked No. 19 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO Of Levi Strauss
CAREER TRACK
How long at Levi Strauss: Going on three years. Before that, I was with MGM Mirage and General Electric.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: My team, my peers, and I rallied to transition from regional and country-specific business models to one supporting our global brands. We bridged multiple cultures and operating rhythms into one highly performing global team.
Decision I wish I could do over: Too often, I've chosen an early-adopter approach to new technologies. I've found the risk more often than not outweighs the potential benefits. I'm now more likely to be a fast follower unless there's super-clear joint accountability.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
Continued huge focus on our online presence, including e-commerce around the globe and expanding digital and social marketing.
Taking our product life-cycle management approach to the next level. PLM manages our product life cycle from concept and design through creation, sourcing, and optimization of our products. Improved speed to market offers a competitive advantage.
Extending our vendor-managed inventory approach across additional wholesale customers. VMI is where we manage the forecasting, inventory, and replenishment on the floor. Our existing VMI customer base has improved sales
How I measure IT effectiveness: I'm a big fan of the balanced scorecard, which we update monthly. We measure various metrics across IT, such as the benefits we deliver, stewardship items like budget vs. planning, maintenance spending, and more. We also take stock of user-experience metrics and operational metrics.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: In the digital world, we must ensure we can provision infrastructure quickly, scale on demand, and provide experiences that drive sales. Speed and agility are what the consumer expects as well as what our supply chain and merchants want.
The federal government's top tech priority should be: Information security and preventing cyberwarfare to protect its citizens and our infrastructure. It should focus on things such as next-generation data loss prevention, encryption technologies, and robust disaster recovery planning for our technology and power grids.
Kids and technology careers: I'd absolutely steer kids toward tech careers. Technology isn't just about the tools. It's also about being business savvy. Having a tech career means you cross all functional areas and truly get to see the end-to-end processes.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: U.S. Naval Academy, BS in economics; Naval Postgraduate School, MS in management.
Leisure activities: Golf, biking, tennis, sailing, and spending as much time as possible with my children.
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE--we overlapped and met at GE briefly 10 years ago, and he's been on quite the journey.
If I weren't a CIO, I'd ... still be in the U.S. Marine Corps, or I'd be a high school math teacher and baseball coach. Ranked No. 2 in the 2011
CIO, Automatic Data Processing
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: I've been at ADP, which offers business outsourcing options, for 23 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I successfully made the transition from IT into operations and managed a global business operation for ADP. The global role provided me a wealth of knowledge and experience that has helped me transition into my current role of CIO
Most important career influencer: My father, who was one of the first executives to ever carry the title of CIO (at J.C. Penney). He worked his way up to that position from a programming job. My father was raised by a single mother and largely grew up on welfare. After military service, he worked and went to school at night to get an accounting degree. He got involved in IT when the company he worked for, Standard Oil, bought a mainframe and administered an aptitude test to their employees to see who might make a good programmer. His example taught me that I can be whatever I wanted to be in this world and that it would be up to me to make it happen.
Decision I wish I could do over: In 1999, when I was young and single, I passed on a dot-com job that would have made me financially independent at an early age. There are certain times in your career when you're in a position to take risks. I've also seen this lesson play out in large organizations such as ADP. If you're confident in your abilities, don't be afraid to take a chance.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $1.1 billion
Size of IT team: 5,000
Top initiatives:
We're focused on increasing the integration and usability of our products and services to improve the user experience.
We recognized a demand for mobile options in the HR, payroll, and benefits outsourcing market, and recently introduced an app that gives employees of ADP clients in the U.S. access to HR, payroll, and benefits information via their mobile devices.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Predictive analytics. There is so much data available today, and we're just scratching the surface of how to make use of it. For example, if your small business starts adding employees rapidly, we'd know you'll be more likely to buy a 401(k) plan.
Lesson learned from the recession: One of the best times to innovate is during a downturn. When your competitors are focused on cutting costs, leap over them.
Kids and tech careers: While I wouldn't discourage a tech career, you should find your own way in life. It took me until my junior year in college to declare my major.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Dickinson College, BS in computer science; Pace University, MBA in finance
Leisure activities: Travel
Favorite pro sports team manager: Joe Torre did what all CIOs need to be able to do--deal with a demanding boss and manage a group of people with very large egos
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Joe Tucci from EMC
Business pet peeve: "Reply to all"
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... CEO at a charity or nonprofit
Ranked No. 7 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO, CenterPoint Properties
CAREER TRACK
How long at CenterPoint Properties: I've been at this investor, developer, and owner of industrial real estate and transportation-related infrastructure for 14 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Several years ago, our firm went private. At the 11th hour, one of the buyer's advisers started to have doubts that CenterPoint could achieve its objectives with so few employees. We argued that we had invested heavily in systems and processes and could "do more with less," but he wasn't sold. Knowing that the IT team had recently finished developing an enterprise platform to make us more efficient, our CEO called the team into the board meeting to show how powerful the platform was. The demo went well and the system convinced everyone that we had the tools in hand to operate efficiently.
Most important career influencer: Our new CEO, Paul Fisher. When I started here many years ago, I was a relatively young CIO and Paul was our CFO. He taught me that presenting an idea in a manner that can be understood by decision makers is just as important as the idea itself.
Decision I wish I could do over: Years ago, our company was looking for a new ERP package. The team favored a system that looked good on the surface, but really didn't fit well. I identified the shortcomings and recommended something else, but being new, I didn't want to rock the boat too much. We wound up selecting the wrong product and eventually had to pull the plug. Luckily, we didn't lose too much money, but we wasted a lot of time. From this, I learned to (tactfully) fight hard for the things I truly believe in.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $3.5 million
Size of IT team: Eight employees
Top initiatives:
Finishing our mobile platform to deliver additional services to field personnel.
Using additional functionality within SharePoint to increase collaboration among departments.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be mobile analytics. Business leaders need better information to make quicker decisions, regardless of location.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We need to improve our responsiveness. With the increased tech experience of our new workers, the requests and ideas are coming in faster and faster. We need to ensure we can meet these needs in the years to come.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... reliable, pervasive, and robust broadband wireless access. It's the key infrastructure component for our increasingly mobile service economy and will spark innovation.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Loyola University, BA in business administration; DePaul University, MIS
Leisure activities: Playing piano
Favorite president: John Adams, who was thoughtful, principled, continuously educated himself, felt honor-bound to serve his fellow man, and saw his wife as an equal partner
Best book read recently: The Greater Journey: Americans In Paris, by David McCullough
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a college professor
Ranked No. 24 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, American Airlines and AMR
CAREER TRACK
How long at American Airlines and AMR: 10 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm most proud about developing mutual, reciprocal, and symbiotic business relationships with the business units we work with and support. We've reached a point where we don't have the typical challenges between IT and the business unit that you see at many companies today.
Most important career influencer: Someone I encountered early in my career, who told me all the reasons why I couldn't do all the things I've ended up doing. The motivation I got from that experience has caused me to work as hard and smart as I can and to encourage others to do the same. Telling me what I couldn't do was just the catalyst I needed to learn as much as I could.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: We don't disclose IT budget. But I'd argue that's not the right question--rather, what matters is, are you getting the most out of your IT budget that you possibly can? I'd say we're always 90% toward where we need to be. We always have room for improvement because we continuously evaluate and re-evaluate how and why we spend money on the things we do. But measuring budget in dollar terms is much less effective than measuring effectiveness of technology spending as applied to business needs.
Top initiatives: Faster implementation in IT development, continuous improvement for business problem resolution, and a maniacal focus on our technology platforms.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... Customer centricity, packaging, and customizing product delivery--essentially, those things that help us provide better service to our customers, simplify their travel, and make for a more cost-efficient and smoother-running operation. This could be as simple as an app tailored to their specific device or information at their fingertips about a great place to eat at their destination or the opportunity to pick and choose the services and products they want.
The federal government's top technology should be ... putting together technology that encourages businesses to build jobs.
Kids and technology careers: Of my three children, two have graduated from college and are now working in the tech industry, focused on the intersection of energy and technology. That was their choice, and I'm proud of the decisions they've made about their careers.
PERSONAL
Business-related pet peeve: Governmental red tape and business impedance
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: James Cash
Last vacation: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Personal computer: HP and Apple
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a college professor
Executive VP and CIO, Vail Resorts
CAREER TRACK
How long at Vail Resorts: More than five years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Helping to provide the foundational skills and experience that have allowed several members of my past teams to become CIOs and technology executives today.
Most important career influencer: Kamalesh Dwivedi, my former boss and CIO at Scientific-Atlanta, who gave me opportunities to learn many aspects of IT and inspired me to want to become a CIO. Kamalesh taught me the importance of timely, intuition-based decision-making as well as the importance of branding and marketing IT products.
Decision I wish I could do over: At times when I ceded control of significant efforts to third parties, I regretted the outcome. What I've learned is that core functions and complex project execution need direct internal oversight. It's OK to use third parties to augment the team where necessary, but control must stay with people you know and trust.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: Around 150 employees
Top initiatives:
Our original EpicMix product is a Web and mobile social platform for our guests. The next iteration of EpicMix will include the integration of professional and guest-generated on-mountain photography along with deeper social networking integration.
We'll enhance our CRM platform by expanding our customer database while refining our analytics, campaign management, and predictive modeling capabilities.
We'll finish the integration of our newest resort, Northstar at Tahoe, into our tech ecosystem to support a consistent guest experience.
VISION
The next big thing for my company will be ... to fully embrace the consumerization of IT by creating advanced Web and mobile applications that enhance interactions with guests at every point of contact.
One thing I'm looking to do better:To be more creative in the way we solve problems by challenging the status quo, from the way we manage the IT stack to the business and customer processes we enable.
Lesson learned from the recession: I learned that we could quickly refocus our resources to target specific programs and initiatives that would help the company weather the recession without hurting the guest experience. Also, we didn't have to do this entirely at the expense of investments in the future.
Kids and tech careers: I can't think of a more rewarding and engaging career choice. We're in the middle of a technology revolution that is only in the early stages.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Mercer University, MS in technology management; Nova Southeastern University , Ph.D. in information systems
Leisure activities: Skiing and cycling
Smartphone of choice: iPhone
Best book read recently: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... involved in some type of creative endeavor, likely in a role where I could influence how consumers use technology.
CIO and Executive VP, Fiserv
CAREER TRACK
How long at Fiserv: I've been at this provider of IT services to the financial services industry for a little over two years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: The number of colleagues who have told me they've learned from me. Like most people, I don't realize at the time that I'm teaching--I feel that colleagues and I are learning together. But the number of times I've been told that has been significant, and each time has been humbling and rewarding.
Most important career influencer: Ralph Szygenda, the retired CIO for General Motors, has most influenced my career. I first worked in Ralph's organization at Texas Instruments in the early '90s as a program manager, and, after that, worked for him at GM as the CIO for North America. Over those 14 years, he saw my potential and always gave me opportunities to develop in significant ways. He was a "tough love" coach, mentor, and sponsor who always seemed to know when I was ready for the next opportunity long before I did!
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $300 million
Size of IT team: More than 1,200
Top initiatives:
We're working on a multiyear initiative to consolidate data centers while transforming our enterprise technology organization into a highly leveraged, functionally designed one that delivers common, predictable, and measurable results.
We're implementing best-practice processes, tools, and structure in the area of resource management.
We're rolling out SAP billing, procurement, accounts payable, and reporting capabilities across Fiserv, to more than 19,000 employees.
How I measure IT effectiveness: IT should be measured in the context of its mission. For example, IT as a percentage of revenue isn't relevant to all IT organizations. There are five areas that IT effectiveness should be measured on: achievement of strategy, delivering capability, operational excellence, financial stewardship, and employee engagement and development. These five items are the basis of our scorecard every year.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: One specific area of focus for us is the reduction, if not elimination, of human and process errors.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... information security. It requires collaboration across the ecosystem of information security stakeholders, particularly the public and private sectors. Such collaboration can produce positive results like the recent Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Guidance on Authentication, a positive step to increase confidence in online and mobile banking and payments.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, BS in mathematics
Leisure activities: Ballroom dancing, gourmet cooking, and reading
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Indra Nooyi, CEO at Pepsi
Business-related pet peeve: How long it can take to reach a decision
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry Torch
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be... an interior designer
Ranked No. 27 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
CAREER TRACK
How long at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: 15 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Creating clinical systems that are recognized for patient safety, quality improvement, and efficiency gains. BIDMC has been a learning laboratory for exchange of health information, and we're sharing summaries electronically for care coordination and aggregating data electronically for quality measurement.
Most important career influencer: John Glaser, former CIO of Partners Healthcare, now CEO of Siemens Healthcare. He taught me how to use IT strategically to align the needs of the business with technology enablers.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $35 million operating, $10 million capital
Size of IT team: 250
Top initiatives:
Implement ICD-10, the major conversion of all hospital clinical and financial systems to a new vocabulary required by the federal government by Oct. 1, 2013.
Focus on inpatient documentation, part of our effort to create the paperless hospital by 2015.
Use of integrated medication management, ensuring that medications are given at the right time to the right patient in the right dose--from the doctor's brain to the patient's vein without any errors.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Infrastructure success is measured as 99.99% uptime. Apps are measured by user satisfaction and workflow improvement. We've cut emergency department length of stay by 45 minutes per patient.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... mobility. We have more than 1,000 iPads using our Web-based applications today. Clinicians are mobile people and need to view results, enter orders, and communicate with team members at the bedside.
Lesson learned from the recession: It's far better to focus on incremental forward progress than to focus on economic bad news.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... secure transport standards that empower care coordination, public health reporting, and population health management by enabling safe transmission of data.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Stanford, BS/BA; University of California, San Francisco, MD; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MS; Harvard, MS
Leisure activities: Hiking, climbing, kayaking
Favorite president: Presidents can't be successful in office--they have infinite responsibility but limited authority--but Jimmy Carter is our best "post-president" based on his books and humanitarian actions
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an organic farmer in Vermont
Executive VP and CIO, PNC Financial Services
CAREER TRACK
How long at PNC Financial Services: 17 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I led the implementation of an enterprise-wide customer relationship management system, providing a single view of a PNC customer to more than 20,000 customer-facing employees across distribution channels and business segments. This has given us a competitive advantage, serving the comprehensive needs of our clients.
Most important career influencer: My father has always been very supportive of my aspirations. His advice was to follow both my head and heart. That gave me the freedom to make choices that I felt great about without being encumbered by logic and facts alone--like my decision to opt for a tech career even though I don't have formal training in the discipline.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $1.2 billion
Size of IT team: 4,000 people
Top initiatives:
We're in the midst of a multiyear program to enhance our enterprise information systems. This will help us develop better insights that differentiate every customer experience at PNC and more effectively manage enterprise risk.
We're working to elevate the collaboration platform to provide integrated email, instant messaging, video, and unified communications.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We measure our success with operational excellence metrics, key risk indicators, employee engagement, and financial measures, including the ratio of spend on investment to maintenance activities.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... big data and business intelligence. We'll increasingly leverage information and insights to differentiate with innovative products, excellent customer experience, and expanded convenience of distribution channels. Information capabilities will be a critical success factor for managing the risk of the firm.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We're focused on improving the scalability and speed to market of our technology platform.
Kids and tech careers: I give my children the same advice I received from my father--to follow their heads and hearts as they make key life decisions. Both selected studies that could land them in financial services in the future.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Rutgers University, BA and Ph.D.
Leisure activities: Traveling and reading
Best book read recently: Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Warren Buffett, especially if he has a good investment tip to share!
Favorite sports team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Ranked No. 32 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
VP and CIO, PACCAR
CAREER TRACK
How long at PACCAR: I've been at this truck manufacturer for six years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: The building of the Columbus engine plant and the introduction of the PACCAR MX engine into the North American market. The IT team showed it could efficiently deliver new and complex manufacturing systems.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I considered going back to school to get an MBA but decided it could be deferred. Fifteen years later, I looked at it again and committed to it. Both the academic experience and the skills I acquired are much more valuable than I had imagined. Get it done early in your career--don't delay.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $120 million globally
Size of IT team: 700 globally
Top initiatives:
Launching Peterbilt SmartNav and Kenworth NavPlus with TruckerLink, in-dash telematics, and information-entertainment systems designed for the commercial vehicle industry.
Implementation of IT systems to support expansion at our Columbus engine plant.
Developing Global Vehicle Programming and Diagnostics, a global program that supports vehicle diagnostics and programming across all of our brands.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Return on investment to the business as a result of projects across our business units is a key measurement of success. We also measure effectiveness through adherence to our service-level agreements and the contribution IT makes to new products and services that drive our growth.
VISION
The next big thing for my business will be ... achieving global process standardization through system modernization. We'll accomplish this by adopting a global template for business systems, consolidating systems onto this template, and achieving the productivity and efficiencies driven by software standardization.
One thing I'm looking to do better: Accelerate large-scale project completion and delivery through innovation, creativity, and discipline.
Lesson from the last recession: IT is a team sport, and it's all about the people. Do everything you can to attract great people and help them grow.
The federal government's top tech priority should be ... to use its CIOs and IT organizations to drive system and process standardization. IT organizations with the mandate to simplify and consolidate systems can take millions in costs out of the budget and simplify processes at the same time.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Washington State University, BA in mechanical engineering; Seattle University, MBA
Leisure activities: Golf and boating
Last vacation: A Mediterranean cruise
Best book read recently: The Big Short, by Michael Lewis
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Ford's Alan Mulally
Smartphone: iPhone
Personal computer: A high-end gaming computer I built myself
Ranked No. 1 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and CIO, InterContinental Hotels
CAREER TRACK
How long at InterContinental: Six years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I've had the opportunity to be part of several large-scale system implementations; one that stands out is my first job, with an insurance company in Seattle, where I built an automated billing system on my own that's still in place. My initials are still watermarked into the system!
Biggest career influencer: Brad Boston, of Cisco, a fantastic mentor. Brad encouraged me to be particular about the challenges I took on and bold in delivering on them.
Decision I wish I could do over: I regret not venturing out on my own when I had industry-moving ideas.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: More than 1,000 globally
Top initiatives:
Creating a new global reservation system to support business needs for 15 to 20 years.
Rewriting an in-house fleet management system that’s vital to one of the largest services we provide, helping us maximize operating cost savings and reduce downtime for our customers.
Focusing on security, including the integrity of our environment and protection of data.
Metrics used to measure success: We measure success against shareholder value, based on the Dow Jones World Hotels Index as well as a set of key performance indicators.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry will be ... variations of mobile computing. It's how people manage their lives already and isn't slowing down. We need to listen to our consumers,and make sense of that information, then use it to drive our business.
One thing I'm looking to do better:Technology should be simple and virtually invisible to our users with real-time data at their fingertips, regardless of device type.
Lesson learned from the recession: Keep pushing to make technology investments even in down times. Innovate, innovate, innovate!
Kids and technology: My wife, Jody, and I have three daughters. We didn't directly steer them toward tech careers, but they're naturally gravitating that way by immersion--technology is everywhere. One of my daughters won't eat in a restaurant without first checking out the Yelp ratings. They're up to speed--at times ahead of me--in regard to mobile technology and are examples of our next-generation hotel guests and owners, so I'd better pay attention.
PERSONAL
Leisure activities: Skateboarding, travel, history
Favorite pro team coach: Vince Lombardi
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Scott McNealy of Sun Business
Pet Peeve: Lack of timely decision making
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a pilot, computer science teacher, or pro baseball player
Ranked No. 25 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Sr. VP and CIO, Automotive Resources International
CAREER TRACK
How long at Automotive Resources International: I've been with ARI, which handles fleet leasing and management, for over three years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I was part of a very motivated team at Commerce Bank prior to obtaining my position at ARI. In a two-year time frame, we developed and implemented a new teller and customer relationship system, which supported 2 million customers in 500 locations. This system helped the bank win several awards and secure new business.
Most important career influencer: My parents, for instilling in me the Golden Rule--"One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself." They taught me to be a good person and that everything else will take care of itself.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I didn't recognize the plus side of failure. If I made a mistake, I'd either ignore it or, even worse, hide it. Now I stress the importance of learning from mistakes. On a weekly basis, my team holds an incident and problem management team meeting to identify areas where we can improve.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 140 full-time employees and 25 contractors
IT budget: $26 million
Top initiatives:
Enhancing our real-time and predictive analysis tools for customer use through our Web-based fleet management system.
New product development and innovation.
VISION
The next big thing for my business: The integration of technology in vehicles will give fleet managers more real-time data, from notification that something in the engine needs attention to alerts that a driver is speeding. That information will increase their ability to control operating costs and improve driver behavior.
One thing I'm looking to do better: More tightly aligning the IT team's focus with the company's business plan and increasing their understanding of how their day-to-day activities support ARI's business.
Lesson learned from the recession: Always invest--in your people and yourself--in all economic cycles.
Kids and tech careers: Most professions today are tied in some form or fashion to technology. The stronger kids' base knowledge is tied to technology, the more opportunities will open to them.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Drexel University, BS in finance; Phoenix University, MBA in technology management
Leisure activities: Coaching basketball
Best book read recently: Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones For Success, by John C. Maxwell
Smartphone of choice: iPhone
Personal computer: Mac
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a grammar school principal
Ranked No. 30 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Sabre Holdings
CAREER TRACK
How long at Sabre Holdings: Seventeen years at this travel technology company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Moving to a set of common standards across infrastructure, operations, performance, process, and architecture. This resulted in improved cost efficiencies, operational efficiencies, and better consistency across products and operations.
Most important career influencer: My father. While now retired, he had a good career, progressing to a very senior level and making the transformation from a senior technology-focused role to a business leadership role. Aside from being a good role model for my career, he has always been a good sounding board for questions and ideas.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
Continued innovations around the Sabre Red platform, our new travel agency platform and travel management tools, and enhancements to the recently launched Sabre Red App Centre, a business-to-business travel app marketplace.
Continued enhancements to our software-as-a-service platform and investment in our reservations system, enabling a broader set of capabilities and increased integration between various applications.
Investment in Organic Server Management, Sabre's next-generation automation of our infrastructure environment, allowing increased application and server utilization within our private cloud.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We look for a positive net present value within three to five years, depending on the project, its strategic value, and its expected return. Success metrics include customer satisfaction; productivity, such as IT spending compared with revenue; and operations and reliability, such as product availability.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: Location-based and customer-focused mobile apps as well as increased integration of travel with social media and improved use of data for better customer engagement.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We're investing in automation within our private cloud to improve server stand-up time within our SaaS product set, improve server utilization, and reduce human error, the biggest contributing factor to availability problems.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: Cybersecurity is a perennial priority, yet IT within the federal government is in silos, having very little standardization and knowledge sharing across departments. The government needs to break down the barriers and drive standardization. This will lead to much better responsiveness to critical areas, including cybersecurity.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Oklahoma State University, BS in industrial engineering; Southern Methodist University, MBA
Leisure activities: Cycling and flying airplanes
Best book read recently: Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, the most inspiring story of courage and perseverance I've ever read
Smartphone of choice: Still use a BlackBerry for email (need a keyboard), but prefer my iPad or wife’s iPhone for browsing or leisure needs
Last vacation: France, to watch the Tour de France in the French Alps and tour Paris
Ranked No. 31 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, Trinity Health
CAREER TRACK
How long at Trinity Health: I've been with this healthcare network since 1999.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Genesis, our $400 million-to-date effort to re-tool the entire enterprise in terms of business operations and the deployment of state-of-the-art clinical information systems. Genesis improves business processes and patient outcomes. And we worked on it very well together.
Most important career influencers: Dave Ross and Tom Walbridge, both formerly with Andersen Consulting/Accenture, were pivotal teachers in my career. Dave taught me the value of self-discipline and hard, focused work, and Tom taught me the about the value of relationships and about how important it is to genuinely care for the people who work for you.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: Around $325 million for operating expenses and $125 million for capital expenses.
Size of IT team: 1,600
Top initiatives:
Continued implementation of e-medical records in hospitals and physician offices.
Meeting new legal and regulatory requirements.
Developing predictive modeling capabilities to support clinical and business operations.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: This year, we'd like to have more fun. Our work is demanding and we have a lot of highly skilled professionals, all in great demand. I want to keep them at Trinity Health and intend to do it by working with others to ensure this remains a better place to work.
The next big thing for my company: Data interpretation that changes the way we deliver care and, in so doing, patient outcomes. We'll be using all the data we capture in electronic health records to tell us what's really working. We've already begun and made significant clinical gains.
What the federal government's tech priority should be: I'd like to see the federal government set standards for the codification of medical information. In doing so, we'll improve quality and reduce cost.
Kids and tech careers: I would definitely steer kids toward a career in technology. The people in IT are fun, smart, and dedicated.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of Michigan, BA in economics and master's in public health
Leisure activity: Tennis
Best book read recently: Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
Biggest business-related pet peeve: Wearing a tie
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a minor league baseball umpire
Ranked No. 35 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, Walgreens
CAREER TRACK
How long at Walgreens: About 2-1/2 years at this pharmacy chain.
Most important career influencer: My father. He has had a long career in financial services, and I chose the same industry--I worked 25 years in that field. The benefit of having a parent you can turn to for advice is their sincere honesty. While I've been working for 29 years, I continue to seek his advice to this day.
Decision I wish I could do over: I wish I hadn't allowed the demands of global travel to absorb so much time. It looks glamorous, but it isn't.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
We'll complete a program designed to improve employees' personal productivity with technology that will give them new capabilities.
We're releasing the initial version of a program tackling the infrastructure in our stores. This includes a new point-of-sale system with expanded capabilities and more efficient energy use, giving our customers a better checkout experience.
We're opening a next-generation data center, giving us the additional capacity and support of high-availability applications through redundant processing.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Walgreens measures company goals and divisional goals annually. This past year, the IT department also implemented a customer satisfaction survey measuring IT effectiveness as a primary goal.
We use a series of metrics to measure effectiveness. They focus on human resources, hardware and software utilization, and operating effectiveness. For example, our average hourly cost for app development and maintenance has been reduced by 37% in the past two years.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Improve our underlying infrastructure. Redundant data centers and new store technologies are a top focus. This includes blade servers in the store, wireless devices for employees, and new point-of-sale technologies. The engineering and product selection is completed, and we're on an aggressive rollout schedule.
Lesson learned from the recession: Our success as a country is not guaranteed. We're still working through economic challenges, but I remain optimistic we will rise to meet them.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: Provide incentives for investment in innovation that will lead to more jobs.
Kids and tech careers: Our kids are still relatively young, and we've exposed them to the benefits of using technology effectively. It's enjoyable to see what kids can do with their imagination with today's technology. Children can learn and grow if technology is used properly.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: Illinois State University, BA; Harvard Business School, advanced management program
Favorite leisure activity: Golf
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan, for his focus on freedom
Business-related pet peeve: Arrogance by senior leaders, because everyone's success is built with the help of others
Smartphone: iPhone
Computer: iMac
Ranked No. 29 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
VP and CIO, IBM
CAREER TRACK
How long at IBM: 13 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: In 2007, I defined and led the largest business transformation program in IBM, reengineering our processes in conjunction with IBM's Global Business Services team.
Most important career influencer: Roger Gourd, the manager who brought me from the U.K. to the U.S., and then hired me again eight years later and supported my career development through an executive MBA program and gave me my first executive role. Roger taught me the value of taking risks and making informed decisions.
Decision I wish I could do over: Taking a role at Digital Equipment in its networking business with a mission to innovate when the company didn't have the resources to invest. In hindsight, I wish I'd done more due diligence before taking the role.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
A new system to manage key human resources functions such as payroll and benefits.
A sales-force automation initiative to simplify sales activities.
Integrating all back-office processes among IBM, its clients, partners, and suppliers.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We base this on business value delivered via new projects (both hard and soft business benefits), as well as on business process availability.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: The pervasive use of business analytics to leverage big data. The amount of data produced today is just too overwhelming for people to consume, so we need to rely on automated processes to discover trends and evaluate courses of action.
One thing I'm looking to do better: I'd like to deliver more innovation in employee provisioning while managing security for the increased use of smartphones. The availability of affordable smartphones is putting enormous pressure on CIOs to support BYOD demand, yet most people are unaware of the security issues associated with business use of these devices.
Lesson learned from the recession: Do everything possible to maintain new project investments because the business will need the capability as markets recover.
The federal government's top tech priority should be: Managing cybersecurity. The number and sophistication of attacks on U.S. companies and U.S. interests went up tremendously in 2011. The amount of investment from venture capital funds in technologies to ensure the protection of data has gone down, so new sources of investment and innovation are required. The federal government can help.
PERSONAL
Colleges/degrees: University of London, BS in math; Boston University, MBA
Leisure activity: Photography
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Warren Buffett
Last vacation: Cape Cod
Personal computer: Mac
Best book read recently: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
Ranked No. 118 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO and General Manager of Global Technology Solutions, Convergys
CAREER TRACK
How long at Convergys: Four years at this provider of customer management and information management products.
Most important career influencer: Sam Palmisano, the chairman of IBM. The way he made quick customer-focused decisions because he actually talked to customers and could judge what made the most sense for everyone made a big impression on me.
Decision I wish I could do over: At one point in my career, I began two startups. But I would have been better off just applying that inventiveness at the company that employed me, building on relationships I already had. Being independent has serious downsides as well as upsides. Creativity can and should be applied in any IT job. I did, however, learn to use startup approaches within large companies.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: About 1,600
Top initiatives:
Improving customer service interactions with real-time analytics.
Deploying real-time tools for our team leaders, letting them coach their agents based on specific performance and behavior patterns.
Expanding our global presence. We'll do this through a converged global network that supports secure voice, video, and data.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We do this in two ways. First, by paying close attention to adding value through tech projects. Each of our initiatives has metrics, including net present value and ROI. Second, we focus on service. We use a balanced scorecard that includes service levels; external and internal customer service metrics; employee development and retention metrics; and expense, revenue, and capital expenditure commitments.
VISION
Lessons learned from the recession: Relearning that productivity must be improved every year. Cost reduction is a permanent challenge.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: Reduce the patent bureaucracy. We're spending way too much time and money trying to get patents and protect ourselves from patent trolls.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We need to further simplify the user interface for our professionals.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Wheaton College, BA in math and economics; University of Chicago, MBA in finance
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: John Chambers of Cisco--just a really fun person to listen to
Biggest business-related pet peeve: Lack of accountability
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a software company leader (I just love software!)
Ranked No. 57 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and Global CIO, Chubb
CAREER TRACK
How long at Chubb: About 16 years at this insurer.
Most important career influencers: It's a combination of influences. My predecessor as global CIO at Chubb, June Drewry, helped redefine the role and prepare me for it. The senior business-unit executive to whom I report and have known for 16 years, Dino Robusto, taught me invaluable lessons about business leadership. And I keep in close touch with longtime friends, colleagues, and mentors who provide guidance.
Decision I wish I could do over: In certain cases, I dealt with performance issues slower than I should have. It serves you, the company, and the underperforming associate better to deal with performance issues rapidly, balancing the benefit of the doubt with reality.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 1,300
Top initiatives:
We're in our second year of a fundamental redesign of our entire IT organization to create greater role clarity and division of labor, better leveraging of shared resources and assets, greater efficiency and effectiveness, and clear performance metrics by which to judge outcomes and value provided.
We're transitioning our entire infrastructure outsourcing arrangement to a new provider after seven years with our current provider.
We're implementing a true enterprise target architecture, along with the processes and governance that will ensure its success, that will form the basis of greater standardization and reuse as well as allow greater leveraging of emerging technologies.
How I measure IT effectiveness: You can only effectively manage what you measure. To date, we've used fairly standard--and vague--metrics and dashboards to measure IT effectiveness, but they aren't enough. Over the past year, we've been establishing clear metrics for the expenditure of IT resources and the value contributions coming out of IT. The cornerstone of our new metrics is enterprise implementation of CA's Clarity across all of IT to track time and manage both demand and resources. Tools like this will help us build business cases for our projects, track the true cost of IT projects, and, in turn, create accurate measures of ROI.
VISION
Lesson learned from the recession: The recent recession has made the need for companies to invest more in technology greater than ever. Of course, it has to be the "right" technology--right for the business and not just for IT or for technology's sake.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: I'd like to see the government work to improve our country's science, technology, engineering, and math education.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Utica College, BA degree in computer science; Kennedy-Western University, master of management information systems
Favorite president: Ronald Reagan, primarily because of his ability to lead, inspire, and communicate--also because of his philosophy and views
Last vacation: Turks and Caicos, scuba diving
Smartphone of choice: Right now, I have a new Apple iPhone 4S, which is phenomenal … but ask me again next month
Ranked No. 37 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Global CIO and Senior VP, Crawford & Co.
CAREER TRACK
How long at Crawford & Co.: Four years at this claims management services company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Over my time here, members of our technology team have become trusted partners focused on business initiatives. Our technology group, working closely with the business side, spearheaded programs such as Crawford Innovates, a global campaign that promotes innovation, and Crawford Business Process Improvement, an agenda that advances process innovation.
Decision I wish I could do over: While it's important to give everyone a chance to succeed, earlier in my career I sometimes held on too long to underperforming staff. Having the right people is the recipe to ensure top performing teams.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $90 million
Size of IT team: 400
Top initiatives:
A global program using the Appian BPM Suite that focuses on business process improvement (operational efficiencies and effectiveness) and automation.
Execution of our three-year strategic plan.
A program that includes social media crowdsourcing of employee ideas as well as brainstorming with select teams to tackle technology and business problems.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We've created a comprehensive ROI tool that helps drive decisions by detailing our investments in technology and defining financial improvements in a profit-and-loss format. We also use IT employee engagement surveys and a project delivery dashboard, among other methods.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: I'd like to do things better, faster, and cheaper, with a focus on innovation. This has always been a priority of our technology team, but the need is accelerating. It's becoming more important to rid our company of legacy systems and replace them with products that are more efficient and adaptable.
Lesson learned from the recession: Companies must make technology investments a priority even in the most difficult economic times--and increase them if at all possible.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: It should encourage businesses to invest in technology, perhaps by providing additional tax incentives.
Kids and technology careers: I would steer children to a career in technology. Opportunities for agile technology teams with business acumen are abundant. Those who can lead, innovate, and implement will have a bright future.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Appalachian State University, BS in business administration with majors in technology, finance, and economics
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Peter Drucker--if I could regularly execute on a tenth of his teachings, I'd be extremely successful
Pet peeve: Criticizing an idea without proposing an alternative solution
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a research analyst; I love taking on the challenge of solving a problem
Ranked No. 36 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
VP of IT and CIO, Sybase
CAREER TRACK
How long at Sybase: 11 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Creating an environment where IT is a test bed and first adopter of the technology the company sells. IT interacts with engineering to give feedback for product development before general availability.
Most important career influencer: Dr. J.R. Beyster, founder of SAIC, taught me that although my team and I may make many mistakes, we'll certainly fail if we're not afforded the opportunity to correct them. New ideas leading to success often come from the corrections.
Decision I wish I could do over: I wish I'd given more attention to how the separation of people's personal and business lives has become blurred by the introduction of new technologies, such as mobility and the real-time access to information. There's a lot more we can do to transform business processes by thinking mobile first.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $52 million
Size of IT team: 200
Top initiatives:
Moving Sybase onto SAP Business Suite. We'll retire our legacy business applications in favor of adopting the systems and many of the processes of our parent company. This will give us the best tools to sustain our growth.
Extending mobile device management to include new flavors of operating systems, in support of our bring-your-own-device program. We'll expand our support and use of iOS, Android, RIM, and Windows 8 in 2012.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Customer satisfaction is a great indicator. We canvass the community at large at least once per year to gauge how we're doing and where we need to improve.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Encourage better collaboration. Communications need to be simple and direct.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: Digitize documents and allow digital signatures. In the short term, this would improve process times, reduce paper, and save money. In the long term, this effort would allow the government to tap analytics and intelligence from the data. This is certainly doable from a technology point of view.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Muskingum College, BA in political science
Leisure activities: I volunteer at a state park, where I help visitors and patrol trails on horseback
Best book read recently: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson--it improved my appreciation of the "reality distortion field" and the intersection of technology and the humanities
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a cowboy heading into the sunset
Ranked No. 38 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
VP of IT, Acxiom
CAREER TRACK
How long at Acxiom: Fifteen years at this marketing technology and services company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Spending 2-1/2 years integrating three businesses across seven countries. It was a life-changing experience--professionally and personally. Learning the cultures, customs, and business rules in each country was incredible. You realize that what works in the U.S. might not work elsewhere.
Most important career influencer: My first manager when I was a line manager for IBM in Austin, Texas. He taught me the IT business, leadership fundamentals, and personal life lessons I still use today, almost 30 years later. He always stressed the importance of consistent, regular communication and how associates count on it. He's why I still hold Monday morning meetings every week.
Decision I wish I could do over: Turning all the keys of the kingdom over to one software vendor with the promise of integration that simply never occurred. As a result, I'm much more cautious now.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $338 million
Size of IT team: 1,200
Top initiatives:
The Enterprise Data Management Platform. Acxiom's brand has always been about big data, but with the evolution of social media, the new challenge is to derive insight from the massive amount of unstructured data that's created every minute, which EDMP addresses.
This year will see significant changes in our internal financial reporting structure. We want to look at the business in new ways, and we anticipate using new tools.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Better management tracking and control of all our assets--people, processes, and technologies. With over 22,000 servers and 1,200 people, that's a lot to keep track of!
Lesson learned from the recession: Value every client, but make sure you protect your own interests.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: Automating every consumer touch point. There are some wonderful examples that have improved user experiences and reduced costs. From driver's license renewal to electronic submission of tax information to payment of property taxes, technology solutions exist to modernize processes, reduce costs, and improve accuracy.
Kids and tech careers: I'd definitely encourage kids to pursue a technology career. Everything happens through technology.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Penn State University, BS in biology--I know that's a strange major, but the scientific process has been helpful over the years
Favorite sports: College football and golf
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Ginni Rometty of IBM--good business sense, but with a personal touch
Smartphone of choice: BlackBerry
PC of choice: Dell
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a caddy--just think of the interesting people I could meet!
Ranked No. 60 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, UPS
CAREER TRACK
How long at UPS: 35 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Playing a key role on the team that developed the business processes and supporting technology that powered our global expansion has been important to me. But working with an innovative technology team has meant even more.
Most important career influencers: I worked for several senior managers who inspired me. They taught me to take a very active role in my career, seek out new opportunities in areas outside of my comfort zone, and focus on where I wanted to be in the long term.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $1 billion
Size of IT team: More than 4,400
Top initiatives:
Next-generation package delivery optimization: This includes a number of internal and customer-facing technology projects designed to increase the efficiency, visibility, and flexibility of our delivery processes.
A core data network performance upgrade and global wireless infrastructure replacement.
New product implementations and expansion of mobile technology.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We use a balanced scorecard that has a strong focus on relevant customer and business metrics that address all lines of business. In addition, we look at project- and program-specific metrics.
VISION
The next big thing for my company: I'm excited about a number of emerging technologies. In the immediate future, we'll see an expansion of collaboration platforms and the advancement of predictive analytics.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We've made significant investments in improved infrastructure and will continue work this year to adapt application architectures to make fuller use of these enhancements.
Lesson learned from the recession: Recessions are an opportunity to improve your strengths and come out in a much more competitive position.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: Security. But on a broader scale, there's an opportunity for the government to leverage the lessons learned in business on how to approach large-scale integration of computing resources and achieve significant cost reductions.
Kids and tech careers: My children are in high school, and technology will play a major role in whatever careers they decide on. Being a member of a technology community will offer them the capability for challenging and financially rewarding careers.
PERSONAL
Leisure activities: Spending time with my family, reading, and being involved with charitable organizations
Business-related pet peeve: Not being able to build and deploy quality technology solutions fast enough
Best book read recently: Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, which is more pertinent than ever
Personal computer: The new ultrabooks look very promising
Last vacation: In the Florida Panhandle with my family
Ranked No. 39 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, Texas Health Resources
CAREER TRACK
How long at Texas Health Resources: Four and a half years at this network of hospitals and health facilities.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Implementing an advanced electronic health record across our health system to improve the quality of care. The project was a collaboration among clinicians, administrators, and the IT team.
Most important career influencer: My wife, Julie, who believed in me, encouraged me, and supported me before I had accomplished anything material in life.
Decision I wish I could do over: There were concerns about our infrastructure readiness as we prepared for a major application upgrade. I accepted verbal assurances that everything was in order--but the infrastructure collapsed, and we were unable to utilize core applications for 12 hours. I learned the meaning of President Reagan's lesson, "Trust but verify," the hard way. As a result, this was a one-time occurrence.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: More than $100 million
Size of IT team: 650
Top initiatives:
Enhancing security in all areas, including mobile.
Ensuring that our clinicians have the best mobility tools available to enable higher quality of care.
Beefing up our business intelligence capabilities, for both business and clinical operations.
VISION
The next big thing for my industry: Mobility, for both clinicians and consumers.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We are focusing on process. To this end, we have certified all of our team in ITSM and ITIL, and we're reengineering operations from the ground up.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: Security, security, security. There just isn't anything more important.
Kids and technology careers: The best thing I did was have my firstborn A+ certified at the age of 13. This relieved me from IT support responsibilities at home.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Colorado State University, BS in psychology and MS in consumer sciences
Leisure activities: I'm an avid triathlete, having completed 100 races
Favorite president: George Washington, who blazed a trail and set the course for the country
Last vacation: Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and, with a team of work-related friends, opened and staffed a medical clinic in remote Tanzania
Ranked No. 62 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP of Technology and Operations, Allstate
CAREER TRACK
How long at Allstate: Since April 2011.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Designing and launching an Internet-based wireless data platform from scratch to allow the use of just-in-time, relevant information as part of a startup company.
Most important career influencer: My father. He taught me the values and ethics that have guided me as a leader and as a person. I continue to seek his wisdom to this day.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I supported programs that tried to "boil the ocean." Over time, I've learned the value of scoping projects to ensure progress isn't impeded; breaking deliverables into smaller, manageable pieces; and building upon successful components.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 4,300 employees
Top initiatives:
Unify communications (integrating voice mail, email, and instant messaging) and expand on cloud computing capabilities.
Innovate through partnering with business leaders in order to make investments that take advantage of disruptive technologies and industry trends.
Move from a highly descriptive reporting culture to one that uses data for predictive analytic decision-making.
VISION
The next big thing for my business: We aim to more efficiently capitalize on changing customer behavior, letting customers interact seamlessly with the company on tablets and smartphones, wherever and however they prefer.
One thing I'm trying to do better: We want to strengthen our delivery capabilities through clearly defined project management standards and increased testing capabilities.
Lesson learned from the recession: As a society, we need a more realistic understanding of the economy and its impact on our individual lives and businesses. We must recognize and respond to market realities and be fully aware of both the risks and rewards of our actions.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: We need to make attending college easier and should provide additional incentives to study math and science. It's also important to have the top teaching talent to help the next generation succeed in a competitive global job market.
Kids and tech careers: I will support my children in whatever career they choose and share with them the experiences of my career. Technology careers are still exciting, with innovative ideas and solutions being formed every day.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Harvard Business School, Advanced Management Program; West Virginia University, master's in computer engineering; George Mason University, MBA
Leisure activity: Golf
Leader I'd like to have lunch with: Alan Greenspan--I respect his understanding of the world economy and his leadership on monetary policy
Business-related pet peeve: Those who don't take personal responsibility
If I weren't a tech chief, I'd be ... a physics and math teacher
Ranked No. 64 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CTO, Echo Global Logistics
CAREER TRACK
How long at Echo Global Logistics: About five years.
Most important career influencer: The biggest influence on my career was an industry, not a person. I spent 10 years of my IT career in the equity market side of financial services in London and New York. We had a saying back then that I've kept using: Always have "belt and braces." It's a British expression that means always overplan or have a backup for your backup. I incorporate this way of thinking across all aspects of IT.
Decision I wish I could do over: I took a CIO job for a manufacturing company that had a brilliant piece of software that it wanted to take to market. Once I arrived, it became obvious that there wasn't enough appetite for the time, money, and resources required to do this successfully. This was a great learning experience and taught me to dig deeper into business plans and projects before jumping in.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
Completion of our service-oriented architecture migration for all our platforms ensures that continuous and rapid development of new client-requested data, services, and functions are easily supported. Echo's SOA will continue to support our growth and scale well into the future.
We'll extend the function and reach of our technology and services to our clients and vendors via expansion of mobile applications and Web services.
How I measure IT effectiveness: At a high level, I look at metrics such as user satisfaction, sales wins over our competition, the cost of IT as a percentage of gross profit, and service-level agreements. At a detailed level, we have tools, dashboards, and reports that let us measure just about everything: services and database performance, application response times, transactional volumes, and much more.
VISION
Lesson learned from the recession: Always be ready for rapid change and be able to make difficult decisions quickly. Know what your financial, corporate, team, and personal priorities are, and what's required to support them. This discipline helps you focus on what drives your business in good and bad economic times.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: The security of national and corporate data and information is paramount. Digital warfare could impact both corporate profits and national security. The impact to the U.S. through the loss of intellectual property and capital is immeasurable.
Kids and technology careers: I would definitely steer my nieces and nephews toward a career in technology. Technology is key to our future.
PERSONAL
Favorite sports teams: Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks--they're scrappy and entertaining
Favorite president: Franklin D. Roosevelt; he guided us through the Great Depression and a world war, and fought serious illness while remaining optimistic
Smartphone of choice: I love the speed, openness, and connectivity of the Android OS and HTC platforms
If I weren't a tech chief, I'd be ...a beer brewer--brewing beer is a great hobby, and maybe I could make money at something I'm passionate about
Ranked No. 52 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, Lehigh Valley Health Network
CAREER TRACK
How long at Lehigh Valley Health Network: 18 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: We've built a culture that proves you can do good things technically and still treat people well. Lehigh Valley has been recognized nationally for our work in healthcare technology, so we work hard. But people like working here, and our turnover rate over the past 15 years is less than 2%.
Most important career influencers: I've been fortunate to work for two excellent mentors. One was the CFO at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He taught me to keep pushing the envelope. The second was the former CEO at Lehigh Valley. He helped hone my process skills. I also learned how to keep off their radar when things weren't going so well--and that was probably just as important as anything else.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $58 million
Size of IT team: 302 employees
Top initiatives:
Implement and use federally certified clinical software that supports HITECH regulations about patient care and data collection, and then convince 1,000 physicians to use it.
Provide caregivers with a device that provides access to all systems needed for medical rounds and daily office practice, but one thats lighter, friendlier, and less expensive than the technology were currently using.
Build a health information exchange that pulls together data from local school districts and local health systems, improving medical care for underserved students in inner-city areas.
VISION
What the next big thing for my industry will be: Robotics will be used in patient monitoring systems and will be more widespread in surgery.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We're focusing on customer service. We support 17,000 users, all within a 35-mile radius. We're trying to organize ourselves better to reduce our response time without breaking the operating budget bank.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: It only touches on technology, but I'd like to see the government back off on the Stark Law and the anti-kickback regulations regarding physician/hospital referrals and inurement. Private docs need resources, financial and human, to implement the business and billing changes mandated by the federal government, yet these laws prohibit real assistance by health systems. Electronic health records are costly and hard to implement. Someone needs to ask the federal government, "Do you want the better clinical informatics that eventually come with EHRs or not?"
PERSONAL
Degrees: St. Josephs College, BS in engineering; Temple University, MS in engineering
Leisure activities: Fishing and reading Favorite president: Harry Truman; he made difficult decisions in difficult times
Pet peeve: ur tax laws are archaic--how is it that I pay more income tax than GE?
If I werent a CIO, I'd be ... teaching Civil War history at a university
Ranked No. 56 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and Chief Information and Global Services Officer, Iron Mountain
CAREER TRACK
How long at Iron Mountain: Almost two years at this provider of records management and data backup services.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I was part of the team that launched AT&T Internet Services. During our first week of operation, we got 10 times the demand that the business anticipated for the first six months of the service. Scaling the service while supporting customers was a big challenge and a key accomplishment.
Most important career influencer: Hank Bergmann, my first mentor at Bell Labs. He helped me focus on practical results and simplify plans and design.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $102 million
Size of IT team: 480 employees
Top initiatives:
Enterprise-wide implementation of Oracle, using one system to streamline internal processes like travel, expenses, and employee learning.
Implementation of a human resource portal, allowing greater levels of employee self-service.
Improving the technology aspects of customer service.
How I measure IT effectiveness: Some of the key metrics we use are measurements of business team and customer satisfaction, expense to revenue, and on-time delivery and defects in the first month of production.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better this year: In the past year, we made significant investment in talent acquisition. This year will stabilize the team by focusing on key deliverables and delivering on schedule for our key projects and initiatives.
Lesson learned from the recession: You can be more effective with less of a budget, still meeting your goals and delivering results.
What the federal government's top technology priority should be: Make the government more open--use technology to make more information more accessible to more people.
Kids and technology careers: Although I don't have children, I would definitely steer them toward technology. It's pervasive in our society, and you need to be proficient in it to be successful.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Virginia Tech, MS and Ph.D.; Wharton Business School, MBA
Leisure activity: Motorcycling
Tech vendor CEO I admire most: Sam Palmisano of IBM
Pet peeve: Reliance on big budgets; it's possible to do more with less
If I weren't CIO, I'd be ... the CEO of a startup technology firm
Ranked No. 47 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CTO, Capital Access Network
CAREER TRACK
How long at Capital Access Network: Twelve years at this financial services provider.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Building our Enterprise Information System. EIS is the engine for all of our internal processes and workflows, plus it stores 13 years of small-business data and then turns that information into scoring, modeling, and risk management profiles.
Decision I wish I could do over: Leaving a major corporation for a startup is always a big decision and a gamble. I don't regret joining a smaller company, and, thankfully, things have turned out better than I ever imagined--but the first few years were much tougher than I expected. More up-front due diligence might have prepared me better. The realization that resources wouldn't always be available and I'd have to continuously stretch my time and my team's effort to the limit was difficult. I had to learn ways to avoid burning out my team and learn how to bootstrap, just like others working in entrepreneurial environments.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 100
Top initiatives:
Our largest initiative involves extremely rapid enhancement of our online presence and capability. We want to better serve e-commerce merchants and expedite the expansion of our small-business customer base.
We're implementing a new scoring methodology, which will speed scorecard development, expand risk and marketing indicator analysis, and support our ability to help our subsidiaries and partners provide more capital with less risk.
A new CRM system for our sales channel is under way, completing a full integration of Microsoft Dynamics with our EIS, enabling easier data capture and use at more touch points and with greater relevance.
VISION
One thing I'm trying to do better: I want to expand existing resources and upgrade skills by cross-training and creating more subject-matter experts. I plan to rotate team members between projects, which will give them a broader view of the business.
Lesson learned from the recession: Diversification of the labor pool and associated cost bases is really important. Our Central American operating and development center provided us with both access to excellent talent and a strong ROI on our projects during the recession, enabling our Caribbean Basin and Central American initiatives.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: The government could be a great source for online information and service, but its Web properties are often hard to use. A good Web architect could build .gov sites that are useful and reduce the need to speak to someone.
PERSONAL
College: Collège Roncherolles, in France
Favorite sports figure: Team Lotus's Colin Chapman was the most innovative person in racing. He took aerodynamics seriously, which resulted in the fast formula cars we see today.
Best book read recently: Joan Of Arc, by Mary Gordon. As a youngster in France, I had to walk to school and every day I passed the spot where she was burned at the stake. I thought it was time to find out more about her.
If I weren't a tech chief, I'd be ... a curator at the Louvre in Paris or maybe a National Geographic photographer
Ranked No. 58 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Arrow Electronics
CAREER TRACK
How long at current company: Six years at this electronics distribution company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I've always tried to make sure that the IT organization knew its role as enabling and supporting the company's business goals. When the IT organization is truly aligned with the business, the partnership can be a game changer.
Most important career influencer: My mentor when I first joined IBM, Carla Pariser. She made sure that I had opportunities to learn, and I was able to watch how she managed relationships with executives and customers. This helped me understand what it took to be successful and how important customer relationships are.
Decision I wish I could do over: Years ago, I was involved in a large-scale divestiture deal with a big customer, and we committed to take on a logistics capability that we didn't have the systems in place to handle. The time frame was too tight--but rather than risk the deal, I signed up for commitments that couldn't be delivered on. The effort and energy to address these challenges we created impacted the customer and the team.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 800 globally
Top initiatives:
Mobility--anything, anywhere, anytime access. We need to support how our employees want to use our systems through a multitude of devices and with seamless access.
Continued ERP rollout. We'll be deploying a core set of systems globally. This is the foundation or common language for the company so we operate more consistently on a global scale.
Business intelligence. We're interested in how we can make decisions earlier that can impact our performance. If we can determine what's happening with a particular technology or market even marginally quicker than others, we can act and gain an advantage.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: We need to be more flexible and effective in supporting how users want to access and use our systems and data. Technology isn't the problem; figuring out how to effectively manage the breadth of technology and pace of change is.
What the federal government's top tech priorities should be: Security and improving education through technology. We can teach our children better and much less expensively.
PERSONAL
Title: CIO
Degrees: Trinity College, BS in physics; Carnegie Mellon, MSIA
Leisure activities: Golf, but I never get to play; and basketball, but my knees are shot
Best book read recently: Beginning Lua Programming (yes, really)
Last vacation: Went to New York City to see Bruce Springsteen for a long weekend
If I weren't CIO, I'd ... start a small, technology-oriented company
Ranked No. 61 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, Intuit
CAREER TRACK
How long at Intuit: Seven and a half years at this software company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: This year, we completed a shift in Intuit's entire customer data model. The complex upgrade in CRM and customer care as well as billing required an extensive cross-functional, cross-company team. I couldn't be more proud of achieving the collaboration needed to accomplish this task.
Most important career influencer: Leo Quinn, CEO of QinetiQ, taught me how to execute, while Intuit CEO Brad Smith has taught me the art of winning the hearts of an organization.
Decision I wish I could do over: I left Intuit briefly to pursue another executive opportunity. While I don't regret the decision to leave, I also wouldn't repeat it. The time away gave me perspective. I learned a great deal about myself and evaluated what's important.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 900
Top initiatives:
Complete a new technology and business infrastructure to deliver personalized customer experiences across all of our channels.
Establish a hosting platform based on a hybrid strategy of private hosting and public infrastructure, providing engineers with more speed to experiment and improving our time to market for new products.
Overhaul Intuit's IT support environment to better serve the needs of our 8,000-plus global employees.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We depend on net promoter scores, which gauge the likelihood of a customer recommending our services to colleagues, to drive IT decisions.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: Delivering an improved customer experience, made possible by strong talent and a more-flexible technological architecture.
What the federal government's top tech priority should be: The federal government has a tremendous opportunity to focus on modernizing its critical infrastructure and systems. In addition, there's an opportunity to partner with the private and not-for-profit sectors so that the offerings we and others develop can seamlessly and securely integrate into government services. Together, this can lead to improved experiences for all citizens.
Kids and technology careers: I believe in steering children toward their personal passions. It's important to love what you do--whether that's focused on technology or something else.
PERSONAL
Degrees: University of Central Florida, BS in electrical engineering; Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, MBA
Favorite sport: Basketball
Favorite coach: Phil Jackson, former coach for the L.A. Lakers
Favorite book read recently: The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries
Personal computer: MacBook Air
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... the owner of a wine or cigar bar
Ranked No. 41 in the 2011 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Swank Audio Visuals
CAREER TRACK
How long at Swank Audio Visuals: Five years at this tech services company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I started out as a software developer and still am one at heart, so I'm probably most proud of Flexnet. It's a proprietary app engineered for the overlap between audiovisual technology and the meeting, conference, and event businesses.
ON THE JOB
Top Initiatives:
A new customer management and sales application that will be integrated with our overall proposal, order, and billing system.
A lightweight version of the order system, designed to run via the Web on mobile devices.
A new tool focused on better labor management and sharing of resources.
The most disruptive force in my industry: The bring-your-own-device trend.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: We're fortunate that innovation is a core belief in our culture. Anyone, at any time, can bring an idea to the table and have it considered seriously.
What I'm looking to do better: We're looking to improve the overall uptime of our WAN and the overall quality of the software we develop.
What the most common cause is when IT projects go wrong: The lack of involvement from key business stakeholders--if you don't have the resources and can't get them, don't do the project.
What tech vendors aren't delivering today: Tech vendors could improve the level of product knowledge they offer during the sales cycle.
Kids and tech careers: I tried to steer my kids toward IT careers. Of course, neither of them was interested. Surprisingly, they didn't want to spend any more time in front of a computer than they already do.
The most overrated IT movement: Our discipline is one of the worst for hype and exaggeration. But you never know what the next big thing will be. Is it the cloud? There's a real opportunity for some shops to get out of the hardware business and focus on their company's business. Is it SOA? SaaS? Maybe. But it's clear to me that you ignore any of these hyped technologies at your own risk.
PERSONAL
Title: CIO
Degrees: University of Missouri-St. Louis, business/MIS degree
Fastest way into my doghouse: Lying or trying to hide a mistake
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Obama and Romney at the same time would be interesting
First job: Putt-Putt Golf at age 15 in 1975; I did everything from taking tickets at the go-cart track to keeping the go-carts gassed up and running, and helping people when they crashed
Ranked No. 22 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Chief Technology, Product, and Innovation Officer, Active Network
CAREER TRACK
How long at Active Network: A year at this cloud-based event registration company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I've been able to maneuver through a wide range of industries throughout my career, while continuing to innovate. After 25 years, it can be difficult to keep up with technology, but I've always worked hard to be on top of what's new.
Most important career influencer: My mother taught me the importance of being honest and ethical, and that if you aren't, you might advance in your career, but you'll likely be penalized along the way.
Decision I wish I could do over: There have been times when I've pushed the envelope of technology too hard and didn't allow the technology to mature first. I've learned to let the technology catch up.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: More than $100 million
Size of IT team: About 1,400
Top initiatives:
Focus on building best-of-breed products that have strong return on investment for our customers.
Drive product consolidation across all of our platforms and business units.
Continue our data center migrations and consolidation.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: To innovate, keep things simple. Overdeveloping products is a common mistake that hinders innovation. Typically, only a few key features and functions really matter, and that's where you should concentrate your efforts. We push our teams to experiment and innovate around those key things. We also have a small group whose entire mission is to drive innovation.
What I need from tech vendors: I need IT vendors to be candid about their products' capabilities. They often try to force your set of needs into the capabilities of their product, not the other way around. I'd rather have a vendor say its product doesn't have a certain capability up front, because then we can work around it.
The most common cause of IT projects going wrong: When vendors don't really understand client expectations or requirements, things will go wrong. The most common mistake on the client side is miscommunication about success factors for a project.
Kids and tech careers: Technology makes for a great, secure career. But it's also a very intense, 24/7 environment. There are other careers that offer the same security and money, but that allow you to have more of a personal life. I love my job and have thrived in it, but you need to be a particular type of person.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Fort Lauderdale College/Florida Metropolitan University, BS in computer information systems; Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, MBA
Tech vendor CEO I respect most: Michael Dell
Favorite band: Maroon 5
Best book read recenly: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a watch designer and manufacturer
Ranked No. 29 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Quintiles
CAREER TRACK
How long at Quintiles: Seven years at this biopharmaceutical services company.
Decision I wish I could do over: In 1998, I sat down with two good friends to talk about starting up a company that could provide off-premises, hosted business services for small and midsize companies, but didn't follow through despite a strong case to give it a try. I've learned not to get too comfortable and hold back from trying something new (and risky).
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
We want to improve staff productivity by opening up and fully embracing consumer technologies and employee-owned devices in the workplace.
We're focused on reducing the risk, time, and cost required to run clinical trials.
The most disruptive force in my industry: The funding model for the biopharmaceutical industry is broken and the future is unclear. With pressure increasing to reduce healthcare costs and a burgeoning pipeline of products in development, biopharmaceutical firms are hard pressed to benefit from a wave of advances and a better understanding of the human body. Revenue is decreasing from drugs no longer on patent, so who will pay for the R&D required to develop new treatments and therapies?
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: We focus on the outcome first and fit the technology to that goal, allowing flexibility along the way. It's a tough balance between innovation and simply running the business. Over the last year, I've established a formal R&D group to focus on those technologies that are further out but highly relevant to our industry. No one individual or group owns innovation, but good ideas require focus and some leeway to develop.
One thing I'm looking to do better: As mentioned earlier, we're embracing all manner of consumer devices that our employees want to use in the workplace, whether they're owned by the company or not. We're doing this through a series of changes in our core infrastructure, allowing self-registration of noncompany devices. My goal is to ensure that an employee can walk into any one of our offices around the world and be productive immediately.
What I need from tech vendors: I'd love even more of that wonderful consumer-friendly technology to cross over into the clunky corporate world.
The most overrated IT movement: The cloud is still too complicated. Anything that's as hyped as it has been is unlikely to meet expectations. The cloud has tremendous possibilities--and I'm a huge proponent--but we need a reality check.
PERSONAL
Fastest way into my doghouse: Working in IT but not understanding technology; if you work in IT, I expect you to know what you're talking about
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: The Dalai Lama
First job: At 16 an internship as a programmer for a construction company, which led to a scholarship and parttime job that paid for my education
Last vacation: The Outer Banks, N.C.
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... racing cars until I got too old--then, I'd try running a race team
Ranked No. 6 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CIO and CTO, Broadview Networks
CAREER TRACK
How long at Broadview Networks: More than 12 years at this communications provider.
Most important career influencer: Early in my career, while at Bell Labs, I had the privilege of working under my lab director, Ron Haas. I was about five years in but getting antsy about long-term career planning. Ron took an interest in my growth and, as a graduate of the University of Chicago's Executive MBA program, encouraged me to explore that route. With his support, I applied and was accepted to the Wharton School's Executive MBA program. It was an extraordinary opportunity that paved the way for my evolving career. Sadly, Ron passed away not long afterward, but I will always remember him and be grateful.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $10 million
Top initiatives:
We're focused on tightening our disaster recovery processes and procedures.
We're building the systems and processes to let other service providers resell our cloud-based business voice service under their own brands.
Using Web-based applications, we're working to improve sales activity with redesigned sales automation dashboards and workspaces.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: We incorporate the innovation opportunities within the context of the run-the-business priorities. We encourage and cheerlead prototypes and creative solutions, ask open-ended questions, and keep ourselves open to different ideas. In addition, we encourage our leaders to put their egos in check and let individuals and teams show what they can do.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: Incomplete scope definition and scope creep is probably the biggest single cause of IT projects going bad. It leads to misunderstandings and missed expectations, as well as project delays and budget overruns.
What I need from tech vendors: Tell me: What problem are you solving, and how does it affect my world? I've heard too many pitches like "We can save you 40% of your IT spending with what we do," only to find that the vendor has no clue where that 40% is going to come from.
The most overrated IT movement: Outsourcing is overrated, though we've leveraged it in certain areas with great success. If you read the trade press uncritically, you'd conclude that if you're not outsourcing help desk, support, or development, you're missing the boat. Frankly, it has its place and offers benefits, but there are hidden costs that are often overlooked.
PERSONAL
Favorite sports coach: Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants; he shows respect for his players, while maintaining his authority as their boss
The fastest way into my doghouse: Say you're going to do something but fail to deliver
Favorite music: I'm a big fan of the folk groups of the '60s and '70s--Simon & Garfunkel, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, and Joni Mitchell (I guess I'm really dating myself here)
Last vacation: The Hudson Valley of New York, where an amazing amount of history happened
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a cosmologist--I'm fascinated by the evolving theories of our universe
Ranked No. 28 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and Global CIO, Cigna
CAREER TRACK
How long at Cigna: About a year and a half at this health insurance and health services company.
Decision I wish I could do over: The decisions that I replay in my head involve not moving fast enough. It took a few mistakes early in my career to understand that an imperfect decision today is worth a lot more than a more perfect decision made much later.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
Customer centricity, being focused on individual needs and personalized relationships, is a big priority. We're engaging customers through diverse channels, requiring delivery through flexible, scalable platforms and infrastructures.
We're also highly focused on leveraging data. Being able to aggregate, organize, and apply data reveals meaningful insights. We want to use this information to deliver products that support collaboration with doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Most disruptive force in my industry: We're facing an aging population, an increase in chronic disease, and growing rates of obesity and diabetes, not just in the U.S., but around the world. Disease states typically found in developed countries are also being seen in less-developed countries, so the challenges of managing lifestyle-based illnesses are playing out on a global basis.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: We're creating innovation labs, allowing our teams the freedom to explore new ideas. We also have a company-wide innovation challenge called "Inventrepreneurs," with incentives for the best new customer-centric innovation ideas.
What I need from tech vendors: We need vendors to be more than just order takers. We want them to proactively engage in frank and open communication if there's a better or faster way to do things, or if there are opportunities for innovation. We also want transparency and visibility into their service delivery models, their problem management processes, and their contingency plans.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: Common factors that lead to project failures include lack of clarity in business requirements and success criteria, unrealistic schedules, and a lack of engaged sponsorship.
The most overrated IT movement: While the public cloud has many potential benefits, the hype factor is large. The public cloud adoption rate remains low compared with private and hybrid cloud models, due in part to many architectural, security, and privacy challenges. This is of particular importance within the healthcare industry, as we must manage the confidentiality of health records and patient information with an absolute zero tolerance for lapses in privacy and security.
PERSONAL
Favorite sports team manager: Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, because he applied the science of analytics to decision-making in building a team
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Winston Churchill; I'd love access to his wisdom as the true essence of an inspirational leader (and I hear he truly enjoyed a good lunch)
First job: Pumping gas, which taught me to serve customers with a smile and focus on the details
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a college professor, as there are many similarities between being a teacher and being a business leader
Ranked No. 7 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Group VP & CIO, North America, Toyota
CAREER TRACK
How long at Toyota: 16 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Building relationships that have helped bridge the gap between business and IT, and delivering game-changing innovation. I did this by first establishing personal relationships, and then extending these bridges through the team to help them create their own relationships. I also make it a top priority to create a culture where innovation is celebrated.
Most important career influencer: Barbra Cooper, my predecessor. She is a fantastic visionary and developer. She had me take on tremendous challenges before I knew I was ready and gave me the support I needed to be successful.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
We're focusing on mobility by putting production, sales, and customer-sentiment data in the hands of all Toyota executives; giving our field organization tools to support our dealers; and giving our dealers tools to better serve customers.
We're putting all of our collaboration tools onto the cloud, which allows us to move from the business of managing equipment in data centers to managing service.
Most disruptive force in my industry: Enterprise technology isn't keeping pace with consumer technology innovation.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: The highlight of my year is Toyota's IT Innovation Fair. It's an opportunity for our associates to use their technical expertise and creativity to prototype and showcase innovative answers to our business challenges. In six years, we've had dozens of amazing ideas shared at the fair, and some have been funded and even patented.
One thing I'm looking to do better: To continue to blur the lines between business and IT. We've been on this journey for some time.The next step is to take this marriage of IT and business and co- develop apps and tools in new ways that get them to market faster.
What I want from tech vendors: Innovation. Sometimes the fault is in vendors' contracts, which aren't always structured in a way where there's room for creativity.
The most overrated IT movement: I hate hearing complaints about not having a business strategy. Businesses do have strategies, but they don't exist in a leather-bound book. You just have to spend time with your business leaders and you'll find out their plans and needs.
Kids and tech careers: Having a technology foundation is critical, since it will be needed in any type of job they'll have. Securing a degree in any of the STEM--science, technology, engineering, and math--areas will help recession-proof your career.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Pepperdine University, bachelor's degree in business management; University of California, Irvine, MBA
Tech vendor I respect most: Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell; he connects with his customers at a level that's rarely seen these days
Person I most want to have lunch with: Tim Cook, CEO of Apple; I'd like to hear how he's going to keep the innovation engine churning
First job: Dishwasher
Favorite bands: The Beatles, U2, Everlast, Radiohead
Ranked No. 17 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, UniGroup
CAREER TRACK
How long at UniGroup: About a year at this logistics services company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Making the transition from the business to IT. Education in IT made me a better business leader; business experience makes me a better IT leader.
Decision I wish I could do over: In the past, I made the mistake of chasing technology. There's a balance between implementing new technologies that offer a competitive advantage and developing reliable, consistent systems.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $30 million
Size of IT team: 180
Top initiatives:
Building a supply chain management system.
Moving more systems to an open source stack from a mainframe.
Engaging a colocation facility.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: I want to improve collaboration. We just have too many walls today.
How I give my team room to innovate: I ask for individuals or teams to present ideas to me that they feel have potential to make a difference. This demonstrates initiative and passion for the idea. If an idea has merit, I free up their time to pursue the idea and ask for regular updates.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: A breakdown in communication between IT and the business or a lack of support from the business is usually why projects fail.
What I want from tech vendors: We need truly unique, innovative approaches to problems from our vendors instead of another repackaging of the same old ideas.
The most overrated IT movement: Cloud computing. It's not that I don't support it or believe that it's going to happen, it's just that there are so many case studies that are simply not true. Let's face it, there is still a lot of work to be done to make it easier and more affordable.
Kids and tech careers: I'm definitely trying to steer my kids toward technology careers. They're still young, but I believe that technology will always have a future.
PERSONAL
Degree: Creighton University, BS in computer science
Favorite pro sports team coach: Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, because he coaches his team like I feel I coach my team -- we're both involved and personal
Best book read recently: Unbroken, a well-written and incredible story about Louis Zamperini
If I weren't CIO, I'd be ... a COO -- I love operations
Ranked No. 12 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP and CIO, The Cincinnati Insurance Co.
CAREER TRACK
How long at Cincinnati Insurance: Two and a half years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm most proud of being part of the formulation of the Acord Framework. Acord is the insurance industry's standards organization, and the Acord Framework consists of a series of models representing capabilities, processes, information (data and objects) and components for our industry. I believe it will dramatically improve our industry's technical capabilities.
Most important career influencer: My father, who demonstrated a strong work ethic and the value of a great education in engineering. He was a role model on how to find the best out of everyone and everything.
Decision I wish I could do over: There have been a number of times where I should have "ripped the Band-Aid off" when there was a problem. I think the organization would have adjusted better and quicker.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $140 million
Top initiatives:
Improve our commercial policy
automation capabilities to serve our agents.
Enhance our predictive analytic capabilities.
Continue building an enterprise data warehouse.
VISION
The most disruptive force in my industry today: Companies that can fully leverage data will catapult themselves above their competition. Predictive analytics is changing how we think of insurance product development, underwriting, pricing and claims management.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We have an effort to improve our processes and become more flexible in our delivery abilities. We're aligning our processes with the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) and implementing methodology changes to accomplish this.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: There are many reasons projects can go wrong, from incomplete requirements to inappropriate designs and project plans. Organizations that adhere to their methodologies, align them toward CMMI and follow a strict architecture discipline can mitigate these risks. When I see problems, they're typically in the estimated effort involved; often we think (or hope) projects will be relatively easy.
What I need from tech vendors: I'd like to see more convergence on the mobile front. HTML5 looks promising in that regard.
Kids and tech careers: If my kids wanted a technology career, I'd support them whole-heartedly. I believe a tech career, especially in insurance, is one of the most rewarding an individual could choose.
PERSONAL
Degree: University of Cincinnati, BS in industrial engineering
Tech vendor CEO I respect most: Timothy Cook; taking the reins of Apple from one of the largest icons in technology history must be extremely challenging, but he seems to be doing terrifically
My first job: I was a cook at Famous Recipe Fried Chicken; I've cooked more chicken than most people can eat in a lifetime
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... bummed, because really love the roleRanked No. 27 in the 2012
Ranked No. 27 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and CIO, Tech Data
CAREER TRACK
How long at Tech Data: I've been with this distributor of tech products for 11 years.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm very proud of the growth and success of a few great colleagues whose IT careers I had the opportunity to help kick off.
Decision I wish I could do over: I administered the winding down of operations and sale of a former company. The negativity of that assignment made it starkly clear to me that my energy comes from creating and building. It took awhile for me to shake off that experience.
Most important career influencer: Mark Mulford, former managing director at Frontline Distribution in the U.K. When I was his IT director, he took it on himself to teach me the whole business. I still help myself out of impasses by asking, "What would Mark do?
ON THE JOB
IT budget: More than $100 million
Size of IT team: More than 400 globally
Top initiatives:
Integrating a series of recently acquired businesses.
Leveraging our global SAP capabilities to provide specialized
Optimizing our recent SAP module implementation in the U.S. to improve operational efficiencies and customer experience.
VISION
Most disruptive force in my industry: Global economic volatility and the resulting effect on consumer confidence have significant influence on our industry, as does the huge growth of tablet computing.
How I give my team room to innovate: As one of our CEO's direct reports, my organization is formally tasked with responsibility for innovation, one of his three strategic imperatives for the corporation (along with execution and diversification). We're not expected to just bring solutions and services to the leadership table, but ideas, challenges and opportunities.
The most overrated IT movement: The idea of "big data" being a new, breakout discipline and movement. We've all been capturing, storing, mining, tuning and looking for patterns in masses of data from the moment we started to measure disk space in terabytes.
PERSONAL
The fastest way into my doghouse: To argue against feedback rather than acknowledge it for what it is
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Jony Ive, senior VP of industrial design at Apple
First job: Studio photographer
Best book read recently: Drift, by Rachel Maddow
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a policeman
Ranked No. 40 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP of Global Business Processes & CIO, Movado Group
CAREER TRACK
How long at Movado Group: About six and a half years at this watchmaker.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm honored to have been a part of a number of global transformational changes in business processes and integrated systems at Movado and Colgate-Palmolive. Bringing in large-scale initiatives within budget -- and with real subsequent, positive change -- is truly rewarding.
Decision I wish I could do over: The decisions I'd most like to do over are those in which I didn't rely on prior lessons learned and instead allowed fear or pride to drive me to seek a compromise to keep things moving. Almost every one of those experiences had a common denominator: people. The decisions centered on either waiting too long to let someone go or giving the benefit of the doubt to someone when experience told me I shouldn't.
ON THE JOB
Top initiatives:
Replacing our outlet stores' systems. This initiative involves both in-store systems as well as a cloud-based offering that we're tightly integrating to our global ERP system.
Expanding our e-commerce presence. This initiative involves adding brands and geography to our e-commerce platforms as well as expanding consumer capabilities with online repair and service experiences.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: We have defined project work and support activities that are aligned with corporate priorities, but we allow team members the opportunity to propose initiatives -- be they experiments or innovations -- as long as they can make a case for how they align with the overall corporate vision.
One thing I'm looking to do better: We're a small global group supporting a fairly sizable IT footprint, so the one thing we want to do better is cross-train people. This isn't always easy because of some deep skill requirements. That said, we have a few people assigned to initiatives that take them beyond their areas of expertise to help them learn and grow.
What I need from tech vendors: First, they need to listen to customer requirements. Beyond that, they need to come forward with more clarity and honesty instead of marketing hype.
Most overrated IT movement: Cloud computing is overrated right now, but I do believe it will evolve and replace a significant share of on-site solutions. The analogy I like to use goes back to a time in history when manufacturers needed to generate their own power. Once the infrastructure was in place, there were standards -- consistency in delivery, security and affordability -- and people migrated to utilities. It was clearly the better choice.
PERSONAL
Leisure activities: Family gatherings and showing my Chevrolet Corvettes, a 1966 C2 Convertible and 1999 C5 Coupe
Favorite musicians: Eric Clapton and Cream
Favorite app: Cor.kz, a wine app
First job: Clerk in a supermarket
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Jesus Christ
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a dentist, an electrician, an auto mechanic or an aging member of a touring rock band
Ranked No. 13 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Senior VP of healthcare informatics, Premier
CAREER TRACK
How long at Premier: More than three years at this alliance of hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare organizations.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Launching PremierConnect, our integrated performance platform that connects data and people in ways that support evolving delivery models for healthcare. The virtual community lets our alliance member providers share data and strategies based on thousands of patient outcomes.
Biggest career influencer: Dr. Paul Gertman, a mentor, whom I met while at Eclipsys (now All-scripts). He is truly a futurist and thinks about how the world will play out way before the mainstream has thought about these trends.
Decision I wish I could do over: I decided early in my technology career to get out of healthcare IT for a number of years to focus more on mainstream industries. After coming back to healthcare, I realized that I should have never left the industry.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $100 million.
Size of IT team: 650 full-time employees.
Top initiatives:
RAccelerating PremierConnect's capabilities.
Creating a partner network for the PremierConnect system.
Expanding the footprint of the co-developed payer and provider data model with our partner, IBM.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: We think about our business in three buckets: manage and run the core, build adjacent business and innovate for future opportunities. We let our teams play around in each of these areas. Teams get to have focused time to think through how our business will change and what we need to do in order to change with it.
One thing I'm looking to do better: With the launch of our integrated platform, we're shortening the release cycle. We've switched from long development cycles to much quicker turns. This is a major focus for us this year.
The problem with overrated IT movements: The IT industry tends to come up with a big, sexy term to try and get the mainstream to adopt all the things that term can solve, when it usually can't.The industry needs to walk a fine line on overmarketing IT compared with what we're actually trying to accomplish.
PERSONAL
Title: Senior VP of healthcare informatics at this healthcare alliance
Tech vendor CEO I respect the most: Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who is great at pivoting business models in many directions
First job: Waiting tables at a restaurant, where I learned all about multitasking
Best book read recently: Destiny Of The Republic, by Candice Millard; it's a great book about President Garfield and the intersection of the medical sepsis protocol after his assassination
Ranked No. 30 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Rackspace
CAREER TRACK
How long at Rackspace: About three years at this hosting services company.
Most important career influencer: Professor Murat Tanik, my favorite computer science professor during grad school. He taught me to think about how diverse concepts might be related and sharpened my ability to spot patterns and solve problems. He also really stimulated my passion for computer science and IT.
One thing I wish I could do over: I moved into a new leadership role and found out that one of the IT systems I inherited was having performance issues. There was no clear data available to show how severe the problem was, and the responsible team believed it was on track to fix it. The problem got worse until it became a full-blown crisis as our peak sales season approached. I assembled a tiger team and escalated fast and hard with our key vendor to get the right people on site to solve the problem. In the end, it was a close call for our business. If I had a do-over, I'd dig into the criticality of the system and ask the team for data showing system performance over time, a list of known issues and a concrete resolution plan.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $35 million capital and $35 million operational
Size of IT team: 205 on staff plus approximately 150 contractors
VISION
What I want from tech vendors: I need them to listen, learn and be honest and realistic about their capabilities. Many technology vendors are still more interested in selling than in listening to what our real challenges are.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: IT starts a transformational project without enough ownership from business teams. If business teams don't feel like they own the project and are getting big benefits from it, they will fight the changes and the project will fail.
The most disruptive force in my industry:IT infrastructure, platforms and applications delivered on-demand using a utility model. Innovations in this area are disrupting basic business operations for many big, longtime industry leaders in the enterprise software and hardware markets and creating big opportunities for new entrants that have embraced cloud as a delivery mechanism and business model.
The most overrated IT movement: The consumerization of IT. People use technology more in their personal lives than they did a decade ago, but this feels like a consequence of Moore's Law applied over a few decades. The fact that people can now use the same tools at home and at work is a big opportunity. It's up to the IT shop to stay ahead on relevant technologies and keep updating tools and approaches to make the workplace productive and fun.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Southern Methodist University, MS and Ph.D. in computer science; Texas Tech University, Master of Engineering in systems engineering; University of Southern Mississippi, BS in computer science and math
Favorite pro sports team coach: John Wooden, an amazing coach whose leadership principles were a lot bigger than basketball
Best book read recently: The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
The fastest way into my doghouse: Surprising me with bad news when we could have acted earlier
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a teacher
Ranked No. 38 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Equinix
CAREER TRACK
How long at Equinix: Almost five years at this data center company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: One person who used to work for me is now a CIO at JDSU, another is a VP of IT at Twitter and several more are on their way. Seeing people who have been direct reports become CIOs and be successful in their careers is very rewarding.
Decision I wish I could do over: I've had a wonderful career and life, but it hasn't always been easy. I wish I'd focused more on emotional intelligence and figured out the importance of high-quality relationships and empathy earlier in my career. Soft skills really do matter.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: About 160 people, including software product development.
Top initiatives
Globalizing our business processes, making it easier for customers to do business with us.
Improving our online Web portals and presence. This includes our customer portal, exchanges and website -- essentially, our entire digital experience with our customers.
Expanding our IBX data centers and the support technology needed, on a global level.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: Innovation is critical. I encourage team members to experiment with new technologies, processes and procedures, and I give them budget and time to do it. We have links to the venture community and review companies in their portfolios in order to get insight into the newest technologies.
The most disruptive force in my industry: There's no question cloud computing will change the way IT and business deliver. It's as much about business model transformation as it is technology. It's a new business model that also enables other new business models.
What I need from tech vendors: I want to understand how to make information flow more seamlessly between private and public environments. Also, be flexible in offering customers multiple ways to buy your services.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: Usually, it's due to a lack of business alignment. It can be hard for IT people to say no. Sometimes we overcommit without setting expectations properly.
PERSONAL
The fastest way into my doghouse: Stealing credit
Favorite band: The Eagles
Best book read recently: Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
Last vacation: Vacation? What's that?
Favorite app: Color Splash, which lets you manipulate color in photos
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a teacher and a sports coach for kids, and an executive coach
Ranked No. 45 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP and chief network officer, Comcast Cable
CAREER TRACK
How long at Comcast Cable: More than six years at this cable company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: My team and I created a single, converged network that provides a rich environment where we can develop products and services more seamlessly, speed time to market, manage capacity and contain costs.
Decision I wish I could do over: Early in my career, I signed a contract that ended up being a bad business decision. I was confident I had gathered all the data I needed, but I failed to gain the viewpoints of my fellow workers, so I missed some key information. Now I surround myself with the best and brightest individuals, and I hear them out. Diversity and collaboration provide the forum for the best decision-making.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 3,400 engineers and professional staff.
Top initiatives
We're delivering self-service options that let our customers control how and when they engage with us.
We're accelerating the creation of services and features by leveraging our converged network technologies with private cloud computing to deliver new products.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: We're creating a culture where calculated risks to disrupt the status quo are rewarded, regardless of whether the outcomes are successful (within reason). We've brought in new talent with different skill sets, and encouraged closer collaboration and experimentation across teams.
The most common cause when IT projects go wrong: IT projects can be derailed by assumptions. The engineering world can't create a plan and implement it in a silo anymore. We have to keep asking: Are we going down the path that fulfills customer expectation?
The most disruptive force for my industry is ... the cloud. Cable has been tied to customized and discrete physical equipment, such as set-top boxes. Today, we're moving to flexible software-driven and cloud-based environments.
Kids and technology: I didn't steer my kids into technology careers, but I have pushed them to pursue college majors with substance. My kids will make their own choices; I try to give them information to help them make good choices.
PERSONAL
Degrees: Manhattan College, BE in electrical engineering
Tech vendor I respect most: John Chambers, who transformed Cisco, influenced how technology is used and set an example with community outreach
Best book read recently: Start With Why, by Simon Sinek
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Colin Powell
Favorite app: CellarTracker, a wine app
Ranked No. 54 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
Executive VP, CIO and CTO, McKesson
CAREER TRACK
How long at McKesson: More than 18 years at this pharmaceutical distributor and healthcare IT company.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Establishing an effective McKesson-wide governance process that covers all shared services at the enterprise level. It has let us move large-scale programs forward in a collaborative, federated model.
Most important career influencer: Our CEO, John Hammergren, is an extraordinary leader and maintains a passion for our work.
ON THE JOB
Size of IT team: 1,000
Top initiatives:
Managing business risk, security and quality within our healthcare IT product development process.
Reducing the IT silos across healthcare to increase connectivity with platform services, cloud enablement and mobile access.
Tackling big data to help healthcare organizations securely derive value from our industry's massive amounts of data stores.
VISION
How I give my team room to innovate: Rigorous debate is encouraged. I like to see our teams testing assumptions to better understand where we should make investments. We value experimentation, employing a strategy of failing quickly to decide if an initiative has merit.
The most disruptive force in my industry today: The changes that are taking place in healthcare -- shifting risk from payers to providers, complex new reimbursement models and the shift to electronic medical records at a national scale -- will require greater connectivity across the healthcare continuum and new tools to manage patients on a holistic basis.
What I need from tech vendors that they aren't delivering today: Reduced complexity and improved integration. We need technology that works all the time and is self-monitoring, self-healing, self-aware and self-provisioning. We need applications that are well-integrated.
Most overrated IT movement: Today's healthcare apps. Healthcare apps have the potential to help patients gain better control and insight into their own well-being. However, they're all accessing small subsets of information rather than having access to all the information about a given patient. Until that connectivity and access can be established, healthcare apps won't reach their full potential.
PERSONAL
Degrees: BS in biology, with a minor in computer science, University of Utah
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: The Dalai Lama
Best book read recently: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce
Favorite app: The ForeFlight aviation app
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... flying, driving or piloting anything with a motor
Ranked No. 34 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CTO, iQor
CAREER TRACK
How long at iQor: Nine years at this business services provider.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I was the new CTO of Municipal Credit Union in New York on Sept. 11 when the company's only data center, a block from the World Trade Center, was destroyed. MCU's customers -- many of the firefighters and police officers leading rescue and recovery efforts -- didn't have access to their funds. Our team worked six days straight to get the data center back online and our first responders access to their funds.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $50 million
Size of IT team: 300
Top initiatives:
Finish deployment of our big data infrastructure. The processing speed of NoSQL databases and various open source tools let us (and our clients) use data strategically to deliver better customer service.
Integrate robust business intelligence and reporting tools. We're rolling out a BI platform called QeyMetrics that structures and translates data into actionable insights.
Accelerate use of speech and text analytics. It's now possible to translate every customer interaction into unstructured data. We're helping our customers turn this transactional data into insights that drive improvements in products and services.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: This year, iQor established the Center for Applied Analytics, a cross-functional team of data scientists who help our clients use analytics to improve customer service. I want my team to adopt an analytics mindset so we're delivering the big data infrastructure and BI tools that help our scientists transform data into insights that make customers happier and our clients more profitable.
The most disruptive force in my industry today is ... the digitization of the contact center. Advances in technology are turning call centers into big data-generating machines. We now record 100% of calls and screen activity. We then unleash our data scientists on terabytes of structured and unstructured data sets to identify patterns that reside in the millions of recorded client interactions and use that information to improve the customer service we deliver.
Why IT projects go wrong: When a program doesn't work the way it should, it can almost always be traced back to a lack of open, honest dialogue between the end user and the development team.
What I need from tech vendors: Clarity of vision and a clear road map of the future. Too often, vendors change direction with the latest IT fad. I want vendors that can clearly articulate the problems they're trying to solve and then take aim at the problems through innovation.
PERSONAL
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, because I admire how he took a single idea and made it reality
Favorite band: Earth, Wind & Fire
Best book read recently: I reread Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein every year; its moral lessons about civic responsibility are more important than ever
Last vacation: To Aruba -- 12 years ago
If I weren't a CIO, I would ... go back to being a DJ, which I was in my younger years
Ranked No. 52 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CTO, iQor
CAREER TRACK
How long at iQor: Nine years at this business services provider.
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I was the new CTO of Municipal Credit Union in New York on Sept. 11 when the company's only data center, a block from the World Trade Center, was destroyed. MCU's customers -- many of the firefighters and police officers leading rescue and recovery efforts -- didn't have access to their funds. Our team worked six days straight to get the data center back online and our first responders access to their funds.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: About $50 million
Size of IT team: 300
Top initiatives:
Finish deployment of our big data infrastructure. The processing speed of NoSQL databases and various open source tools let us (and our clients) use data strategically to deliver better customer service.
Integrate robust business intelligence and reporting tools. We're rolling out a BI platform called QeyMetrics that structures and translates data into actionable insights.
Accelerate use of speech and text analytics. It's now possible to translate every customer interaction into unstructured data. We're helping our customers turn this transactional data into insights that drive improvements in products and services.
VISION
One thing I'm looking to do better: This year, iQor established the Center for Applied Analytics, a cross-functional team of data scientists who help our clients use analytics to improve customer service. I want my team to adopt an analytics mindset so we're delivering the big data infrastructure and BI tools that help our scientists transform data into insights that make customers happier and our clients more profitable.
The most disruptive force in my industry today is ... the digitization of the contact center. Advances in technology are turning call centers into big data-generating machines. We now record 100% of calls and screen activity. We then unleash our data scientists on terabytes of structured and unstructured data sets to identify patterns that reside in the millions of recorded client interactions and use that information to improve the customer service we deliver.
Why IT projects go wrong: When a program doesn't work the way it should, it can almost always be traced back to a lack of open, honest dialogue between the end user and the development team.
What I need from tech vendors: Clarity of vision and a clear road map of the future. Too often, vendors change direction with the latest IT fad. I want vendors that can clearly articulate the problems they're trying to solve and then take aim at the problems through innovation.
PERSONAL
Person I'd most like to have lunch with: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, because I admire how he took a single idea and made it reality
Favorite band: Earth, Wind & Fire
Best book read recently: I reread Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein every year; its moral lessons about civic responsibility are more important than ever
Last vacation: To Aruba -- 12 years ago
If I weren't a CIO, I would ... go back to being a DJ, which I was in my younger years
Ranked No. 52 in the 2012 InformationWeek 500
CIO, Los Angeles Community College District
CAREER TRACK
How long at current organization: 21 years
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Hosting a national conference on information technology.
Most important career influencer: My first boss, Mary Ann Breckell, VP of administrative services. She served as a role model for my style of leadership and management. She always preached team building, and her emphasis on management as a partner in helping staff achieve their potential and the concepts of loyalty and integrity have proven invaluable.
VISION
Best way to cope with the economic downturn: Take advantage of the downturn to make dramatic improvements to processes. In good times, there's often less urgency to improve the way we do business. During a downturn, suggestions that can save money or improve processes have more traction.
The federal government's top technology priority be ... to explore all and adopt many of the optimization measures that private industry has pioneered. There's no need to start from scratch when many great minds have paved a path that can be emulated. From this analysis can come cost savings and improved services that would benefit the entire country.
Kids and technology careers: I wouldn't steer kids in a particular direction. If they're interested in a career path, I'd provide them with as much knowledge as I possess and let them determine that it's right for them. I'd encourage my children to find something that they're passionate about and become great at it.
ON THE JOB
IT budget: $10 million
Size of IT team: About 60
Top initiatives:
Building a high-performance, high-availability fiber-optic network to meet the communications needs of our students, faculty, and support functions.
Planning, designing, and implementing a modern student information system to meet the technology support and customer service needs of our core business.
Expanding our investment in virtualization. Desktop virtualization will be a major initiative--we've already deployed virtualization for our network, servers, and storage.
How I measure IT effectiveness: We have the traditional metrics and key performance indicators that revolve around dollars. In addition, we include measures such as student success and initiatives that address our core mission.
Personal
Colleges/degrees: California State Los Angeles, School of Business and Economics, MS in information systems; University of Phoenix, Online BS in computer information systems
Favorite president: Teddy Roosevelt--you have to admire his style
Biggest business-related pet peeve: People who don't know our business telling us our business
Business leader I'd like to have lunch with: Google's Eric Schmidt
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... CEO
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