CIO Profiles: Sasan Goodarzi Of 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:

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: Sept. 3, 2012 Issue

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