Podcast tags Archives: Organizational Model

In this interview, Jay Brodsky discusses principle 4 of World Class IT with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include

• The unique dynamics of being a CIO at a media company
• How to structure an IT department responsible for similar sub-divisions with very different needs
• The way in which the role of CIO must straddle an IT position and a business position and the necessity of IT leaders to work with the business to translate their needs into IT reality
• The wealth of opportunities and challenges that the internet and social media have presented to a traditional magazine, which has needed to be agile in staying relevant
• The way in which Atlantic Media has tried to stay in touch with its customers amid a world of Google-filtered searches and other competition
• The excitement around cloud computing and the possibilities it holds for the future of IT

In this interview, Lee Congdon, Chief Information Officer of Red Hat, discusses World Class IT principle one, People, principle two, Infrastructure, and principle five, External Partnerships, with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include:

• The evolution of Lee’s responsibilities as a CIO within Red Hat, and the challenges of heading an engineer-dominant staff
• The significance and direction of innovation within the IT department at Red Hat
• How open-source, non-hierarchical organizations can flourish with the implementation of an Agile infrastructure
• Eye on the Trends: The ever-increasing importance of cloud-computing and consumer based collaboration solutions

This is one in a series of interviews with financial services CIOs conducted in collaboration with CIO Straight Talk magazine. Read additional articles by other technology executives at www.straighttalkonline.com.

In this interview, Michael Baresich, CIO of Ally Financial Inc, discusses World Class IT Principle One, People; Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships; and Principle Five, External Partnerships. Some of the topics discussed include:

• Importance of cross-functional team work to figure out product offerings
• Keeping an eye out at various human interface platforms to integrate
• Being involved with external partners to understand technology landscape
• Incorporating technologies that serve the 21st century consumer
• Glimpse into the importance of how IT affects decisions requiring acquisitions of companies
• Strategic importance of being involved in Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley
• Eye on the Trends: Human Machine Interface; Blockchain; Digital Assistants

In this interview, Naresh discussed World Class IT Principle Two, Infrastructure, Principle Three, Project and Portfolio Management, and Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships. Among the topics discussed include:

• The way in which Naresh approached separating HP into HP Inc. and HP Enterprise, including the process he used to define the scope and the five-year roadmap he implemented to transform the company’s focus from hardware transactions to software contracts.
• The IT changes necessary to complete in the on-demand technology economy, such as moving from systems of record to systems of engagement
• How they transformed back-office and front-office operations to create a digital experience
• How they align IT strategy and the business strategy, and the process for developing business cases for where to invest
• Focus areas for HP Inc. going forward
• How they re-engineered the CRM system to transform the customer experience

In this interview, Joey Miller discusses three principles of World Class IT with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include

• How a large corporation manages its structure when it is diverse both geographically and in its products and services
• The need for multi-tiered governance in a multinational corporation that not only allows for flexibility to meet unique needs, but also provides the platform to leverage an extensive network of knowledge
• The importance of synchronizing high level functions to ensure optimization of resources and to ignite improved performance
• How a multinational corporation can remain connected and on the same page through the use of technology
• How a fee-for-service IT billing system encourages the marriage of IT and business executives in planning and cost reductions

In this interview, Vic Bhagat, EVP and CIO of EMC Corporation, discusses World Class IT principle four, IT Business Partnerships, and principle five, External Partnerships, with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include:

• The logic and detailed set up of his role at EMC
• Insights and techniques he learned from managing vendors at GE
• How he conducts strategic planning to make it a more collaborative process for various silos under his leadership
• His advice on preparing for CIO-Plus roles
• Eye on the Trends: How large organizations are increasingly looking at CIOs to become more than “information officers” and help them grow and enable the business

This is one in a series of interviews with financial services CIOs conducted in collaboration with CIO Straight Talk magazine. Read additional articles by other technology executives at www.straighttalkonline.com.

In this interview, Nuria Simo, CIO of Inter-American Development Bank, discusses World Class IT Principle One, People; Principle Two, Infrastructure; and Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships. Some of the topics discussed include:

• New Opportunities that can be leveraged through upcoming technologies
• IT’s structure across multiple regions and countries
• Importance of interacting with people on the field across different countries
• Incorporating technologies that serve the 21st century consumer
• Changing IT’s mindset to becoming customer centric
• Focusing on improving collaboration and knowledge sharing capabilities
• Eye on the Trends: Internet of Things; Analytics

In this interview, Peter High speaks with Mickey Boodaei, Co-Founder and CEO of Transmit Security. Among the topics they discuss include:

• An overview of Transmit Security and its goal of building a cross-channel identity platform that is designed to simplify, accelerate, and reduce the cost of identity-related projects
• The advantages to self-funding Transmit Security, including the strong drive and motivation to succeed that it instills
• An overview of the cybersecurity landscape, which includes network security, endpoint security, and identity
• The rationale behind starting Transmit Security – Mickey and Rakesh already founded companies in network security and endpoint security, so identity was the logical next step
• How Transmit Security is able to stay ahead of the competition by working closely with its customers and having a flexible, scalable platform that allows them to build capabilities extremely quickly
• The main criteria Mickey looks at when investing in startups, which is personal interest

In this interview, Karl Ulrich discusses principle four of World Class IT with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include

• How despite its natural tie to creativity, innovation can be driven through structured processes, which he explains in his book, Innovation Tournaments
• How the organizational structure, administration, and governance of innovation will be highly idiosyncratic to industry structure and firm dynamics
• The differentiation between external and internal facing innovation, and how each type necessitates different attention
• The five modes of the stage gate process that are crucial for new product development, and how to transition creative sparks into actionable opportunities
• The five areas a manager should focus on to influence the culture of innovation: incentives and recognition, transparency of decision making, the physical arrangement of the workplace, the recruiting process, and the allowance for creative “slack time”
• How measuring the success of innovation is, above all else, about creating economic value
• The benefits and potential risks of engaging third parties in the innovation process- be it vendors or customers- and how the exercise of opening up innovation is only practical depending on the industry

n this interview, Bruce Hoffmeister, Global CIO at Marriott International, discusses World Class IT principle four, IT and Business Partnerships, with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include:

• Discussion on the unique paths taken by Bruce as a CIO, and the benefits of a financial background in a tech-oriented position
• Marriot’s digital business, and the role of IT and its partnership with other departments to facilitate technologic development and to create the best guest experience
• The opportunity, because of smart devices, to communicate with customers and connect with them at all points of their journey, and to allow guests to interact with the company in the ways that they want to
• The future of loyalty programs for hotels, and the changing habits and desires of younger travelers, and the implication those changes have on hotel’s programming
• Marriot’s structure of IT, and the benefits of having an outward-focused technology system that possesses a better understanding of the overall business
• Eye on the Trends: An “invisible” technology system, in which technology is able to meet customers’ needs so well that it is almost invisible in its seamless and effortless execution