Among other topics, Nick discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Nicholas Colisto to the broadcast, Nick is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., a large residential homebuilder.
Prior to joining Hovnanian, he held key information technology leadership positions at large organizations including Pepsi-Cola, Priceline.com, Hyperion Solutions, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Bayer Corporation (formerly Sterling Winthrop).
Nick is active in many CIO networks and educational forums. He is also the recipient of many industry awards, including the 2010 CIO 100 by IDG’s CIO Magazine, the 2009 InfoWorld 100, and the 2009 and 2010 InformationWeek 500.
Nick has a B.B.A in management information systems and a M.S. in information systems from Pace University.
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Among other topics, Ken discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Ken Piddington serves as the Chief Information Officer of Global Partners LP. In this capacity, he is responsible for setting and achieving Global’s Information Technology strategy and providing information technology services across all divisions of the organization. Since joining Global he has worked to transform Global’s Information Technology group into a strategic asset positioned to scale and contribute to the company’s growth strategy. Prior to being named CIO in June 2010, Ken served as the Director of Applications and Software Development for Global. He is a member of the 2010 Boston CIO Executive Summit Governing Body.
Ken successfully led the development and implementation of an internally developed Energy Trading and Risk Management System in 2009. Code named “Peloton”, this project was a key company initiative which provided the organization with a leading-edge technology solution but also implemented process and operational changes positioning the company for future growth. Ken’s responsibilities for the project included chief architect, project manager and change agent.
Prior to joining Global, Ken was a partner at Lyland Associates, Inc. where he managed the technology division of the company’s energy practice. In this role he served as a technology advisor and led custom development and application implementation projects for its Fortune 500 clients.
Previously Ken had spent 12 years working in the energy consulting and software industry. At Triple Point Technologies he held various positions including Director of Product Development for the company’s flagship product Tempest XL. He has served as a Director for Opportune in their energy practice and as a Senior Technology Consultant for MRE Consulting. Ken has spent his career focused on the energy industry where he has worked with almost 50 clients domestically and internationally.
Ken has spent the past 15 years successfully working in information technology and the energy industry although majoring in Health and PE as a former college football and baseball player at Graceland College. He resides in Massachusetts with family.
Among other topics, Richard and George discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Purchase Richard and George’s book from
Richard Hunter is vice president and research director in Gartner Research, where his recent work has focused on matters of interest to CIOs. Mr. Hunter is the author of “World Without Secrets: Business, Crime and Privacy in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing” (Wiley&Sons, NYC, 2002), “IT Risk: Turning Business Threats Into Competitive Advantage” (Harvard Business Press, Boston, 2006), and “The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value” (Harvard Business Press, Boston, 2009), the latter two works with co-author George Westerman. He is in much demand as a speaker and advisor to CIOs.
Mr. Hunter was elected a Gartner Fellow in 2003. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Harvard University. He is a world-class harmonica player who continues to compose and perform, and is the author of the world’s best-selling method for jazz and rock harmonica players (“Jazz Harp”, Oak Publications, NYC, 1980).
George is a Research Scientist in MIT’s Center for Digital Business. His research and teaching focus on how executives can create value by bridging the IT/Business gap. Major themes include digital innovation, risk management, and communicating about value. George is co-author of two award-winning books: The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value and IT Risk: Turning Business Threats into Competitive Advantage. His research has also appeared in top academic and management journals. He is faculty chair for the MIT Sloan executive education course entitled “Transforming Your Business through IT.” In addition to presentations and workshops, George works regularly with senior executives on topics related to digitization and IT management.
This interview is the fifth in a special series of five eSeminars covering the Five Principles of World Class IT. The five interviews have been broadcast in sequential weeks, and in this conversation on principle five –External Partnerships, Bob Willett discusses the following ideas:
Follow this link to download the eSeminar presentation
This is the final interview in this series covering the five principles of World Class IT. We hope you have enjoyed the deeper dive into each principle.
Robert A. Willett is the chief executive officer of Al Futtaim Group, a conglomerate operating from the United Arab Emirates that operates eight divisions comprising automotive, electronics, insurance, services, real estate, retail, industries and overseas.
Prior to his current position, Willett was the chief executive officer of Best Buy International, the strategic business unit of Best Buy Co., Inc., focused on creating opportunities for growth and innovation outside of the United States. He was appointed to this role in February 2006.
Under Willett’s leadership, Best Buy International has implement a global integration and growth strategy to maximize the retailer’s opportunities beyond North America, while continuing to reengineer the supply chain, Mobile phone and information technology functions that support the company’s customer centric transformation. Executives responsible for enterprise-wide efficiency initiatives, information systems, supply chain management, global sourcing, corporate development and Best Buy Mobile report to Willett. He is also a Chairman of the Best Buy Europe/Carphone wharehouse joint venture.
Prior to his current role, Willett served as the executive vice president of operations and chief information officer for Best Buy, and today continues to lead the company’s efforts to improve efficiencies and simplify its customer-centric operating model.
Willett’s experience spans a number of positions in the retail industry over the past several decades. Willett previously was global managing partner for Accenture Consulting retail practice, where he worked with best-in-class retailers throughout the world on strategy reviews, business transformation, procurement and supply chain management, brand positioning, technology transformation and customer segmentation.
Prior to joining Best Buy formally in 2003, Willett served as a special advisor to the Best Buy board of directors on issues relating to operational efficiency and excellence. During his tenure with Accenture, he also served as a partner on the “Process to Profits” initiative that Best Buy undertook in the late 1990s.
Willett launched his retail career in store management at Marks & Spencer a leading British department store chain in 1968, and has held executive positions, including managing director and group chief executive, for other retailers in Europe.
CIO Magazine named Willett to the CIO Hall of Fame in 2008 to honor his significant contributions to the IT discipline, use of technology in business and advancement of the CIO role. He was also recently named to the board of directors for LightHaus Logic, Inc., an innovative provider of video analytics systems based in Canada.
Chosen as third among “The Best IT Business Books of 2009” by CIO Insight
“What’s unique about this book is that it’s not only a must-read for the CIO (and everyone else in an IT department); it’s for anyone associated with the technology industry. If you are a manufacturer, seller, or service provider of technology, you will gain insight into what makes an IT department world class.” – CIO Digest
“The new book World Class IT (Jossey-Bass, 2009), by consultant Peter A. High, provides solid, timeless advice for CIOs trying to manage IT for business success.” – Mitch Betts, Computerworld Book Review
“Technology is all around us. It is so pervasive in our daily lives that we may not even recognize when we interact with it. Despite this fact, many companies have yet to leverage information technology as a strategic weapon.
What then is an information technology executive to do in order to raise the prominence of his or her department? In World Class IT, recognized expert in IT strategy Peter High reveals the essential principles IT executives must follow and the order in which they should follow them whether they are at the helm of a high-performing department or one in need of great improvement.
Principle 1: Recruit, train, and retain World Class IT people Principle 2: Build and maintain a robust IT infrastructure Principle 3: Manage projects and portfolios effectively Principle 4: Ensure partnerships within the IT department and with the business Principle 5: Develop a collaborative relationship with external partners
The principles and associated subprinciples and metrics introduced in World Class IT have been used by IT and business executives alike at many Global 1000 companies to monitor and improve IT’s performance. Those principles pertain as much to the leaders of IT as they do to those striving to emulate them.”
This interview is the fourth in a special series of five eSeminars covering the Five Principles of World Class IT. The five interviews will be broadcast in sequential weeks, and in this conversation on principle four –IT & Business Partnerships, John Boushy discusses the following ideas:
The final interview in the series will be Bob Willett, CEO of Al Futtaim Group and former CIO of Best Buy and CEO of Best Buy International. The broadcast date will be December 20, 2010.
After retiring as CEO of Ameristar Casinos in 2008, John Boushy began running his own consulting firm, aimed at assisting companies to create and capture long-term business potential.
John joined Ameristar as president and was subsequently appointed CEO and president and elected to the company’s board of directors.
Prior to joining Ameristar, he served as a senior executive at Harrah’s Entertainment, holding various executive positions within Harrah’s and its prior parent companies, Holiday Corporation and The Promus Companies. John most recently served as Harrah’s Executive Vice President, Project Development, Design & Construction. Prior to that, John held the position of Senior Vice President Concept Development and Chief Integration Officer where he had executive level responsibility to plan and execute all aspects of the business combination of Caesars Entertainment with Harrah’s Entertainment.
As SVP, Operations, Products and Services and CIO, John established corporate operating functions in order to deliver enhanced capabilities to all company various properties, enhancing delivery of service and competitiveness, while supporting the rapid growth through property expansions and company acquisitions. At the same time, John led the maturing of the IT function, creating greater alignment between IT and the business, thereby driving incremental business value from the business/IT projects.
As Harrah’s CIO, John was credited for various technological advances that today power the company’s customer service and financial performance. As vice president of strategic marketing for Harrah’s, John developed numerous customer-centric innovations, including 800-HARRAHS and the industry’s first, nation-wide customer loyalty program. Under his leadership, the company issued the first annual survey of casino entertainment, which continues today as The Profile of the American Casino Gambler.
In 2001, Harrah’s was awarded CIO’s coveted Enterprise Value Award due to John’s leadership of Harrah’s loyalty program and in September of 2007, John was elected to the CIO Magazine Hall of Fame.
John holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and a master of science degree in applied mathematics, both from North Carolina State University.
This interview is the third in a special series of five eSeminars covering the Five Principles of World Class IT. The five interviews will be broadcast in sequential weeks, and in this conversation on P3-Project & Portfolio Management, Randy Spratt discusses the following ideas:
Next up in the series will be John Boushy, Former CEO of Ameristar Casinos and CIO of Harrah’s Entertainment, discussing Principle Four, IT-Business Partnerships. The broadcast date will be December 13, 2010. Following John will be
Randy Spratt has been Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for McKesson Corporation since July 2005. Spratt is responsible for all internal, infrastructure technology initiatives within the Corporation.
He has been with McKesson for over 20 years, most recently as Chief Process Officer (April 2003 to July 2005) for McKesson Provider Technologies (MPT), the company’s medical software and services division based in Alpharetta, Georgia. He also managed MPT’s Business Development, Information Technology, and Strategic Planning offices, as well as MPT’s Technology Services business.
Prior to joining McKesson, Spratt held executive positions of increasing responsibility at the start-up Advanced Laboratory Systems (ALS), culminating with the role of Chief Operations Officer. ALS was acquired by HBOC in 1996, which in turn was acquired by McKesson in 1999, and Spratt took on responsibility for HBOC’s laboratory systems business shortly thereafter. Following the acquisition of HBOC by McKesson in 1999, Spratt relocated to Georgia to become part of the reconstructed management team.
Spratt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with a minor in Computer Science, from the University of Utah.
This interview is the second in a special series of five eSeminars covering the Five Principles of World Class IT. The five interviews will be broadcast in sequential weeks, and in this conversation on P2-Infrastructure, Mark Settle discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy
Next up in the series will be Randy Spratt, CIO of McKesson, discussing Principle Three, Project and Portfolio Management. The broadcast date will be December 6, 2010. Following Randy will be
Mark is the Chief Information Officer of BMC Software. In addition to running BMC Software’s IT department, Mark is a rare CIO who makes customer calls, as he helps many of the BMC Software’s customers (who in many cases are CIOs) understand how best to leverage BMC’s offering.
Prior to his time with BMC Software, Mark served as the CIO of four Fortune 300 companies: Corporate Express, Arrow Electronics, Visa International and Occidental Petroleum, making him one of the most seasoned CIOs in the United States. Mark has worked in a variety of industries including consumer products, high tech distribution, financial services and oil & gas. During the early stages of his career, he held P&L responsibilities as the Director of a systems integration business unit within Hughes Aircraft Company.
Mark’s formal education is in the Geological Sciences. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from MIT and a PhD from Brown University. He is also former Air Force officer and NASA Program Scientist.
This interview is the first in a special series of five eSeminars covering the Five Principles of World Class IT. The five interviews will be broadcast in sequential weeks, and in this conversation on P1-People, Gregor Bailar discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy
Next up in the series will be Mark Settle, CIO of BMC Software, discussing Principle Two, Infrastructure. The broadcast date will be November 29, 2010. Following Mark will be
Gregor retired as CIO from Capital One in late 2007 where he led an industry-recognized technology team that was pivotal to Capital One’s diversification and innovation strategies. The company transformed itself from a mono-line credit card supplier to one of the top 10 diversified banks in the United States – re-inventing nearly all of its processes along the way.
Together with his teams, Gregor has been recognized through dozens of awards, including multiple CIO 100 awards, several years in Computerworld’s “Best places to work in IT,” and the top rank in the InformationWeek 500. Gregor himself was named one of the “Most Influential persons in Information Technology” by eWeek, “One of the Hottest CIOs in Financial Services” by Future Banker, and one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Financial IT Executives” by the CIO Forum. In 2007, Gregor was inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame by CIO Magazine.
Prior to Capital One, Gregor headed up Operations and Technology at the NASDAQ Stock Market during both the dot.com boom and 9/11. He worked at Citibank before that as Chief Technology Architect for the Corporate Banking division and Managing Director in the Advanced Development division. He also served in key strategic and management positions at Perot Systems, NeXT Computer, and Hewlett-Packard.
Gregor is an active environmentalist and was the founding executive sponsor of Capital One’s Environmental Council. He is a director for the Corporate Executive Board and for the National Wildlife Federation. He is currently working on several projects to create more sustainable solutions combating global warming and poverty.
Among other topics, Dave discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy
Dave currently serves as the Chief Information Officer for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). A government owned corporation, OPIC’s mission is to facilitate U.S. private investment in developing countries and emerging markets around the world. As CIO, Dave is responsible for the acquisition and use of information technology solutions to improve agency performance and service to the public. He is also responsible for formulating and articulating the agency’s policy, position, and response on current or emerging information technology and its relationship to U.S. private investment in developing nations.
Prior to joining OPIC, Dave served as Director for Strategic Development for Project Performance Corporation. Among his responsibilities, Zeppieri led the company’s federal strategic development and managed the operations of its applications development and system integration projects.
Dave joined the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on July 12, 2004 as the Chief Information Officer; he was responsible for ensuring the availability of effective mission-critical support to those who serve on the front line of homeland security.
Prior to his time at TSA, Dave was Chief Information Officer at the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice where he focused on modernizing the organization’s Grant Management IT processing and modernizing the department to a Portal/Internet-based communications and service delivery environment.
Dave has won numerous awards including the CIO 100 Award for Resourceful IT Management Practices from CIO Magazine, the 2004 Federal CIO Award from Federal Computer Week, and Computerworld Premiere 100 IT professionals.
Dave has a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science and an MBA both from the University of Maryland at College Park, and he also has a CIO Certification from the National Defense University.
Among other topics, Naresh discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy
Naresh is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Palm, Inc. He has management responsibility for IT strategy and all of the company’s IT assets. This includes all application development, data management, technology infrastructure, data-center operations and telecommunication networks worldwide. Naresh also has responsibility for palm.com operations.
Prior to joining Palm, Naresh was responsible for managing Agilent Technologies’ internal enterprise business solutions organization, delivering customer-facing and supply-chain solutions worldwide, resulting in significant savings to the company. He also was instrumental in establishing offshore IT operations and outsourcing services in India.
Naresh started his career at Hewlett-Packard Company, Medical Products Group. He was responsible for delivering applications and infrastructure solutions and services worldwide, and integrating acquisitions into the business. He also was instrumental in establishing a joint venture manufacturing center in China.
Naresh received his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science (BSCS) and master’s in business administration (MBA) from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.
