CIO First 100 Days Archives

In this interview, we discuss

Vittorio’s purview as CIO
The three principles that are guiding the company through COVID-19
How COVID-19 has accelerated the company’s technology plans
Vittorio’s first 100 days as CIO
The two-pronged approach to P&G’s digital transformation
The importance of building and maintaining internal expertise
The evolution of the CIO role
Vittorio’s take on deep learning and machine learning

Among a variety of other topics.

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This episode is sponsored by Zoho.

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In this interview, we discuss

An overview of SAIC’s business
Nathan’s purview as CIO
The interesting complexities of being a CIO of a B2G company
Nathan’s first few months as CIO and Nathan’s role in that
SAIC’s acquisition of Engility
SAIC’s goal to make IT customer zero
How the company looks to innovate
Why the cultural element of the future of work is a challenge

and a variety of other topics.

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454: Unity Technologies CIO Brian Hoyt discusses how as enterprise becomes more consumerized, employees gain autonomy and the nature of IT work changes. He cites his and his team’s focus on employee productivity. We also discuss the merging of business operations and IT, what it’s like being in a CIO within a tech-centric business, how to manage a fast-growing organization, among other topics.

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Nick Colisto discusses how Avery Dennison’s IT team shows its value to other functions by capturing, reporting, and then communicating how IT is contributing value to the company. This process starts by aligning IT’s goals with other functions and influencing how IT can help the company achieve its key strategic pillars over a five-year planning horizon. Moreover, the team has created an IT-value scorecard, which contains metrics regarding health, delivery, outcomes, and agility. Lastly, the team communicates the value it is providing through quarterly business reviews and a well written annual report that communicates the value across the spectrum. We also discuss the three parts of the company’s digital workplace strategy, the education program that the company has put in place, which has sent leaders to UC Berkeley and looks to improve digital literacy throughout the organization, Nick’s take on IoT, AI, and quantum computing, among other topics.

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407: Hunt Consolidated, Inc. CIO and CDO Diane Schwarz describes her methodology for transitioning into new executive roles using her arrival at Hunt to explain the 90-day process. Extensive planning, learning the business and stakeholders, meeting the company, and, lastly, focusing on suppliers develops the extensive knowledge of an organization needed to effectively lead it. Diane emphasizes the importance of understanding company culture to successfully rally support for changes to foundational pieces of IT, which she did at Hunt after careful investigation and planning. We also discuss the agile skills required for employees working in technology today, Diane’s journey to her leadership role as a woman in a male-dominated field, and the future of women in STEM.

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389: Nationwide CIO Jim Fowler shares what drew him to Nationwide after nearly two decades at GE. He also elaborates on his three pillars of focus as CIO. Jim is focused on modernizing the technology team itself, which involves becoming more agile, the modernization of all the underlying platforms, such as Nationwide’s policy management, claims, life insurance systems, and leveraging the first two pillars to create a set of customer journeys. We also discuss the evolution of the CIO role, Jim’s take on AI, digital twins, and quantum computing, among other topics.

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This episode sponsored by Fortinet.

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387: Schneider Electric CIO Elizabeth Hackenson provides details from her first 100 days as CIO when she made multiple trips around the world to speak with as many business peers, customers, and employees as possible. Early in her tenure, a key IT leader stepped down, resulting in Elizabeth being forced into the dual role of Global CIO and Head of IT for North America. Though more than she expected, the dual role allowed Elizabeth to immerse herself into some of the challenges that operations were facing, and she was exposed to new leaders, challenges, and opportunities in IT. We also discuss Elizabeth’s relationship with her predecessor and current Chief Digital Officer Herve Coureil, Schneider’s approach to eliminating technical debt, and Elizabeth’s take on the evolution of the CIO role.

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Among other topics, Naresh discussed the following issues with Metis Strategy:

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

Naresh is the Chief Information Officer of HP, Inc., a $52 billion company focused on printing, personal systems, and 3D additive manufacturing, which some refer to as the founding company of Silicon Valley. As CIO, Naresh leads HP global IT strategy and operations, and is responsible for application development, data management, technology infrastructure, cyber and product security, data center operations, and telecommunication networks.

Prior to becoming CIO of HP, Naresh was the CIO of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems Group. Prior to HP, he was the CIO of Palm Computing Inc. Earlier in his career, Naresh held various IT leadership roles at Agilent Technologies and HP’s Medical Products Group.

Naresh earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and an MBA, both from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

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Among other topics, Dinu discussed the following issues with Metis Strategy:

An overview of Dover Corporation and its structure, including its four diverse business segments – Energy, Engineered Systems, Fluids, and Refrigeration & Food Equipment
How IT is organized, including Dinu’s efforts to establish the enterprise IT function to provide strategy, governance, and shared services to the traditionally decentralized, operating business-based IT
Dinu’s experience as Dover’s first-ever CIO, and the rationale behind Dover creating a CIO role after 60 years without one
How Dinu finds the right balance between standardization at the enterprise level and customization at the business-unit level, including standardization priorities such as security and infrastructure
Which efforts Dinu has prioritized, such as high enterprise risk, modernizing infrastructure, people, and governance
Dinu’s current strategic priorities, and his focus on transforming IT from a focus on back-office support to becoming a leader in business growth and innovation
Eye on the Trends: blockchain

Dinu is Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Dover Corporation, a highly diversified, $7 billion industrial manufacturing company with business segments focused on energy, engineered systems, fluids, and refrigeration & food. Since joining Dover Corporation in June 2016 as the company’s first-ever CIO, Dinu has been responsible for Dover’s global IT strategy, cyber security, shared services including infrastructure and enterprise applications, overall IT function leadership and governance. Dinu joined Dover Corporation from Baker Hughes, where he was a Senior Director or IT and IT Integration Lead. Before joining Baker Hughes, Dinu led multiple teams and projects at BMC Software and Accenture. Dinu received his Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the Jones School of Business at Rice University. Dinu servers as a board member for several non-profit organizations, including Make-A-Wish Foundation and Chicago Cares.

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Among other topics, Johnson discussed the following issues with Metis Strategy:

How the unification of the back-office technology and shared services teams under Clay enables Walmart to operate more efficiently
The consumerization of IT, and how that drives Clay’s focus on providing intuitive digital tools that enhance the productivity of Walmart’s two million employees
The importance of having employees with the right skills and mindset in the right roles, and how Walmart ensures it has the proper skills mix
Clay’s three-pronged approach to gaining an understanding of the needs of Walmart’s business and its massive workforce, and how that informs project prioritization within his 10,000-person team
The four key elements to creating a healthy culture: transparency, encouraging healthy debate, empowering people to speak up, and celebrating failure
How the shift to a product model and end-to-end ownership has improved internal efficiency
Walmart’s network of innovation centers, and how they leverage the surrounding ecosystem of academic institutions and startups
The key lessons Clay has taken away from the various experiences across his career
Walmart’s approach to artificial intelligence and the tangible benefits they are seeing

Clay is Executive Vice President of Global Business Services and Chief Information Officer of Walmart, a nearly $300 billion company that is both the world’s largest employer with 2.3 million employees and the world’s largest company by revenue with approximately $480 billion in 2016 revenue. Since joining Walmart this past January, Clay has led a global team of over 10,000 people focused on driving operational efficiencies, lowering costs and accelerating growth.

Prior to joining Walmart, Clay was the Chief Information Officer at General Electric Power. While at GE, Clay drove digital transformation efforts as a member of the Information Management Council and was also the executive sponsor of GE’s Veterans Network. Prior to GE, Clay held multiple leadership roles at The Boeing Company, including Vice President of Information Technology and Director of IT Manufacturing and Quality Systems, Director of Cybersecurity and Director of Finance and Human Resources Information Systems. He also served as an executive leader for Boeing’s Accelerated Leadership Program. Prior to joining Boeing, Clay was Director of Information Technology at Dell. Clay started his career as a software developer at FedEx.

Clay served five years in the United States Coast Guard, where he held numerous leadership positions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas.

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