Confessions of a Successful CIO: How the Best CIOs Tackle Their Toughest Business Challenges

PRAISE FOR CONFESSIONS OF A SUCCESSFUL CIO: HOW THE BEST CIOs TACKLE THEIR TOUGHEST BUSINESS CHALLENGES Successful CIOs take on crazy challenges, solve amazingly complex problems, inspire others to join them, and use each experience to learn and grow. In telling their stories, Confessions of a Successful CIO offers aspiring leaders an engaging mix of inspiration and practical takeaways. Abbie Lundberg, CIO analyst, writer, and adviser; former editor of CIO Reading Confessions of a Successful CIO is like attending the best IT Leadership Conference you can imagine, except the only travel required is flipping the cover. You will spend much time thinking about these CIOs stories as they apply to your own world as you read the pages. A must read for any CIO, as well as anyone working for a CIO or aspiring to be one. David Buckholtz, Vice President and Divisional CIO, Sony Pictures Entertainment We learn so much from others experiences, and after reading this, I feel like Ive been allowed behind the scenes to meet and gain the insight of some truly amazing leaders. Nice work! This will be a must read for technology leaders in order for them to fully understand the criticality of establishing vision, taking risks, and most importantlythat while technology and process are importantpeople are the key. Susan Courtney, Senior Vice President, Technology and Operations, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska Reading about the challenges, plans, and execution of strategy that these nine phenomenal CIOs have experienced reminds me of J. F. Kennedys Profiles in Courage . Yes, Profiles in Courage for IT executives. Being a CIO in this new millennium brings many challenges. The pace of change and half–life of business plans requires maximum flexibility, reliance on interdisciplinary teams, and courage to take action despite uncertainty. These CIOs accepted the challenge that their respective organizations presented them, leveraged their available resources, and took action! Dennis LHeureux, Senior Vice President for IT Planning and CIO, Rockford Health System

Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Chapter 1 The Anticipator: Filippo Passerini 1 Chapter 2 The Rocket Scientist: Rebecca Rhoads 17 Chapter 3 The Fixer: Steve Bandrowczak 33 Chapter 4 The Pilot: Carol Zierhoffer 51 Chapter 5 The Conductor: Lynden Tennison 69 Chapter 6 The Decider: Wayne Shurts 87 Chapter 7 The Realist: Don Imholz 103 Chapter 8 The Accidental CIO: Sheleen Quish 119 Chapter 9 The Innovator: Greg Schwartz 139 About the CIOs 155 About the Authors 165 Index 167

DAN ROBERTS is a 30–year veteran of the IT industry and the CEO and President of Ouellette & Associates Consulting, Inc. He is a contributing author of several books, including Unleashing the Power of IT (Wiley, 2013) and Leading IT Transformation . Dan is a frequent keynote speaker at CIO and IT industry events and is often quoted in leading industry journals. He graduated from UNHs Whittemore School of Business & Economics. BRIAN P. WATSON is the former Editor in Chief of CIO Insight and has contributed reporting and analysis to several media outlets focused on IT leadership. Since 2010, he has served as Director of Business Outreach for Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS), a 501c3 nonprofit company. He earned his Bachelors degree from Bucknell University and a Masters degree from Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism.