Editors' Note: This is the third in a series of Q&As covering the winners of the Georgia CIO Leadership Association CIO of the Year Awards.
As CIO of the American Cancer Society, Jay Ferro leads IT for one of the largest nonprofits in the world. But dedicating his career to ending cancer as a world health problem is just his day job. He's also actively involved in organizations that give back to the community in a variety of ways – from Kate's Club, which helps children cope with loss; to Women in Technology, promoting the advancement of women; to TechBridge, which helps nonprofits achieve their missions through technology.
He's also a member of the Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GeorgiaCIO), which recently honored Ferro with the CIO of the Year award in the Nonprofit category.
On his participation in the GeorgiaCIO, Ferro said, “The GeorgiaCIO community is second to none in the way that we interact, the friendships that we cultivate, and the knowledge that we share. It’s a unique animal, and it's made me a better CIO because of the outstanding CIOs that I get to interact with in the GeorgiaCIO community.”
We caught up with Ferro to learn more about the characteristics that make him an award-winning CIO.
The Enterprisers Project (TEP): You said that streamlining IT at the American Cancer Society (ACS) from 13 independent and autonomous IT units into one global IT organization is among one of your proudest accomplishments. Can you tell us about the impact that has had on IT?
Jay Ferro: What it allowed us to do was simplify and standardize our technology footprint so we could become a more agile organization. When it comes time for ACS to explore new opportunities, to roll out a new program, to come up with a new fundraising model, to engage with our constituents in a different way — and these days there are always system implications with every new opportunity — I don’t have to change hundreds of systems. I change one core set of architecture rather than 13.
Because of that change, we’ve become a far more responsive IT organization and far more strategic. I spend much less of my time now on the care and feeding of 13 stacks of architecture and infrastructure. We used to spend about 95 percent of our total capacity on keeping the lights on, leaving only five percent for more strategic level, or discretionary work. Today we’re actually closer to 60/40, with an aspirational goal to be 50/50. That would make us a market leader in any organization or vertical, let alone the nonprofit space.
Without this streamlining of IT, we never could have transformed into one unified ACS. We never could have rolled out Office 365 globally, in all of its different capacities. We never could have rolled out one BYOD platform. We never could have launched our Road To Recovery Service Match platform, which is one of the innovative ways that we schedule rides for cancer patients and interact with our volunteer drivers to get the patients to and from their treatments. Simply put, we could not have achieved the milestones that led to this award win from GeorgiaCIO.
TEP: What did you do as a leader to change the mindset and the culture both within IT, and in the way the business side perceives IT?
Ferro: We had to build credibility right away. To do that, we focused on removing pain points, listening, sitting down and really understanding business goals, and then putting in plans to enable them. In our first year it was all about picking up quick wins and stabilizing the systemic issues that were happening from an IT perspective.
I found that building credibility happened quickly, because suddenly business partners had an IT organization that was listening and responding. It was important that we were very transparent with everything that was broken, and very honest about what our plans were to fix it. That in and of itself went a long way in establishing that credibility that was missing. With increased trust came the partnership and the support that was needed to make the changes we wanted to make.
The other way we tackled it was by making sure we had the right skill sets. I've said it before, but you have to get the right people in place. With an increased focus on ensuring employees’ skills were matched to what they were supposed to be doing, we found that we had a lot of great people who loved our mission, but were just not in a position where they could succeed. In some cases that meant moving people around and finding the right positions for them. In some cases it meant hiring others to bring in fresh skill sets and perspectives.
TEP: Do you have any tips for other CIOs on how to attract and hire the right skills?
Ferro: As a leader, you’re nothing without your team. I’m lucky to have hired very well and because of that, I'm blessed to lead a great team. That goes from my direct reports all the way down to the frontline IT staff. It is an honor to work with all of them because of their passion for what we do and their desire to continually improve.
For any leader, whether you’re a CIO or not, you have to look at your direct reports. I believe that “A” players hire “A” players. It’s imperative that you hire leaders from diverse backgrounds who are better at what they do than you are and then empower them to do it. And if you don’t have at least one or two people on your team who can take your job at any given time, you’ve got to take a real hard look at whether you have the right people there or not.
TEP: Are there any guiding philosophies that you bring to your role as leader that you want to share with other CIOs?
Ferro: I think it’s important for CIOs, and all senior leaders, to have a humble heart and to give back to our communities as much as possible. When you realize the impact even one person can make, it becomes addictive, because you want to do more. If you’re not willing to serve, you’re not ready to lead.
My job is to serve our mission by building the best IT organization I can with the resources I’m given. I set the strategy, run the operation, and empower the people who work for me. It requires tough decisions and discipline, but if you have an attitude of “service first,” it sets you up to be a far more impactful leader. And staying involved with organizations and causes that are important to you keeps that top of mind.
