CIOs: Stay relevant with this advice from 7 veteran IT executives

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CIO Roundtable

The time for incremental progress in establishing IT as a full business partner is long gone for any company hoping to achieve competitive differentiation.

Given the imperative to establish IT executives as full strategic partners, CIOs and their leaders in IT must become both business and technology leaders. That can be easier said than done, especially when tactical demands consume much of their time and focus.

Yet many IT executives also manage to engage in a variety of business activities. For instance, 45 percent of IT leaders at the director level or above said they currently spend time aligning IT initiatives with business goals, according to a recent survey by CIO Strategic Marketing Services /IDG Research.

We reached out to some business-driven IT leaders to ask them what they thought of the research and to share ways they’re helping their IT organizations stay focused on the business. These seven IT executives offer practical advice for CIOs who find themselves at a technology and cultural crossroads. In this roundtable you will:

* Learn why NetApp CIO Cynthia Stoddard has placed some of her IT staff on loan within the engineering group to build a tighter link between IT practitioners and the people actually building their products.

* Find out how Vanguard CIO and Managing Director John Marcante uses the Net Promoter Scores methodology internally to find out where IT is strong and where it’s lacking.

* Learn the approach BJ’s Wholesale Club Enterprise Architect Peter Buonora took to help his team move enterprise architecture changes through the organization.

Other roundtable participants sharing their experiences are Eamon O’Kelly, Vice President of IT for Scheider Electric’s North American region; Rajesh Wunnava, Senior Director of Global Information Services, Warner Music Group; Curt Carver, Vice Chancellor and CIO of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; Cliff Tamplin, Consultant and Former Vice President of Technology Support and Risk Management, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Download the “CIO Roundtable: The CIO at a Technology and Cultural Crossroads” below to learn more.

Community of business-minded IT leaders exploring the evolving role of CIOs as they drive business strategy and inspire enterprise-wide innovation.