The Most Talented IT Executives are Advancing Beyond CIO

by Peter High, series on Forbes.com

I would like to introduce a new series, which I refer to as “Beyond CIO.” There is a growing cadre of former CIOs who have been promoted or hired into positions that continue to take advantage of their technical acumen, but provide them with expanded purviews. Most of the executives that will be profiled will be CEOs, COOs, or other senior executives who were former CIOs or CTOs. Again, this is a diverse lot, including executives from companies like:

• Katrina Lane, Executive Vice President of Consumer Cards & Experiences of American Express
• Duane Anderson, Chief Operating Officer of Marquette Group/ USMotivation
• Asiff Hirji, Former CIO, COO, and President of T.D. Ameritrade
• Tan Chee Hong, Chief Operating Officer of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal Limited (Hactl)
• Bruce Parker, Former Chief Executive Officer of AirNet Systems
• Chris Lofgren, Chief Executive Officer of Schneider National
• Ben Allen, President of Marsh & McLennan Agency
• Vivek Kundra, Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets of Salesforce.com
• Greg Carmichael, President and Chief Operations Officer of Fifth Third Bank
• John Hinshaw, Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations of Hewlett-Packard
• John Boushy, Chief Executive Officer of Ameristar Casinos
• Mark Polansky, Managing Director of Information Technology Officers Practice at Korn/Ferry
• Bob Willett, Chairman of Meta Pack, Eagle Eye, and Occahome
• Stephen Gillett, Chief Operating Officer of Symantec
• Meg McCarthy, Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology at Aetna
• Tracey Rothenberger, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ricoh Americas Corporation
• Shaygan Kheradpir, CEO of Juniper Networks
• Suren Gupta, Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations at Allstate
• Jean Michel-Ares, Group Head of Technology and Operations at BMO Financial Group
• Andre Mendes, Interim CEO of the Broadcast Board of Governors
• Marina Levinson, Partner at Benhamou Global Ventures
• Puneet Bhasin, Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations and President of Recycle America at Waste Management
• Andi Karaboutis, Vice President of Technology and Business Solutions at Biogen
• Mike Capone, Chief Operating Officer at Medidata Solutions
• Timothy Kasbe, Chief Operating Officer at Gloria Jeans
• Chris Perretta, Global Head of Enterprise Data and Technology at State Street
• Guy Chiarello, President of First Data Corporation
• Terry Bradwell, Chief Enterprise Strategy and Innovation Officer of AARP
• Brian Lillie, Chief Customer Officer and Executive Vice President of Technology Services of Equinix
• Greg Carmichael, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fifth Third Bancorp
• Cynthia Earhart, Chief Financial Officer of Norfolk Southern
• Thaddeus Arroyo, Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Business
• Linda Jojo, EVP of Technology and Chief Digital Officer of United Airlines
• David Bray, Executive Director of People-Centered Internet
• Stephen Gillett, Co-Founder and CEO of Chronicle
• Dan Olley, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Product Development at Elsevier
• Tom Keiser, Chief Operating Officer of Zendesk
• Gary Reiner, Operating Partner at General Atlantic
• Albert Hitchcock, Chief Operating and Technology Officer of Pearson
• Mike Capone, Chief Executive Officer of Qlik
• Sasan Goodarzi, Incoming CEO of Intuit
• Mark Showers, Managing Partner at RGAX
• Zack Hicks, CDO of Toyota Motors North America & CEO of Toyota Connected
• Herve Coureil, CDO of Schneider Electric
• Chandra Dhandapani, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of CBRE

In the kick-off article to the series, I highlight some common denominators among these trailblazers:

1. All of them have thought about business value first, and technology second
2. Most have worked in other business disciplines prior to ascending to the CIO role
3. Many work within organizations that promote from within
4. A majority have an MBA or advanced degree in a business discipline
5. Many also have spent time as consultants

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