Mark Settle, CIO of Okta

Episode Overview

Among other topics, Mark discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:

• The nuances between the role of leadership and management
• Importance of financial management to help drive innovation within IT
• A need for IT to be involved with business partners beyond transactional relationships
• Demand management from the business partners to meet IT’s capacity
• Strategic techniques of attracting and retaining talent in Silicon Valley
• The importance of innovation labs to gather feedback from the broader organization
• Significance of how IT affects relationships with customers
• Eye on the Trends: Agile Methodology, DevOps, Integrations

Mark Settle’s Biography

Mark is the Chief Information Officer of Okta, a leading provider of identity and device management solutions for various cloud and mobile enterprises. As CIO, Mark leads Okta’s global enterprise IT strategy and operations and collaborates closely with the executive leadership team to align strategic technology initiatives with broader business goals.

Mark is also the author of Truth From the Trenches: A Practical Guide to the Art of IT Management, the insights from which we discuss in depth in this interview. It represents a synopsis of the practices he has used as a CIO many times over at companies like IHS, BMC Software, Oxy, Arrow Electronics, and Corporate Express.

Mark received Bachelors and Masters degrees from MIT, and a PhD from Brown University in Geological Sciences.

I recently caught up with Mark at Metis Strategy headquarters in Washington, DC, and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle One, People, as we discussed the importance of setting up talented teams with strong leaders without creating single points of failure; Principle Three, Project and Portfolio Management, as we discussed how financial management within IT helps build credibility with various business functions; Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships, as we discussed how IT should build towards non-transactional relationships with business partners to influence collaboration; Principle Five, External Partnerships, as we spoke about how he works with his peer CIOs who are the customers of Okta, along with a variety of other topics.

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