Michael Blake, Chief Information Officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Episode Overview

• Michael’s role in the organization and his fourfold goals of managing security, sustaining growth, providing associate enhancements, and improving customer and owner satisfaction through IT initiatives
• IT’s growing role in the hospitality industry as the enabler of entire experience, from how customers stay and consume content, to how associates will utilize technology to improve the customer’s experience
• Creating an ecosystem of partners that allows Hyatt to align with leading edge product offerings, and become more involved in the product lifecycle, which facilitates the introduction of innovative solutions to the Hyatt environment
• How the ecosystem of partners has caused a shift in skills within Hyatt IT; there is less emphasis on true developers, and a greater focus in areas such as business analysis and vendor management
• How Michael dedicated resources to innovation early in his tenure, which has allowed resources to focus on bringing innovative ideas to market, such as an online lock system activated through mobile technology
• Eye on Trends: Cloud computing and how it can help Hyatt capture economies of scale, despite having fewer properties than their main competitors. Mobility and how it can bring capabilities that ultimately improves the customer experience

Michael Blake’s Biography

Michael Blake is the CIO at Hyatt Hotels Corporation.   In concert with other senior leaders, he is responsible for driving innovation and supporting revenue growth, as well as managing the evolution of Hyatt’s global IT function.

Prior to his current role, Mike was Vice President of Finance-Global Marketing, Brand Standards & IT for Hyatt Corporation.  He has over 20 years of experience in finance and technology in various roles, including time as Senior Vice President of IT at First Data, VP of IT Finance at Kaiser Permanente, and Director of IT Finance at Sears.  In each of his roles, he was the highest ranking IT Finance resource and key internal consultant and advisor to national senior leadership teams.

Mike has an MBA with a concentration on Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He also has an MS in Information Technology from Northwestern University.

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