Among other topics, Rick discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
• The role of the CIO in an information based company • Recruiting and retaining talent • Providing employees with opportunities for growth and advancement • Leading with the mindset of a teacher or coach • Veteran advice for technologists seeking a board position • Proven techniques for increasing the presence of women in all levels of an organization • The benefits of involving CIOS when developing strategic partnerships • Creating symbiotic relationships with partners to drive and support growth and innovation
Rick King’s Biography
Rick is the Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer of Thomson Reuters, an $11 billion provider of news and information for professional markets. Rick has been with Thomson Reuters since 2000, previously serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Technology and as the Chief Technology Officer of various units.
Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Rick held executive-level positions at Ceridian Employer Services and Jostens Learning, among other companies. He began his career as a teacher and coach.
Rick is a member of the board of directors for TCF Financial Corporation, a publicly traded bank holding company, where he chairs the Technology Committee and sits on the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. He is also heavily involved in his community, serving on the boards of trustees for Minnesota Public Radio and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Rick was appointed by the Governor of Minnesota to the Minnesota Metropolitan Airports Commission, where he chairs the Management and Operations Committee, as well as to the Technology Advisory Committee, which he also chairs.
Recently, Rick was honored with a 2017 “Guys Who Get It Award” for his work on gender partnership.
Rick holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in Mathematics – Teacher Education as well as a master’s degree in Education Administration and Planning from the University of Vermont.
I recently caught up with Rick over the phone from his office in Eagan, Minnesota. Our conversation covered World Class IT Principle One, People, as we discussed recruiting and retaining talent, specifically Thomson Reuter’s success with increasing the number of women across all levels of the organization. We also covered World Class Principle Five, External Partnerships, as Rick described the symbiotic partnerships that he has developed that both ease and enable growth and innovation. We also discussed CIOs as strategists, his experience as a board-level CIO with advice he has for those who wish to follow in his footsteps, as well as a variety of other topics
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Yvonne Wassenaar Biography
Yvonne is the Chief Information Officer of New Relic, a digital intelligence platform company. As CIO, Yvonne divides her focus between the company’s growth strategy and development of the supporting unified technology and data platform.
Yvonne joined New Relic to prepare the company for its IPO and subsequently has led key growth initiatives contributing to an almost two billion dollar valuation within two years. Prior to New Relic, Yvonne held multiple leadership positions at VMware.
Yvonne serves on the Board of Directors for Bitium, where she advises the cloud-based identity platform provider on technology trends and go-to-market expansion opportunities. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Harvey Mudd College and on the Board of Directors for the Athena Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of diversity in the boardroom.
Yvonne holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from UCLA and an MBA in strategy and operations from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.
I recently caught up with Yvonne over the phone from San Francisco, and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle Two, Infrastructure, as we discussed the importance of updating and differentiating business services in a quickly changing environment and Principle Four, IT & Business Partnerships, as Yvonne weighed in on the role of the CIO of the future and the importance of collaboration across the enterprise. We also covered the need to take risks, diversity in IT, the benefits of CIO participation on corporate boards, and a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Tom discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Tom Miller’s Biography
Tom is the Chief Information Officer for Anthem, an $85 billion health benefits company, where he is responsible for all enterprise-wide information technology initiatives with the focus on delivering high quality, secure, compliant and cost effective technologies that enhance Anthem’s business capabilities. Tom is leading the technology innovation efforts around Anthem’s push for consumer centricity.
Prior to joining Anthem, Tom served as the senior vice president and chief information officer of Coca-Cola Refreshments, a company formed by the merger of various North American businesses including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Foodservice, Minute-Maid, Glaceau (Vitamin Water) and Odwalla. His primary focus, leading a team of 1,000 IT professionals, was the integration of all businesses into a single IT platform to drive operating efficiency and provide improved customer service.
Tom has more than thirty years of information technology, management, global initiatives and operations experience.
Tom has bachelor’s degrees from Northwood University in Computer Information Management and Business Management. He earned an Executive MBA from Emory University.
Among other topics, Norm discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Norm Fjeldheim’s Biography
Serving in the dual roles of CIO and Head of Global Facilities, Norm is advancing Illumina’s workplace evolution by merging technology and facility innovation to enhance employee collaboration, productivity, and satisfaction. In addition to leading Illumina’s digital transformation, Fjeldheim is responsible for Cyber and Product Security as well as key growth and customer engagement initiatives.
Prior to joining Illumina, Norm was the Chief Information Officer of Qualcomm.
Norm currently serves as a Board Member of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Council and is on the advisory boards for several organizations including Amazon and SAP Software Solutions.
Norm holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business information systems from San Diego State University and completed the Wharton Executive Development Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
I recently caught up with Norm in his office in San Diego, and we covered World Class IT Principle One, People, as we discussed Illumina’s focus on employee enablement and engagement, Principle Two, Infrastructure, as we discussed Norm’s deep experience with cloud migration, Principle Four, IT & Business Partnerships, as Norm discussed his dual role as CIO and Head of Global Facilities, and how they work together, as well as a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Eric discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
• Evolution of collaboration through different eras • Differentiation in the web conferencing space • Rationale behind deliberately controlling growth of Zoom in early days • Importance of having a company philosophy to deliver happiness to customers • Possibilities of Augmented Reality in the business world • Impact of Silicon Valley on new and upcoming companies • The need to create a culture of self-motivation for employees • Trade-offs required to build a sustainable company • Hybrid approach to selling to Small Businesses and Large Enterprises • Focus on existing customers rather than only pursuing new customers • Sequoia Capital’s impact on Zoom’s growth
Eric Yuan Biography:
Eric is the Founder and CEO of Zoom, a people-centric, cloud service solution, currently valued at $1 billion, that offers video, audio, and screen-sharing experience across multiple platforms. As CEO, Eric influences and guides his team to be single-mindedly focused on excellent call quality and prioritizes delivering happiness to customers. Prior to founding Zoom in 2011, Eric was Corporate Vice President of Engineering at Cisco, where he was responsible for Cisco’s collaboration software development. As one of the founding engineers and Vice President of Engineering at WebEx, Eric grew the WebEx team from 10 engineers to more than 800 worldwide, and contributed to revenue growth from $0 to more than $800M. Eric is a named inventor with 11 issued and 20 pending patents in real time collaboration.
Eric received an Executive MBA from Stanford University.
I recently caught up with Eric in his office in San Jose, California and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle One, People, as we discussed the importance of developing a company culture where employees are focused on end customer happiness; Principle Two, IT Infrastructure, as we discussed the importance of technology reliability to keep customers satisfied; Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships, as we discussed the importance of innovation that stems from the partnership between the Business and IT around customer needs, Principle Five, External Partnerships, as we discussed the impact of Sequoia Capital’s funding of Zoom, along with a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Keith discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
• Orienting IT towards value • Differentiating IT within a company whose business is technology • The transformation and evolution taking place in the data analytics space • Perspectives on the cloud first strategy • Being “Customer Zero” • Internal and external security concerns • Eye on the trends: sensor-enabled IoT; the continued use of data to provide a holistic view in order to improve companies’ forecasts and decision-making
Keith Collins Biography:
Keith is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of SAS Institute, a $3.2 billion revenue private software company which specializes in innovative analytics, business intelligence, and data management software and services. SAS software is installed at more than 83,000 business, university and government sites with customers in 148 countries and roughly 14,000 employees worldwide. Keith directed R&D at SAS for most of his career, including 13 years as Chief Technology Officer. His latest charter is to redefine the role of IT from tactical to strategic, and to accelerate SAS in cloud computing, topics we cover in some depth herein.
Keith has a bachelor’s of science in computer science from North Carolina State University, and he is a founding member of the computer science department’s strategic advisory board.
I recently caught up with Keith by phone in his office in Cary, North Carolina, and our conversation covered World Class IT principles two, Infrastructure, as we discussed his cloud first strategy at SAS, principle four, IT & Business Partnerships, as we covered how he has developed a culture within IT to be customer zero in the company, working with colleagues outside of the function to fine tune the offering. We also covered how his previous roles in IT have informed his understanding of his current role as CIO; how to differentiate IT when technology is the business; the transformation currently underway in the data analytics space, among a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Jay discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Jay Rogers’ Biography
Jay is the Chief Executive Officer of Local Motors, a cutting-edge automotive startup building the next generation automobile company and brand in the United States. As CEO and Co-founder, he is responsible for crafting the overall strategy for Local Motors and has been helping develop transformation within the automotive industry.
Prior to founding Local Motors, Jay served for seven years in the United States Marine Corps, where he was an Infantry Company Commander. Prior to service, he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. and as an investment analyst at Ewing & Partners.
Jay earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
I recently caught up with Jay over the phone from Local Motors headquarters in Phoenix, AZ, and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle Four, IT & Business Partnership, as we discussed how the Local Motors forms strategic partnerships with clients; and Principle Five, External Partnerships, as we discussed how Local Motors as created a community that drives innovation and efficiency. We also discussed how Local Motors has relied on transparency to build teams, Jay’s history in entrepreneurship, transformations in the automotive industry, as well as a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Mike discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Mike Giresi’s Biography
Mike is the Chief Information Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises, an $8.5 billion revenue, award-winning global cruise vacation provider that operates diverse itineraries around the world to destinations in all seven continents. As CIO, Mike collaborates with the Royal Caribbean business functions to proactively identify and understand business and operational issues, and to solve those issues through technology solutions. Prior to his time at Royal Caribbean, Mike served as CIO of Tory Burch, Direct Brands, Godiva Chocolatier, and served as the Director of IT at Campbell Soup Company.
Mike received Bachelor’s degrees in English, Chemistry, Economics, Computers, and Accounting from Seton Hall University and an Executive MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.
I recently caught up with Mike by phone in his office in Miami, Florida and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle Two, Infrastructure, as we discussed how data accumulation and management are keys to unlocking a personalized customer experience; Principle Four, IT and Business Partnerships, as we discussed the importance of alignment between the business and IT around customer needs and the importance of sponsorship by the executive management team to help drive IT innovations forward, along with a variety of other topics.
Among other topics, Mark discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
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.
Peter Diamandis Biography
Peter is a serial entrepreneur and an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions and commercial space. Some of the companies that Peter has founded or co-founded include XPRIZE, Singularity University, Human Longevity Inc and Planetary Resources. He is also a prolific speaker, author of two New York Times Best Selling books, investor, and advisor to business leaders and startups.
Peter has been a lifelong entrepreneur, founding his first organization while he was still an undergraduate. He has founded well over a dozen companies, with many of his earlier ones focused on opening the space frontier for humanity. These earlier organizations include International Space University, Zero-G, Space Adventures LTD, BlastOff! Corporation, the Rocket Racing League, and several others. Diamandis sits on the boards of several companies, including Hyperloop One, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Economist’s Innovator of the Year, the Arthur C. Clark Award for Innovation, the Lindbergh Award, and many others.
Peter hold an undergraduate degree in Molecular Genetics, as well as a graduate degree in AerospaceEngineering, both from MIT. He received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
