Among other topics, Cathy discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Cathy Bessant’s Biography
Cathy Bessant is Global Technology and Operations executive at Bank of America and a member of the company’s executive management team.
Since 2010, Cathy has been responsible for delivering end-to-end technology and operating services across the company through a team of nearly 100,000 employees and contractors in 35 countries around the world. Global Technology and Operations provides the platforms and fulfillment services that sustain the company’s consumer banking, wealth management, commercial banking, treasury services, sales and trading, and investment banking businesses – as well as risk management, finance and other critical support functions. Cathy’s team also oversees the company’s business continuity and information security strategies and policies.
In addition, Cathy chairs Bank of America’s Environmental Program, a position she has held since 2011. She has held a number of senior leadership roles for the company. Most recently, she was president of Global Corporate Banking. Prior to that, she was president of Global Treasury Services and Global Product Solutions; chief marketing officer; president of Consumer Real Estate and Community Development Banking; National Small Business Segment executive; and president of Bank of America, Florida. She joined Bank of America as a corporate banker in Texas in 1982.
Cathy currently chairs the board of directors of Foundation For The Carolinas, one of the largest community foundations in the United States. She also is the lead director for Florida Blue, formerly Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and is a member of the board of trustees for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Named to American Banker’s “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” list in 2013 for the third consecutive year, she was also honored as one of Computerworld’s “2013 Premier 100” IT leaders. Cathy was No. 4 on the 2013 Institutional Investor Tech 50 list of financial services leaders in technological achievement and innovation, and in 2011 was named “Best CIO” by Waters Technology at the American Financial Technology Awards.
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Among other topics, Ken discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Ken Venner’s Biography
Since January 2012, Ken has been the CIO of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX, a company that designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.
Prior to his time at SpaceX, Ken was the Executive Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Information Officer of Broadcom Corporation, a role he held for over a decade. In that role, his purview included Real Estate, Construction, Facilities, Security, Travel, Administrative Services, and all business systems, computing and telecommunications infrastructure.
Prior to his time at Broadcom, Ken served as Vice President of Product Management and Chief Information Officer of Rockwell Electronic Commerce. Prior to that, Ken held a number of information sciences and information technology management positions for over 11 years at Lucent Technologies and AT&T Bell Laboratories.
Ken received a B.E. from the Stevens Institute of Technology, an M.E. from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from New Hampshire College.
Jay Ferro’s Biography
Jay is the current CIO for the American Cancer Society. During his time in that role, he has led a transformation of the IT function, which has included consolidating the operation, and rendering it much more efficient and innovative in the process.
Prior to his time at the American Cancer Society, Jay was the SVP and CIO for AdCare Health Systems, Inc. where he was responsible for the people, strategy and operations of the nationwide IT group. Prior to AdCare, he was VP and CIO for Chartis Aerospace (formerly AIG Aviation), a leading global aerospace insurer. In addition to his role as AVP of IT with AIG Personal Lines, he was selected as CFO for operations and systems in 2006 and led multiple global IT finance and governance standards initiatives that resulted in millions of dollars in savings for the organization.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Jay was selected as Georgia CIO of the Year in 2011. He is also the chairman of the board of directors for TechBridge, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization which helps other nonprofits use technology to improve their capability to serve the community. Jay is also on the alumni board of directors for the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia and the current chairman of the Georgia CIO Leadership Association.
Jay has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia, and an MBA from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
Among other topics, Marc discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Marc Saffer’s Biography
Marc is Chief Information Officer of J. Crew, a role he has held for three and a half years. During that time, he has played an integral role in transforming J. Crew’s technology, and helped improve the organization’s e-commerce operation.
J. Crew is the fourth company that Marc has served as CIO, having held that role at Duane Reade, Columbia House, and Footstar Corporation. He also was a vice president of IT at Macy’s, and he can still be seen every Thanksgiving morning piloting a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Among other topics, Kevin discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Kevin Hart’s Biography
Kevin is the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Cox Communications, a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6 million residential and commercial customers. In that role, he is responsible for providing overall leadership, strategic and operational direction to the planning and development of an integrated technological platform. He also aligns the technology strategy with overall business objectives.
Prior to his time at Cox Communications, Kevin was Chief Information Officer at Clearwire Corporation. While there, he was responsible for the company’s Information Technology, Enterprise Network Deployment Planning Office, and Business Process Management functions. His key accomplishments with Clearwire included leading the transformation of the IT organization during the deployment of the company’s 4G wireless broadband service across the nation.
Kevin also spent time as the CIO at Level 3, one of the world’s largest IP communications providers, and held leadership roles at Capgemini Consulting, International Paper and the former Southwestern Bell Communications (SBC).
Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tulsa and an MBA in Finance with Honors from Notre Dame.
Among other topics, Aaron discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Aaron Levie’s Biography
Aaron is the CEO and co-founder of Box, a leader in online file sharing and cloud content management for individuals and enterprises alike. Aaron created Box (originally called Box.net) as a college business project with the goal of helping people easily access their information from any location. Box was launched from Aaron’s dorm room in 2005 with the help of the current CFO of the company Dylan Smith. Aaron is the visionary behind Box’s product and platform strategy, which is focused on incorporating the best of traditional content management with the most effective elements of social business software.
Aaron studied business at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California before taking a leave of absence, which is likely to be a permanent one, he has acknowledged.
Randy is VP and CIO of Caterpillar Inc. He has responsibility for Caterpillar’s Global Information Services division, which includes the corporation’s IT systems and global security.
Prior to his time at Caterpillar, Randy worked at Chevron Corporation where he was CIO for Chevron’s worldwide exploration and production business. He was responsible for the company’s global IT strategy and IT operations in 23 countries. During his 29-year tenure with Chevron, Randy held engineering, marketing and IT management positions in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to being named CIO, his career at Chevron included IT positions with responsibilities for Chevron subsidiaries in Canada, Latin America and global strategic planning for Chevron Corporation.
Randy is a native of Toronto, Canada, and he graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He earned his MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
John is the chief technology officer of CA Technologies. In that role, he is responsible for technical leadership and innovation, further developing the company’s technical community, and aligning its software strategy, architecture, and partner relationships to deliver customer value. John is also responsible for delivering the company’s common technology services, ensuring architectural compliance, and integrating products and solutions.
In 1999, John founded ITKO, and built the LISA product suite designed to improve the effectiveness of application development teams, especially those involved in custom applications, SOA, and cloud computing. The company was acquired by CA Technologies in 2011.
Prior to ITKO, John led SaaS and E-commerce transformations for global enterprises at Trilogy and Agency.com.
John earned degrees in business and computer science from Trinity University and Columbus University. And he has authored a best practices book, “Service Virtualization: Reality is Overrated.”
Gary is the senior vice president and chief information officer of Express Scripts, a nearly $100 billion pharmacy benefit management corporation. Gary manages overall IT strategy and performance, specifically focusing on innovative solutions, process improvements, and improving productivity. Gary is also responsible for ensuring the information systems are aligned with business strategies.
Prior to his time at Express Scripts, Gary was the director of logistics systems at Tyco Healthcare , a senior manager with Ernst & Young LLP, and corporate director of information systems at Bairnco.
Gary has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Stephen is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Symantec, a global security software company. In this role, Stephen is responsible for the corporate strategy, as well as business segment management, including consumer, enterprise, commercial, public sector, and government. He also oversees IT, sales, and marketing operations including the strategic direction for sales and marketing.
Prior to joining Symantec, Stephen was president of Best Buy Digital, Global Marketing and Strategy. He was tasked with accelerating the transformation and growth agenda of Best Buy through the advancement of key global business units and core business capabilities.
Prior to joining Best Buy, Stephen was executive vice president, Digital Ventures, and chief information officer of Starbucks. A key member of Starbucks’ transformation team, Stephen designed and led the company’s efforts to enhance the overall global business operations and improve the customer experience through the use of innovative technology and digital experiences worldwide.
Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon where he was an offensive guard on the football team, and he has an MBA from San Francisco State University.
