by Peter High, published on Forbes
5-13-2015
Next month, Filippo Passerini will conclude an exceptional career as an executive at Procter & Gamble. Passerini joined the company in his native Italy, and had a broad set of experiences in different countries and in different product areas before his ascent to become chief information officer, and eventually President of Global Business Services. This is not uncommon for people as talented as Passerini within P&G. Just as he was chosen for advancement early in his tenure, he has done the same in grooming the next generation of leaders. As a result, late last year, he transitioned his two roles to two able executives who had been groomed for each. This is a key component of P&G’s culture, as it has a bias toward promoting from within whenever possible.
Not surprisingly, Passerini is a part of the small but growing group of board-level CIOs, having joined the board of $5.7 billion United Rentals in early 2009. In my conversation with Passerini, he offers thoughts on how he became board ready, why the trend of board-level CIOs is likely to grow, as well as providing thoughts about talent management and succession planning.
(This article is one of many in the “Board-Level CIO” series. To read past articles in the series with the CIOs of the World Bank Group, Cardinal Health, FedEx, and Kroger, among others, please visit this link. To read future articles in the series, please click the “Follow” link above.)
Peter High: Filippo, first of all congratulations on a very successful career at P&G. You are on the cusp of retiring. I thought we’d begin with first and foremost what you have planned for your future. What will you be doing in the weeks and months ahead?
Filippo Passerini: I have three operating principles for my future. One is I want to give back to the IT community by meeting with and advising fellow CIOs and other IT exeuctives. Second, I would like to be in a position to continue to learn. Learning is a very important part of my well being and my life. Third, I want to work with people with whom I share values.
I will join the Carlyle Group as an advisor, I will do some consulting, and I will work with Columbia University to develop an advanced degree in analytics.
I have been proud to help companies improve and transform businesses through better use of technology. It is what I have been doing within P&G for 30 years, and I’ll continue to do so in different capacities.
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