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Thank you to all who attended the 10th Metis Strategy Digital Symposium. Across conversations, leaders emphasized the need for foundational data and analytics capabilities to prepare their organizations for growth. Whether modernizing systems, designing new operating models, or upskilling teams for the future, an organization’s ability to appropriately harness the information assets available continues to be a key source of competitive advantage. Below are highlights from the event. Stay tuned to the Metis Strategy YouTube channel and Technovation podcast in the coming weeks for full recordings of individual panel discussions. In the meantime, click here to request an invitation for our next virtual event on December 13, 2022.
To prepare employees for jobs of the future, technology leaders are focusing on upskilling and development initiatives that teach employees the latest technology skills while providing a clear path for professional growth. The most in-demand skill today: “data, data, data,” said Udacity CEO Gabe Dalporto. ”Every part of every organization needs better data skills.” That means not only equipping data scientists and IT teams with the latest skills, but also ensuring data literacy across marketing, compliance, cybersecurity, and beyond.
It isn’t enough to only provide training, however. Dalporto noted that attrition can actually increase if reskilling programs aren’t directly linked to individuals’ jobs and career paths. The message resonated with attendees, 44% of whom noted career pathing and other growth opportunities as focus areas within their upskilling initiatives.
Pearson CIO Marykay Wells reiterated the importance of creating an environment that encourages continuous development. Pearson offers weekly learning hours and a range of certifications employees can pursue to help spark new ideas and creative thinking. The company is also leaning into greater job mobility, encouraging team members to apply their learnings across the organization.
A strong foundation in data and analytics paves the way for new innovations. As organizations modernize enterprise data platforms and gain access to consistently reliable information, they are finding new ways to use emerging technologies to improve processes and services.
At Boeing, data is embedded across the enterprise and serves as a source of growth and resilience, CIO and SVP of IT & Data Analytics Susan Doniz said. Data-driven insights give the company a greater understanding of supplier networks, assist with product planning, and drive sustainability initiatives. Boeing is using emerging technologies like digital twins and the metaverse to drive product precision, building airplanes thousands of times digitally before creating the physical plane. Boeing also combines its own information with weather data and other external sources to drive additional value. “The value of data is not just data by itself, it’s how you combine data with external data,” Doniz said.
Emerging technologies have also shown promise in driving enterprise sustainability efforts. As Chevron Chief Digital Officer Frank Cassulo prepares for the transition to a lower carbon world and more renewable energy sources, he is advancing the deployment of industrial IoT, edge-based sensors, and real-time monitoring to improve the efficiency, reliability, and safety of the energy system. “We believe the intersection of technology and the energy transition is defining the rate at which we advance,” he said. Last year, the company launched Chevron New Energies to identify new technology opportunities and business models to deliver a lower carbon future.
Technology leaders are embracing more data-driven decision making processes and rethinking how to measure the success of digital products and services.
For example, every Monday morning, Vinod Bidarkoppa, SVP at Walmart and Chief Technology Officer at Sam’s Club, meets with the executive leadership team to discuss the Net Promoter Score of critical member and associate journeys from the prior week. Those metrics inform how the organization operates and focuses their efforts week to week. “Because there is data behind it, people can answer in a very data- driven way,” Bidarkoppa said. “It makes it a very rich conversation and it’s not just an opinion.”
Enterprises are also expressing a growing desire for reliable cybersecurity metrics. Orion Hindawi, Co-Founder and CEO at Tanium, detailed how the company is helping customers understand how their progress on particular KPIs compares to others in their industry. That data allows customers to better see where they have adequate protection or gaps that need filling.
Data-enabled products are also unlocking new efficiencies. Ameren Chief Digital Information Officer Bhavani Amirthalingam noted that putting more data into customers’ hands gives them more choice and control in managing their energy consumption. Greater accessibility to data also gives Ameren the ability to effectively track and reduce energy consumption in the data center and among key suppliers.
As Pearson offers a broader range of digital education products, it is placing additional focus on metrics such as time to value (the time between a student enrolling and actually starting a course), as well as internal productivity metrics to guide process improvements for engineers. “We are thinking about ways we can use data to improve experience and value,” Wells said.
In an increasingly complex economic and geopolitical climate, digital leaders are among those re-examining global talent footprints and seeking opportunities to streamline or automate existing processes. More than half of MSDS respondents noted that they are bringing on more full-time employees across geographies and exploring new locations for talent.
Denton’s, the largest law firm in the world, has grown from 3,500 employees 10 years ago to 20,000 employees around the world today through robust M&A activity. Over the years, each entity retained IT teams, structures, and systems. As cloud computing adoption expanded and cybersecurity concerns became paramount, especially for clients, Global CIO Ash Banerjee and his team are transforming and unifying the technology function, progressing the firm’s growth and integration strategies while seeking to balance local and global needs.
Anil Bhatt, Global CIO at Elevance Health (formerly known as Anthem) works to make sure that his global product team and engineer teams have the capabilities they need to meet business needs. At the same time, he’s focused on making sure team members are taking care of themselves. Bhatt’s team led two employee-focused transformations and introduced more flexibility and recognition. “As you take care of associates and employees, it changes how they look at company,” he said.
As the security and privacy landscape grows more complex, technology leaders must balance global rules and standards with country- or region-specific regulations. Kevin Stine, Chief of the Applied Cybersecurity Division for NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), has been encouraged by an uptick of international governments and businesses adopting and engaging with the NIST framework. He notes this global alignment of standards as a critical step to aligning key cybersecurity outcomes and avoiding duplication or conflicting expectations.
As data-based decision making and digital tools pervade modern business, technology leaders are modernizing organizational architectures to help their companies more directly tie technology initiatives to business growth. At retailer Dollar General, CIO Carman Wenkoff prioritized people and processes in the modernization journey. After evaluating organizational structures and existing ways of working, the company grouped 105 technology domains into categories and assigned domain leaders to define and implement a future vision. The new structure is helping the retailer define new ways of working and find new ways to serve customers.
The prevalence of technology is putting more leaders on the path from CIO to CEO, COO, and other business leadership roles in the C-suite. Chandra Dhandapani; Chief Executive Officer for Global Workplace Solutions at real estate firm CBRE advised technology leaders wishing to ascend to other roles to stay closely aligned with business leaders, invest in technology closely aligned with business strategy, move fast, and care about customer experience. She encouraged leaders to take an outside-in perspective and “internalize being business leaders first who happen to have expertise in technology.” Dhandapani believes that CIOs are well positioned to take on additional leadership roles as they understand their organization’s data strengths and weaknesses and know how to use data to develop key insights.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the appointment of Eben Hewitt as Hyatt’s Chief Information Officer, effective July 18. Hewitt will oversee Technology, Enterprise Applications and Cybersecurity for Hyatt. He will report to Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“Eben’s tenacity and drive will bring a fresh perspective to Hyatt and play a critical role in scaling our IT platform to grow and diversify our brand and guest offerings,” said Vondrasek. “Our guest-centered IT is grounded in active listening to the needs of our guests, colleagues and owners, and designed to enhance every part of the hospitality experience.”
Hewitt previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Sabre Hospitality, a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry, serving more than 40,000 hotels and resorts spanning 160 countries. He also brings experience from prior technology leadership roles at Choice Hotels and O’Reilly Media.
Hewitt hopes to continue to drive innovation building on progress the team has made with such offerings as the Digital Key in the World of Hyatt app, which utilizes Bluetooth technology allowing guests to use their iPhone or Android phone as a digital key and two-way hotel chat, which allows for personalized communication between guests and hotel colleagues.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Hyatt at this transformational moment,” said Hewitt. “It’s an honor to support and advance Hyatt’s vision of a world of understanding and care. As Hyatt grows, this outstanding technology team is ready to create meaningful personal connections and delight our stakeholders, with empathy at the heart of everything we do.”
In addition to Hewitt’s decade of hospitality industry experience, he is also a recognized thought leader in technology, with published books on enterprise architecture, software design and database management systems, including the international bestseller Technology Strategy Patterns.
Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written two bestselling books, and his third, Getting to Nimble, was recently released. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
With the recent merger announcement of Intermountain Healthcare with SCL Health, Craig Richardville has been named the new chief digital and information officer and senior vice president for the combined health systems, which will be called Intermountain Healthcare.
As a member of the enterprise leadership team, Richardville’s responsibilities will include the health system’s information technology, data and digital services involving all aspects of technology including, but not limited to, strategy, operations, applications, cybersecurity, and emerging technology.
Richardville previously served as senior vice president, chief information and digital officer, at SCL Health, where his responsibilities included leading, innovating, and transforming all aspects of the health system’s information technology and digital services.
Richardville noted that his priorities including an orientation toward being mobile first, cloud first and, ultimately, patient first. “Mobile first places access to health services into the pockets of the patients, members and consumers via their smartphones,” he explained. “This is a trusted source of truth, easy to access and one of the preferred engagement platforms in an omni channel world. Cloud first provides ubiquitous access to data in a safe and secure environment ubiquitous access to data, information and knowledge. Patient first puts the patient is in the center. They are the heart of our work and includes related personas, such as members in regards to our health plan and consumers who are looking to make a choice. All of our work revolves around the patient, the member and the consumer.”
“Intermountain Healthcare has long been a leader in using technology to improve clinical outcomes for patients and is using advanced intelligence to aid providers in clinical decision making,” said Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Intermountain Healthcare. “Intermountain is also focused on using digital tools to help alleviate repetitive task workload for providers and caregivers through automation, and help enhance patient experience with self-service applications, allowing more face-to-face time for provider-patient visits. Craig has the skills to help Intermountain continue this important journey.”
Prior to his time at SCL, he served as senior vice president and chief information and analytics officer at Atrium Health for more than 20 years, where he transformed the growing company into a national leader in the effective use of technology, utilizing data as a driver and digital services as a differentiator.
Richardville received the 2021 National CIO of the Year Healthcare ORBIE Award, the 2020 Colorado CIO of the Year award, and in 2017, the Carolinas CIO of the Year for continued leadership and impact using technology and digital services, among other awards. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in computer systems from the University of Toledo.
Boris Shulkin was recently named Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer of Magna International 1 $36.2 billion revenue Canadian auto parts manufacturer with 161,000 employees, 340 manufacturing locations, 89 product development locations and operates in 28 countries. Boris is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and he will work out of the company’s Troy, Michigan offices.
In his newly elevated role, he is responsible for all information technology and digitization. He leads a global team of roughly 500 employees focused on the shift to digital processes across the entire enterprise and within all relevant workstreams by incorporating usage of technologies, cloud and analytics to create business value using data.
“The acceleration of digital transformation is about bringing efficiencies across the entire enterprise through effortless data access and extracting business insights,” said Shulkin, referring to his new role. “I’m excited to lead a dynamic team and help grow a long-lasting technology-based moat in a company that’s advancing mobility for everyone and everything.”
In roughly 19 years with the company, Shulkin has held a number of roles of growing responsibility. Most recently, he was Magna’s executive vice president of Technology and Investment helping drive overall technology strategy in the rapidly evolving mobility landscape. He has also been senior vice president of Research & Development, leading the incubation of new radar chip development while playing a key role in identifying potential new partners to engage to bring new technologies to market.
Shulkin began his career in the auto industry in 1995 as an engineer and joined Magna in 2003. Shulkin holds doctoral degree in applied statistics, and he holds multiple patents spanning manufacturing, process design, product and controls.
Not long ago, Target’s legendary chief information officer Mike McNamara announced his intent to retire. He would stay on through the naming of his successor. That successor has been found, as Brett Craig has been elevated to the executive vice president and CIO role at the company. He has been with the company for roughly 14 years, and he has held roles in technology and in merchandising among other business areas. His penultimate role was as the senior vice president of digital.
“The updates we’re making to our leadership team reflect the size and scale of our more than $100 billion business, while also positioning the company for continued momentum well into the future,” Target’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell noted. “I have tremendous confidence in [the company’s new leaders, Craig among them] and the value they bring to our organization as we work together to meet the needs of current and new Target guests.”
“This is a chance to work with thousands of world-class technologists building products and platforms that impact millions of people every day,” said Craig. “Our tech, data sciences and cybersecurity teams are simply doing an incredible job enabling Target’s strategy and advancing everything we do in service to our purpose. That’s a journey we’re going to accelerate, and Target’s culture of care, grow and win together will lead the way. How Target tech and our teams work together across the company is one of the most unique differentiators of our success.”
When reflecting on some of the areas that he will push hard to accelerate in the near term, Craig noted more personalized, relevant and seamless experiences for Target’s guests and creating new offerings that will drive more business to the company’s stores, Target.com and the Target app.
McNamara will stay on board as a strategic advisor to the company through the end of January 2023.
Monday, Boeing announced that Ted Colbert has been named president and chief executive officer of its Defense, Space and Security business. This move will take effect on April 1. Colbert succeeds Leanne Caret who is retiring following nearly 35 years with Boeing. Colbert had been president and CEO of Boeing Global Services (BGS). Stephanie Pope has been appointed as his successor in that role.
Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security business provides military aircraft and network and space systems to customers around the world, and earned revenues of $26.5 billion in 2021. As such, this is the company’s largest business unit by revenue.
“Throughout his career, Ted Colbert has consistently brought technical excellence and strong and innovative leadership to every position he has held,” said Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun. “Under his leadership, BGS has assembled an excellent leadership team focused on delivering safe and high-quality services for our defense and commercial customers. His leadership track record and current experience supporting the defense services portfolio ideally position Ted to lead BDS.”
Colbert joined Boeing’s information technology department in 2009, rising to the role of chief information officer in 2013 and to the role of CIO and senior vice president of Information Technology & Data Analytics in 2016. It was in that role that Colbert won Forbes CIO Innovation Award in 2018 for the development of a digital flight deck. In May of 2021, Colbert joined the board of ADM, the $85 billion revenue multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation, as well.
Colbert’s expanded responsibilities from CIO to CIO-plus to beyond CIO to board-level executive has him in an exclusive but growing club of former CIOs who have expanded their responsibilities.
In 2015, when Mike McNamara received a call from a headhunter that Target, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based nearly $100 billion revenue retailer was interested in having him come aboard as the company’s next chief information officer, he had one question: where is Minneapolis? McNamara is a native of Ireland, and he received the call when he was in the throes of a distinguished tenure as the CIO of Tesco in the UK. As he delved deeper into this opportunity, he realized this was the same Target that had had a notorious cybersecurity breach. The company was also just coming off an unsuccessful entry into the Canadian market, as well. Given this introduction, what attracted McNamara to leave his company for another much farther from home?
“The downside when you looked at it was that there was a business that lacked confidence in itself, but the upside was that you have this phenomenal brand, and you had a business that was brilliantly run financially, so a balance sheet to die for,” said McNamara. “Then they had a tremendous body of highly capable people.” He reconned that this was a case of a company that had slightly lost its way, but the ingredients for a remarkable rebirth were there, given its human and financial resources.
Part of McNamara’s reputation was built based on a remarkable digital transformation at Tesco, which included industry leading ecommerce capabilities. As such, he knew that Target’s future also had to be digital. Target had under-invested in digital capabilities prior to his tenure, but the impetus for his hiring was a recognition that this needed to change.
Like so many companies in the middle of last decade, Target had outsourced significant parts of its IT. “When I began at Target, 70% of the team was outsourced… [First, we had to ensure that] we were only doing work that was of value strategically to the organization. Second, we [had to] build up our own engineering capability in-house with a focus on the team. Then third, [we had to modernize] our architecture.” McNamara underscored this last point noting that architecture was the key to his vision. “The reality is nobody can predict the future,” he noted. “I couldn’t predict what was going to happen over the ensuing six years when I joined and clearly, a lot of things did happen, including the pandemic, which nobody saw coming. What was important was to start building an architecture that would be scalable, stable, secure, but agile, [giving the company] speed.”
This began a journey that would take the IT team from being 70% outsourced to 93% insourced today. By developing a strong stable of technical talent, he had a much stronger foundation upon which to build. That included investing in data and analytics to a much greater degree. The journey that was created led to talent being attracted to join for the next phases. His team now boasts having roughly 400 engineers dedicated to data science, and another roughly 200 mathematicians. These talented technologists have been among the keys to Target’s success across the past six plus years.
Target can now us artificial intelligence (AI) to recommend products based on searches, to aid demand forecasting and ordering and all along the supply chain. AI is used for workload planning, assortment planning, pricing and promotion of products. It is also used for smaller initiatives such as investigating the quality of imagery that the company puts on the website, or to correct errors in item set up.
McNamara has been a CIO long enough that he has seen the role fundamentally change from an efficiency driver focused mostly on the internal operations to a money maker for the enterprise. “[Today, IT is] about selling stuff far more than it is about moving stuff, which it was in the past in retail,” McNamara said. “It has completely changed over the course of my career. That engineering capability was important to build that up.” He went on to say that DevOps and the migration from a project orientation to a product orientation have also been great growth catalysts for technology and digital divisions in retail and beyond.
Speaking of the product orientation, McNamara’s commitment to it was complete. “We moved the entire team into a product structure overnight,” he emphasized. “Then we burned our bridges behind us by releasing all the project managers, program managers, and business analysts. Then we got on with making it work, which might sound a wee bit cavalier, but it wasn’t. We backed it up with a ton of training.” Today, his team focuses on a couple of hundred products across the business, each of which has a release either daily or weekly. He noted that the only limit to the speed of these releases was the ability of the business and customers to absorb the change.
The pandemic changed the buying habits of many, and Target’s ability to lean on digital revenue streams and digital experiences proved to be a remarkable advantage. Here an analogy was helpful. McNamara was used to the need to scale up digital at the time of Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year that falls on the Monday following Thanksgiving. “We already had the ability to scale our systems to that kind of capacity, so that was relatively straightforward,” noted McNamara. “We also had to produce new applications and new features and functions both for our guests and our business at a phenomenal rate.” In essence, McNamara ran the Cyber Monday playbook throughout the year.
An example of an innovation that was necessary due to the health concerns of the pandemic was the limited number of people allowed in a store at any one time. It was critical that the company remain compliant with this. Many companies resorted to having team members stand at the doors and take a manual tally using click counters to determine who was coming in and who was going out. McNamara and his team developed an app powered using artificial intelligence that was installed over the entrance and exit doors of stores. The app kept an up-to-date count of how many people were in stores. That app took a week to produce and two weeks to roll out nationally.
A key to this remarkably rapid response was having the engineering team in house. “Having that engineering team in house without the handoffs, having a product structure that manages the backlog, and then having an agile architecture [all made the difference],” said McNamara. “There is no way Target would have had the standout year we had last year had we not invested in the capability in the team and the definition of the architecture.”
It has been announced that McNamara is months away from his retirement from Target. This will bring to an end one of the more remarkable CIO careers, but his history of transforming a retail stalwart into a digital leader will live on as his legacy.
Salesforce has announced the hiring of Juan Perez as its next chief information officer, succeeding Jo-ann Olsovsky, who held the role for four years. Perez, a past Forbes CIO Innovation Award winner, spent more than 32 years at UPS, his last five as the company’s chief information and engineering officer. He will assume his new role on April 4, 2022. Like Olsovsky, who joined the company from BNSF Railway, Perez has experience at the scale that Salesforce aspires to, given the size of UPS.
“I am thrilled that Juan is joining Salesforce as CIO,” said Salesforce Co-CEO, Bret Taylor. “He has a deep understanding of how to leverage technology to drive growth and scale, and has a strong track record of building impactful, high-performing teams. He’s also been a Salesforce customer since 2015 and deeply understands our technology and our values. I could not be more excited to partner with Juan in this next chapter of Salesforce’s growth.”
“Everything about Salesforce — the people, values, innovation and customer focus — all deeply resonate with me and align with my values,” said Perez. “After more than 30 years at UPS, I never thought I’d pursue a new career — but joining Salesforce is an honor and the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Perez has been a board member of The Hershey Company for three years, as well, and as such is part of a rare but growing group of board-level CIOs. His predecessor, Olsovsky, is also part of that club, as she is a board member of Canadian National Railway.
From inflation to the war in Ukraine and the ongoing effects of COVID-19, a perfect storm of economic, social, and geopolitical disruptions has increased uncertainty for business leaders. Building on research and insights from technology executives across industries, Metis Strategy has identified five actions leaders can take to navigate that uncertainty in the months ahead:
Recent downgrades to economic forecasts suggest an economic decline is on the way (indeed, some argue that it has already begun). In July, the International Monetary Fund released an updated global economic outlook which forecasted growth to slow to 3.2% in 2022, down an additional 0.4% from its April forecast and sitting at just above half of the 6.1% growth from 2021. The IMF cited the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, and tighter monetary policy among the key drivers behind the decline. In the U.S., inflation continues to rise, recently surpassing 9% to reach a 40-year high. Additionally, interest rate hikes to tame inflation are already underway by the U.S. Federal Reserve. With so many economic factors at play, uncertainty will be the only constant for the time being. As such, contingency planning and risk management in decision making will be vital to long-term success.
Multi-scenario planning allows decision makers to identify potential outcomes and the likely predictors of each to ensure that the organization is ready to act quickly no matter what comes to pass. Companies must not place too much emphasis on small data variations, as this course of action will not necessarily yield the best results given the array of factors at play. Rather than try to predict or plan for each incremental interest rate hike, for example, leaders instead should prepare for a combination of possible economic conditions: inflation and a recession, inflation and economic growth, stagflation, and so on.
By pursuing macro-level planning for multiple scenarios, organizations will better be able to see the shifting landscape and make timely adjustments rather than wavering due to “paralysis by analysis.”
New work models demand new infrastructure. That sentiment has never been as profound as it was over the past two and a half years as CIOs facilitated a massive shift to remote work. Today, those CIOs face a mandate to enable productive work in a hybrid environment.
As hybrid work models become the norm, it is time for CIOs to focus once again on their organization’s long-term agenda. Corporations know that the pace of change in technology has never been as quick as it is today, and at the same time will never be this slow again. With over 70% of organizations pursuing a flexible or hybrid work model, companies must invest in infrastructure, training, and culture to provide teams with the tools they need and ensure a strong and collaborative environment across more flexible work models.
That requires giving people the tools and skills they need to navigate the uncertainty that lies ahead. Upskilling and reskilling programs are some of the most prominent ways to do this. A LinkedIn study found that 94% of employees would stay longer at a company that invests in their learning. This has manifested itself in many ways at insurance giant MetLife, which launched a digital academy for employees to develop technically. The company has also worked to foster a culture in which employees feel empowered to achieve their career aspirations, Bill Pappas, MetLife’s Head of Technology and Operations, said in a recent episode of the Technovation podcast. Part of developing a strong hybrid model includes investing in the necessary tools, from collaboration platforms to cloud infrastructure, that enable teams to work productively from wherever they are.
Every organization must define its own version of a sustainable work model, including how to attract and retain employees, and how to nurture the desired culture. As old work operating models are redefined and new ones are implemented, investments in people and infrastructure that enable digital dexterity, paired with an increased focus on cultivating culture, will be key differentiators for organizations’ long-term success.
Supply chain challenges brought on by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, among other factors, have exposed the fragility of global trade networks, which have seen relatively little disruption over the past 30 years. The global economy’s reliance on Ukraine and Russia for crucial commodities such as oil, wheat, and neon (used in chip manufacturing) has hurt national economies and small businesses alike. The war also has disrupted both air cargo routes and sea shipments, driving up wait times and prices. Trade restrictions (such as sanctions and tariffs) and weakening trust between countries further compound those challenges. Increasingly, companies are questioning whether global supply chains will be as beneficial as it has been in the past.
Consequently, executives are re-assessing the viability of relationships with suppliers both foreign and domestic. Decision-makers may benefit from diversifying their supplier portfolios, possibly favoring those that are more geographically proximate and located in more politically stable countries to further help prepare and protect against future disruptions. Companies such as Intel and General Motors, for example, are building new manufacturing capabilities within the U.S. to decrease their dependency on suppliers in Asia. However, the decision to regionalize varies widely across organizations and industries, and many economists, academics, and executives are speculating about what the next decade holds. Professor Willy C. Shih of Harvard Business School argues that regional supply chain blocs may be the future of international trade as organizations emphasize safer and more stable routes. Others contend the benefits of a global supply chain (i.e. reduced costs), will regain value and that a “transformational shift from global to regional business” is unlikely. The common factor across both theories (and many others) is that significant instability is likely to endure. That makes building supply chains with sufficient flexibility of paramount importance. Technology offers several avenues to achieve this.
Many organizations are turning to digital tools to boost supply chain resilience and transparency. Companies can leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to carry out risk analysis of supply chain patterns in real-time. Autonomous planning, for example, allows organizations to increase supply chain efficiency and decrease necessary human involvement. Enterprise resource planning upgrades and advanced track-and-trace solutions also offer more visibility into the movement of goods and can help mitigate risk. Furthermore, emerging technologies such as blockchain, autonomous mobile robots, and 3D printing may offer additional benefits from the warehouse floor to a product’s final destination.
Cybersecurity remains a priority for all members of the executive suite. Last year saw a record number of data compromises, up 68% from 2020 with an average cost of a staggering $4.24 million per breach. Roughly 65% of respondents in Foundry’s 2022 State of The CIO study said current socioeconomic pressures have further boosted the importance of increasing cybersecurity, and cyber has been noted as the CEO’s top priority for IT in 2022.
The increasing volume of digital interactions has led to a dramatic rise in the likelihood of breaches and the cost of protection. Facing a threat landscape that is evolving faster than ever, organizations should act quickly to re-evaluate company polices, assess risk management strategy, and bolster both internal and external security practices. This requires a mindset shift in how security is viewed. Traditionally viewed purely as a cost center, organizations must view cybersecurity as a critical piece of the enterprise risk mitigation strategy. Today, businesses must continuously update their cybersecurity practices to reduce the risk of becoming a target and ensure they can respond quickly if or when they face an attack.
Technology leaders should communicate clearly to C-level peers and boards about how risk is being managed. At the same time, it’s important to continue developing strong cybersecurity hygiene at all levels of the organization and to disincentivize unsafe behaviors. Security policies should be evaluated and updated regularly to ensure that they are keeping up with changing times. Regardless of what specific technologies an organization pursues, it must accompany the mindset shift to cybersecurity ultimately as a risk mitigator and cost saver, rather than just a cost center.
Environment, social, and governance initiatives (ESG) have been on the rise for the past several years. Individuals are becoming increasingly concerned not only with working for a company that is actively pursuing ESG initiatives, but also in purchasing from one. This trend shows no signs of slowing down.
It is critical that organizations clearly communicate actions and results of ESG efforts to the public. Historically, however, ESG goals have not always had clear or easily obtainable data and metrics. Technology is making that job easier. Connected devices, for example, can conduct remote diagnostics of buildings, enabling “smart buildings” and helping to minimize their carbon footprint. CIOs can lead the charge on ESG initiatives by identifying key results that IT can deliver, weaving ESG into an organization’s broader digital strategy, and rallying support across the organization to ensure progress on ESG initiatives is fully realized.
The global business environment is in a period of transition. Leaders must use this time to ensure their organizations can respond in a nimble fashion to unexpected changes and not only survive, but thrive, no matter what the future holds. This requires a holistic look across people, process, technology, ecosystems, and strategy and, in many cases, willingness across the enterprise to transform operating models and ditch traditional ways of working. Technology leaders can be at the forefront of this shift, pairing their expertise in digital with a focus on operational excellence to drive sustainable change across the enterprise.
Our next Digital Symposium is just around the corner. Join us on September 8 as industry leaders and technology executives share their perspectives on fostering innovative cultures, innovating during dynamic times, and creating new digital pathways to reach customers, among other topics.
CIOs and other technology leaders, register here to reserve your spot today. We look forward to seeing you!
(Click here for highlights from our most recent Digital Symposium, and stay tuned to our YouTube channel for videos of our panel discussions.)
12:00 – 12:10 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Welcome and introduction to the Metis Strategy team.
Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
12:10 – 12:25 p.m.
Fireside Chat: Gabe Dalporto, Chief Executive Officer, Udacity
Gabe Dalporto, Chief Executive Officer, Udacity
Moderated by Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
12:25 – 12:50 p.m.
Data & Analytics as a Source of Resilience and Growth
Vinod Bidarkoppa; SVP, Walmart; Chief Technology Officer, Sam’s Club
Susan Doniz, Chief Information Officer and SVP of IT & Data Analytics, Boeing
12:50 – 1:05 p.m.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Orion Hindawi, Co-Founder & CEO, Tanium
Orion Hindawi, Co-Founder & CEO, Tanium
1:05 – 1:20 p.m.
Fireside Chat: Chandra Dhandapani; Chief Executive Officer, Global Workplace Solutions; CBRE
Chandra Dhandapani; Chief Executive Officer, Global Workplace Solutions; CBRE
1:20 – 1:35 p.m.
Fireside Chat: Kevin Stine, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Kevin Stine, Chief of the Applied Cybersecurity Division, NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL)
1:35 – 2:00 p.m.
Transforming a Global IT Operating Model
Ash Banerjee, Global Chief Information Officer, Dentons
Anil Bhatt, Global Chief Information Officer, Elevance Health
Moderated by Michael Bertha, Vice President & Central Office Lead, Metis Strategy
2:00 – 2:25 p.m.
Creating Innovative Sustainable Business Models
Frank Cassulo, Chief Digital Officer, Chevron
Bhavani Amirthalingam, Chief Digital Information Officer, Ameren
Moderated by Chris Davis, Partner & West Coast Office Lead, Metis Strategy
2:25 – 2:50 p.m.
Driving Strategic IT Modernization Efforts
Marykay Wells, Chief Information Officer, Pearson
Carman Wenkoff, Chief Information Officer, Dollar General
Moderated by Steven Norton; Co-Head Executive Networks, Research, and Media; Metis Strategy
2:50 – 3:00 p.m.
Closing remarks and adjourn
Click here for highlights from our last Digital Symposium, or view the panel discussions on YouTube. We look forward to seeing you!
