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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Podcast Index | Deezer | Youtube Music | RSS | More
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.
Among other topics, Bill discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Bill Peduto’s Biography
Mayor Peduto is the 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh, a position he has held since 2014. While in office, he has been an advocate of ride sharing transportation throughout the city, most notably being Uber’s recent pilot autonomous car program. Through his time as an elected official and a resident, Mayor Peduto has been able to see Pittsburgh transform into a city driven by technology.
Prior to being elected city executive, Mayor Peduto served as a member of the Pittsburgh City Council where he chaired the Committee on General Services, Technology and the Arts. He also oversaw the City Information Systems department, the Cable Bureau and the Art Commission on Council during his time on the City Council.
Mayor Peduto earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State University and a master’s degree in public policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh.
I recently caught up with Mayor Peduto over the phone from City Hall in Pittsburgh, and our conversation covered World Class IT Principle Four, IT & Business Partnership, as we discussed how the City of Pittsburgh forms strategic partnerships with technology leaders; and Principle Five, External Partnerships, as we discussed how partnerships between municipal, educational, and private organizations facilitate innovation and growth moving forward. We also discussed how Pittsburgh has used technology to correct an economic downturn over the last few decades, as well as a variety of other topics.
Tristan Boutros Biography
Tristan is the Chief Operating Officer of Product, Technology & Design at The New York Times. In that role, he is responsible for end-to-end delivery of numerous consumer facing products and internal enterprise systems and processes as well as digital transformation and operations for an organization of over 500 employees.
Prior to working at The New York Times, Tristan was the Senior Vice President of Technology and Business Process for Warner Music Group, where he was responsible for IT operations management, business transformation strategy and planning, as well as end-to-end service delivery including the design and delivery of a next generation, cloud based, enterprise software platform. Prior to Warner Music Group, he worked in various senior leadership positions for BlackBerry.
Tristan received his Bachelors of Commerce in Marketing & Management Labor Studies from University of Windsor.
Dave Smoley Biography
Since 2013, Dave has been CIO of AstraZeneca, a $25 billion global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases.
Prior to AstraZeneca, Dave served as Senior Vice President and CIO of Flextronics, a global manufacturing services firm. His extensive IT career includes roles at Honeywell where he was Vice President and CIO of Aerospace Electronics Systems, and General Electric where he held the position of Director and Chief Information Officer for GE Power Controls in Barcelona, Spain.
Dave is a 2013 inductee into the CIO magazine Hall of Fame. Dave has a B.S. in Computer Science from Clemson University and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Among other topics, Baljit discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy:
Baljit Dail’s Biography
Baljit is the Chairman and CEO of JDA Software, a software and consultancy company providing supply chain management, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and collaborative category management solutions. Prior to leading JDA he was an operating partner at New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm based in New York. From 2005 to 2012 Baljit served in several executive roles at Aon Corporation including CEO of Aon Hewitt and Aon Consulting, COO of Aon Benfield, and CIO of Aon Corporation.
Baljit also serves on the boards of Midwest ISO (where he also chairs the Information Technology Committee), Alexander Mann Solutions, AmWins, and Western Dental.
Baljit holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Warwick in England.
