The key to Bhupesh Arora's job at Avery Dennison is mitigating risk while delivering value.
"When you charter new territory, you have a high level of risk, but you also have a high level of reward," says Arora, who serves as senior director of new technologies and IT effectiveness at the adhesive label maker in Pasadena, Calif.
Arora, 40, who stepped into this newly created position two years ago, focuses a lot of energy on managing the risks inherent in new technologies as well as the changes people and processes must undergo to make the most of those new systems.
That was the case when he launched a global portal and social networking tool as part of the CEO's initiatives to drive growth and innovation. The tool was also designed to help unify the company into a coherent and collaborative business. His project leadership has produced widespread usage of the tool, with 1,500 communities and 700 blogs now online.
"I strongly believe that there is a timing to introducing new technologies," says Arora, noting that waiting too long for technology to mature erodes the business benefits.
"Bhupesh has a really strong passion for business," says senior vice president and CIO Rich Hoffman. "His questions can surprise people -- they don't expect to talk about value creation with IT. But that's how Bhupesh is built."
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