Premier 100 IT Leader: Christine Shimizu

Christine Shimizu, vice president and CIO for the Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) division of Raytheon, keeps an eye on the future while focusing on what her company and its clients need today.

"There's a balance between the business imperatives, the market forces and the technology landscape that's pertinent to our customer base and our enterprise IT strategy. We take those pieces together and come up with the road map," says Shimizu, whose staff of 400 serves both Raytheon's IIS employees and its external customers.

Shimizu's leadership has moved IT from "a classic support role into a strategic one," says Todd Probert, vice president of engineering and technology in Raytheon's IIS division. "She has a great business understanding, and she gets customer engagement and the value IT brings to that."

Case in point is the recently completed Cornerstone project, which delivered a collaboration platform to Raytheon employees working in classified environments. The project uses SharePoint, virtual bridges and other tools to enable collaboration -- and improve productivity and efficiency -- while providing a secure environment.

"Our IT professionals are required to have knowledge of technology, business and how our business works," Shimizu says. "And as IT leaders, our challenge is being the valued partner in growing the business."