Rick Vosila is director IT, continuous improvement and quality, with United Technologies Corporation, Climate, Controls and Security Division (UTC CCS). A bit of a mouthful, and probably better and informally described, at least to most Australians, as Chubb Security.
IT needs to be a trusted and engaged business unit partner, says Charlie Sukkar, CIO with building products firm CSR Ltd. And that is exactly what he has set out to do – building strong relationships with other C-level executives which have a focus that is “more about achievement than it is about hierarchy”.
Nobody knows anything. These were the first words in American novelist, playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Goldman’s book, Adventures in the Screen Trade.
Adam Levin did not start out in IT. Following his compulsory military service in South Africa, he spent three years in catering as a chef, followed by the almost obligatory travel through Europe – the first stage in a rapid move onto the world stage of IT management, and the issues that that level of control brings.
Kel Telford walks the floor of The Star casino in Sydney like it’s his domain, as equally at home with the ‘slots’ as he is with the people who work with them, the croupiers at the gaming tables and the customers.
Does the board respect the CIO’s viewpoint? Are CIOs seen as ‘big picture’ people? Does the board see the CIO’s role as purely a technical one? Could a CIO ever be CEO? According to a recent survey, 54 per cent of CIOs have aspirations to use their role as a gateway to general business management positions, and many consider themselves as a contender for future chief executive.
Cloud computing is without doubt the buzz word of the moment. A survey by CIO undertaken this year indicated that opinion of it as a “most important visionary plan element” had risen to third place in the rankings, thanks to a doubling in the interviewees’ rating over the last two years.
What department heads and line managers think of HR, what employees think, and what HR managers think.
Stephanie Christopher, national director of SHL Australia New Zealand, a company which assists companies — including recruitment firms — in their recruitment activities, says that for the more technical positions HR has to fill, “it would lean toward the line manager for advice; it would be the line manager who would have final say”.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: “Managers aspire to be strategic, but they are required to fulfil their duties as a functional expert.”
One problem that is typical for NFPs is the different nature within an organisation of IT users and the technology they apply.
How are relations between not-for-profit with IT vendors?
Within any organisation, however — below the its culture and style of management — there are similarities between not-for-profit and commercial organisations.
CIOs talk about the role technology plays in this vibrant sector.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often driven at the executive level and CIOs can use their decision-making power to influence
its direction