Stories by Meridith Levinson

Blog: Five Tips for Managing the Messaging About Your Departure From a Company

When you leave an employer, whether you leave on your own accord or are forced out, you've got to take control of what gets said about your departure. Internal and external colleagues, subordinates, friends and contacts in your network (as well as nosy journalists and bloggers like me) are going to gossip and speculate about the reason you're leaving. To nip the gossip in the bud and to prevent the rumors that will inevitably circulate on the web and in the real world from damaging your reputation and hurting your chances of finding another job, you need to have a single, clear and concise message about your departure to deliver to the world.

Written by Meridith Levinson23 May 08 14:47

Blog: Promotions at the CME and Citi

Jim Krause is retiring from the CME Group on June 30. Krause, who currently serves as managing director and CIO, has worked for the derivatives exchange for 23 years. He has been involved with every major technology initiative that the exchange has undertaken since 1985, including the design, development and implementation of the CME Globex electronic trading platform, the Clearing 21 clearing system, and the integration of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME.)

Written by Meridith Levinson19 May 08 14:32

Nine Things You Need to Know About Rescinded Job Offers

With the economy weakening, job seekers are more likely to find employers revoke jobs they offered. In this Q&A, employment attorney Mimi Moore explains how prospective employees can protect themselves from this spectre and advises employers on the dangers of this practice

Written by Meridith Levinson14 May 08 12:20

Can Google's new CIO fill Douglas Merrill's shoes?

Google has hired Ben Fried, a managing director in charge of Morgan Stanley's application infrastructure, to replace Douglas Merrill in the CIO role. The news of Google's most recent hire comes just three weeks after Merrill left the search giant to serve as president of EMI Music's new digital music business.

Written by Meridith Levinson05 May 08 14:10

Blog:Good CIOs are Hard to Find. They're Even Harder to Interview

Hiring good, solid CIOs has long been a challenge for companies. One of the reasons it's so difficult is because often the people involved in recruiting the CIO (e.g. the company's top executives and chief HR wonk) don't understand what a CIO does. Many still think the CIO is the guy or gal in charge of all the computers. (For more information on what the CIO role is really about, see Nine Things the CIO Wished You Knew About their Jobs.)

Written by Meridith Levinson02 May 08 14:07

Blog: CIOs Increasingly Seek New Jobs with Small Companies

IT leaders are growing increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs. That's a conclusion from executive search firm Harvey Nash's latest survey of 258 CIOs, CTOs and senior- and mid-level IT managers.

Written by Meridith Levinson04 April 08 14:55

Nine Things Managers and Employees Need to Know About Layoffs

Whether you're showing employees to the door or being shown the door, you must avoid legal trouble. Veteran employment attorney Jay Warren shares the top layoff mistakes that companies make and outlines employee rights at pink-slip time

Written by Meridith Levinson26 March 08 11:31

Do Consultants Have What It Takes to Be CIO?

Companies are increasingly hiring consultants into CIO positions. In the US, the Hartford Financial Services Group hired a 25-year veteran of Accenture as its CIO last October. Paper and packaging distributor Unisource Worldwide also hired an Accenture consultant as its CIO in August 2007. Other companies that hired consultants as their CIOs in the past year include:

Written by Meridith Levinson25 March 08 11:09

How to Identify Bad CIOs in Their Natural Habitat

Bad CIOs are a blight on the IT profession and on the organizations that employ them. The following list of behaviours common among bad CIOs will prevent you from hiring them into your organizations. If they're already there, it will give you good reason to eliminate them

Written by Meridith Levinson12 March 08 11:46

What It's Like to Be a First-Time CIO

Editor's Note: Jason Scott joined Innovation Ads, a full-service online advertising agency, as its first-ever CIO on September 7, 2007. Scott, 31, had never held the CIO role before. Most recently, he ran IT for Corporate Express Imaging, a $450 million division of office products supplier Corporate Express. Scott started out as an administrative assistant in the IT department at Corporate Express Imaging when he was 20 and still in college. Over 10 years, he climbed the corporate ladder at Corporate Express only to realize that he'd have to leave the company if wanted to become a CIO.

Written by Meridith Levinson11 March 08 14:04

Take This IT Job and Shove It: Test-Drive a New Career

Want to trade software development for golf instruction or pastry creation? VocationVacations' internship program provides an immersion course with a pro in your dream field

Written by Meridith Levinson20 Feb. 08 10:53

Should You Get an MBA?

The pressure is on IT leaders to prove their business savvy, and job postings are asking for an MBA. Do you really need one to make it as a CIO? We asked two IT executives for help assembling arguments for and against pursuing the degree

Written by Meridith Levinson23 Jan. 08 11:16

Blog: Second Acts: Why CEOs Get Them And CIOs Don't

Last week's news about Howard Schultz's return to the helm of Starbucks as CEO got me thinking about second acts. They're fairly common for CEOs. A year ago, Michael Dell was called back to the executive suite to revitalize the computer maker's growth. And Charles Schwab was reinstalled as CEO in July 2004, after having stepped down from that same role just 14 months earlier, in May 2003.

Written by Meridith Levinson18 Jan. 08 12:36
[]