Career / Interviews

Name: Catherine Goodison

Name: Amichai Shulman

Jim Highsmith is somewhat of a luminary in Agile circles. The co-author of the Agile Manifesto, which guides the Agile project management philosophy, is in Australia for the Thoughworks Live conference, which focuses on helping large enterprise be lean and innovative.

Google's global vice-president of enterprise, Amit Singh, sat down with CIO Australia to talk strategy, products and the changing nature of the CIO role

As CIO of Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore group Rohan Davidson plays a critical role in overseeing the IT requirements of the operations the mining company owns and manages across North America and Australia. In Western Australia’s Pilbarra region alone, for example, Rio Tinto operates a network of 14 mines, three shipping terminals and the largest privately owned heavy freight railway in Australia, which spans 1400 kilometres.

As CIO of Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore group Rohan Davidson plays a critical role in overseeing the IT requirements of the operations the mining company owns and manages across North America and Australia. In Western Australia’s Pilbarra region alone, for example, Rio Tinto operates a network of 14 mines, three shipping terminals and the largest privately owned heavy freight railway in Australia, which spans 1400 kilometres.

After joining the Fortescue Metals Group as CIO in January 2011, Vito Forte now leads the company’s IT department as it assists the resources industry giant to keep pace with its strategy of rapid growth and expansion. In this interview, he talks to CIO about Fortescue’s transformation plans, the rise of Cloud and mobile technologies, and why, when it comes to IT innovation, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

After joining the Fortescue Metals Group as CIO in January 2011, Vito Forte now leads the company’s IT department as it assists the resources industry giant to keep pace with its strategy of rapid growth and expansion. In this interview, he talks to CIO about Fortescue’s transformation plans, the rise of Cloud and mobile technologies, and why, when it comes to IT innovation, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

With its extra screen space, it makes sense for an avid Angry Birds gamer to choose a tablet. But Parmalat chief information officer — and Angry Birds player — Barry Wiech still favours the game on an iPhone; its portability allows him to carry it around in his pocket. It is this practicality that Wiech also applies to his role.

Tod O’Dell worked his way up from the help desk to service delivery and management of the development team at McGrath Estate Agents.

Kathryn Hawkins is not a gadget person but she does have a soft spot for the Nintendo Wii and its fitness games. That’s because after working at not-for-profit organisation, Masonic Homes, and seeing how the Wii improved the physical and emotional wellbeing of aged residents, she decided to install a console at home.

Australian CIO talks about their industry, career and favourite smartphone

In April of 1995, Steve Jobs, then head of NeXT Computer, was interviewed as part of the Computerworld Honors Program Oral History project. The wide-ranging interview was conducted by Daniel Morrow, executive director of the awards program.

In your new book, The Leader's Checklist, you suggest leaders make a list of principles to review when making decisions. How does a checklist help a CIO, who has probably been leading a long time?

During the Saleforce.com Dreamforce event in San Francisco, CEO Marc Benioff sat down with some of the leaders in the industry to talk about Cloud computing and governance in the digital age. The panelincluded former US federal government chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, and Burberry chief executive officer, Angela Ahrendts.

During the Saleforce.com Dreamforce event in San Francisco, CEO Marc Benioff sat down with some of the leaders in the industry to talk about Cloud computing and governance in the digital age. The panel was made up the former US federal government chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, and Burberry chief executive officer, Angela Ahrendts. The four leaders discussed various issues during the course of the wide ranging conversation, including best practice for Cloud computing by governments and the importance of human rights.

In March, Western Digital agreed to buy Hitachi Global Storage Technologies> (HGST), the disk drive subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., in a stock and cash transaction valued at $US4.3 billion. HGST CEO Steve Milligan will join WD as president at the closing of the deal, expected in the fourth quarter.

NBN Co’s tasks are split between network construction and business-as-usual telecommunications, and few of the company’s employees could map out the same 20-year careers at the company that often herald the same position at Telstra. They share much of the history, however; many of the staff hired so far herald from chief executive, Mike Quigley’s own alma mater — Alcatel-Lucent — as well as a range of Australian and international telcos.

NBN Co has a head start that would leave many telcos green with envy. Armed with $27 billion in government funding, and at least $9 billion from debt markets, the two-yearold National Broadband Network wholesaler has the resources and backing that could catapult it ahead many of its decadesold equivalents. That’s not to say the challenge before the organisation isn’t any less daunting; within the decade NBN Co is set to change broadband in Australia. The monopoly wholesaler is bound by carefully worded legislation to provide equal access to many of those it will compete with on a shiny fibre-to-the-home network, and satellite and wireless offshoots. Best of all, the company is starting with a clean slate.

Nigel Cameron has a question. Several questions actually. As the chief executive officer of the Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies (C-PET), Washington DC’s independent think tank on science and technology policy, his role is to ask questions to which nobody yet has the answers.