CIO Perspectives Houston 2015
 
CIO Perspectives Houston Agenda
Thursday, November 12, 2015
8:00 am - 9:00 amContinental Breakfast & Networking
8:00 am - 4:30 pmRegistration Open
9:00 am - 9:15 amWelcome and Opening Remarks
Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO magazine & Events
9:15 am - 10:00 amFast-Tracking Innovation at GE
Neeraj Vijay, CIO, GE Flow & Process Technologies, GE Oil & Gas
Fail fast, learn quickly, move forward. That's the classic business advice for startups and entrepreneurs. But how does a mega-sized enterprise like $149 billion GE play such a nimble game? One answer is its FastWorks program, an agile, quick-turnaround approach to developing new products the way start-ups do. "The one thing it teaches you is that you can't innovate by yourself," says CIO Neeraj Vijay, who serves as one of GE's internal FastWorks coaches. "We are very open about this journey, and we're experimenting and learning." In this opening keynote session, Neeraj will talk about how his innovation coaching work has changed the way he operates as a CIO, and how the IT organization works differently now with its business partners. He'll also share some of the early results of this new approach to launching MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) and involving customers more effectively in the design process.
10:00 am - 10:20 amThe Rise of the Disruptive CIO
Jim Houghton, Chief Technology Officer for the Americas Region, CSC
CIOs have long desired the opportunity to play a more strategic or transformative role within the enterprise. That opportunity has arrived. In fact, we’ve reached a highly anticipated tipping point -- from CIOs merely aligning with business goals to becoming strategic, disruptive forces driving change and growth for the business. And after years of belt tightening, CIOs are now investing in tomorrow. In this session, Jim Houghton, CSC's CTO for the Americas Region, will share the eye-opening results of the annual CSC Global CIO Survey, conducted with IDG Research Services, which delivers insights into how innovative technology executives plan to lead their companies into a brighter business future.
10:20 am - 10:50 amRefreshment and Networking Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pmAuthentic Leadership, Customer Centricity and the Future of IT
Mike Giles, SVP & CIO, Express Energy Services
Paul Krueger, CIO, Stewart & Stevenson
Todd Renaud, CIO and VP, Conn's HomePlus
Wayne Shurts, EVP and CTO, Sysco Corp.
Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO magazine & Events
"Authentic leaders establish trusting relationships with people throughout their organizations," writes Harvard Business School Professor Bill George, author of "Discover Your True North." His work on authentic leadership has a special resonance for Houston CIOs these days as they cope with a challenging economy and constant business pressures on IT for both cost efficiencies and innovative ideas. How can CIOs move their teams away from an order-taking, inward-focused mindset toward more consultative, customer-focused approaches? What must change in IT organizations to enable quicker response to business and customer needs? Our panel of Houston-area IT leaders will talk about how they are handling these leadership challenges, managing C-suite expectations and preparing their companies for the next wave of technology changes.
12:00 pm - 1:30 pmLuncheon with Table Discussions
  • Disruptive CIO, hosted by CSC
  • Secure DevOps, hosted by Delphix
  • Mobile Innovation, hosted by MOBI
  • Big Data Analytics, hosted by Platfora
  • SDDC, hosted by Pluribus Networks
  • Bimodal IT, hosted by Red Hat
  • Service Management, hosted by ServiceNow
  • M2M: Energy & Utilities, hosted by T-Systems
1:30 pm - 2:15 pmChanging the Business Conversation with Predictive Analytics
Link Alander, Vice Chancellor and CIO, Lone Star College System
Everybody has dashboards, scorecards and data drill-down tools these days. "But the biggest problem is that data is not unlocked for people to take action," says CIO Link Alander of the Lone Star College System. "Once you do that, you can make a difference very quickly." One of the fastest-growing community college systems in the nation, Lone Star serves nearly 100,000 students with an IT staff of about 200 -- plus another 22 devoted to data analytics work. That focus is paying off today with a new cloud-based enrollment management dashboard that allows business users to "zero in on everything from headcount to key metrics." In this compelling presentation, Link will provide a behind-the-scenes look at predictive analytics in action.
2:15 pm - 2:45 pmLeadership Styles and New Realities in Today’s CIO Job Market
Kay Fuhrman, Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
This fast-paced session with Heidrick & Struggles’ Partner Kay Furman will highlight the latest hiring trends for CIOs across the country and within the Houston market -- with special emphasis on the impact of different leadership styles. Kay will also talk about Heidrick’s “Leadership Signature” research, which has identified eight leadership archetypes by using a combination of psychometric and statistical analysis from a study of more than a thousand largely U.S.-based senior executives. She’ll share aggregate findings about different IT leadership profiles, giving attendees a chance to consider their own approaches and the management situations where those styles work best. For example, are you more of a “Collaborator” who values empathy and team-building, or a “Forecaster” who strategically calls upon your own subject-matter expertise? Is your style more that of an “Energizer” who elicits emotional engagement from others, or a “Pilot” who adroitly manages complexity? Kay will also provide a link to the Leadership Signature® survey so that you can discover your own style.
2:45 pm - 3:15 pmCIO Publisher's Panel: The Journey to Enterprise 2020
Woody Evans, Director, Solution Architecture, Delphix
Denise Hemke, Director of Product Management, Platfora
Bob Layton, VP of NA Enterprise and Channel Sales, Pluribus Networks
Rachael Youngman, Regional Solutions Director , MOBI
Adam Dennison, SVP and Publisher, IDG Enterprise
In this fast paced session, CIO Publisher Adam Dennison will share some key research findings on CIO priorities and industry trends surrounding technology investments. Then his industry expert panelists will weigh in with their views on how various market dynamics are affecting customers in this new era of IT. Citing specifics from their customer engagements, the panel will talk about the problems their products are solving. They will also share their thoughts on the enterprise of the future as they discuss how CIOs and IT organizations can have the greatest strategic impact on the evolution of digital business.
3:15 pm - 3:30 pmAfternoon Refreshment Break
3:30 pm - 4:30 pmPlanning for Security Breaches: What CIOs Need to Know Now
Matthew Karlyn, Partner, Technology Transactions & Outsourcing Practice, Foley & Lardner LLP
Security breaches happen to companies – every day, around the world. It is an unfortunate reality in today’s data-driven economy. Because most companies will feel the impact of a security breach at some point in time, says tech attorney Matt Karlyn, it is critical that companies prepare in advance to minimize the impact to the assets, employees, and customers. “The entire C-suite and board is on the hot seat for security these days,” he says. As a result, “board members, CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives are laser focused on understanding corporate information security. In this closing keynote, you’ll hear Matt’s expert legal analysis and practical advice on how to prepare the company for and protect the company from information security incidents.
4:30 pm - 4:45 pmClosing Remarks
Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO magazine & Events
4:45 pm - 5:15 pmNetworking Cocktail Reception