Metis Strategy

Among other topics, Brian discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The unique paths that bring CIOs to the Information Officer position * Transition of IT from simply a “support role” to an integral aspect of organization’s innovative processes * The role of information technology in a business’s strategic planning * Information technology as a business function * The benefits to the CIO position for members to hold advisory positions in other organizations * Eye on trends:  The growing importance of big data, cloud computing, analytics, and the importance of not innovating for innovations sake Brian Bonner’s Biography Brian is the Vice-President and Chief Information Officer at Texas Instruments, a $13B semiconductor company with more than 30,000 employees worldwide. Brian also sits on the company’s Strategic Leadership Team. Prior to his current role, Brian roles included a number of non-IT positions such as Vice-President, Worldwide Mass Marketing and Acquisition Integration at Texas Instruments. He has also held general management, sales, and product development roles and was responsible for product strategy & development as well as revenue generation after joining the company in 1995 as a technical sales engineer. Prior to joining Texas Instruments, Brian began his career at Chrysler Corporation as an engineer as well. Brian is an advisory board member for Gemini Israel Funds and Copper Mobile. He has also served as the former board member of the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science and the Midland Chamber of Commerce. Brian holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering as well as an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Among other topics, Lee discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The necessary steps that need to be taken by CIOs to be viewed as strategic partners and advisors within organizations * The evolution of Lee’s responsibilities as a CIO within Red Hat, and the challenges of heading an engineer-dominant staff * The significance and direction of innovation within the IT department at Red Hat * How open-source, non-hierarchical organizations can flourish with the implementation of an Agile infrastructure * Eye on the trends: The ever-increasing importance of cloud-computing and consumer based collaboration solutions * Q&A: Lee answers questions pertaining to how the CMO and CIO partner with each other at Red Hat Lee Congdon’s Biography Lee is the chief information officer of Red Hat, and in that role, he is responsible for the company’s global information systems, including the technology strategy, enterprise architecture, information technology governance, solutions delivery, and systems operations supporting the company. His role includes enabling Red Hat’s business through services such as knowledge management, technology innovation, technology-enabled collaboration, and process improvement. Prior to joining Red Hat, he was Managing Vice President, Information Technology at Capital One where he developed and delivered information technology solutions for the firm’s corporate functions and Global Financial Services group. Before Capital One, Lee was Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, at Nasdaq, where he led the organization’s efforts to identify, implement, and operate technology solutions for Nasdaq Japan, Nasdaq Europe, and other strategic global ventures. Earlier, at Citicorp, Lee led multiple global technology initiatives for the private bank and the corporate bank. Lee began his career at IBM as an operating system developer and held several technology and technical marketing positions of increasing responsibility with that firm. Lee holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Among other topics, Helen discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Helen’s unorthodox path to CIO and how it contributed to her understanding of IT as part of a business. * The value of the broader perspective due to a business background in Helen’s success as a CIO. * The challenges and strategies in mending the relationship between IT and business to garner support and trust. * The importance of appropriately marketing accomplishments in IT both internally as well as across the organization. * Helen’s rise to becoming a Board level CIO and the impact of an IT executive’s perspective to the rest of the board. * Eye on the trends: The growing importance of cloud and mobile technology and the need to understand how to analyze and leverage risks to gain support for related projects. Helen Cousins’ Biography Helen is the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Lincoln Trust Company, a role she has had since 2006. As part of the ownership team, she has led the transformation of the company into an analytical organization by implementing a business process management program encompassing business intelligence and workflow management for the entire organization. Prior to her current role, Helen was SVP and CIO for Dex Media, Inc where she led the enterprise implementation of a new technology platform. As part of the executive team she participated in what was, at the time, the 2nd largest leverage buyout in US history, an IPO and subsequent sale of the company. Prior to joining Dex , Helen was SVP and Corporate CIO at Cendant where she was responsible for orchestrating one of the largest outsourcing deals with a major technology firm as well as leading the IT due diligence and integration for several major acquisitions which increased revenue by $15B. She has held several other executive positions managing global organizations, spending her first 25 years on Wall Street with top Fortune 100 / 500 firms. She has won various awards and recognitions for her accomplishments including being named to CIO Magazine’s prestigious CIO Hall of Fame in 2012. Helen graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in accounting and economics from Fordham University and an MBA from Pace University.

Among other topics, Rob discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The future of technology, and what certain trends Rob is keen to leverage in the next 3-4 years * The manner in which the population and skills of the IT department are evolving to meet the new demands of the modern company * The evolution of Rob’s responsibilities as a CIO within FedEx, and the benefits of having a position dedicated solely to the pursuits of IT advancement and development * The significance of board level access for CIOs within organizations and the skill sets that such individuals bring to the boards of these upper-level institutions * Rob’s personal ideology of engagement over complacency in a leadership position within IT * Eye on the trends: The increasing importance of the connection between physical and digital networks, and the resulting innovations derived from the intersection of these two networks Rob Carter’s Biography Rob is co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer of FedEx Corporate Services. Rob is responsible for setting the technology direction of the FedEx applications, infrastructure, networks, and data centers that provide around-the-clock and around-the-globe support for FedEx product offerings. He is a member of the five-person executive committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities. Rob joined FedEx in 1993 and has more than 30 years of systems development and implementation experience. Rob was named to Fortune magazine’s Executive Dream Team, Rob was also ranked 18th on Fast Company magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” 2010 list. He received Information Week magazine’s Chief of the Year Award in 2000, 2001 and 2005. He is also a seven-time recipient of CIO magazine’s CIO 100 Award and was a charter inductee into the publication’s CIO Hall of Fame. Rob is a member of the Saks Incorporated and First Horizon National Corporation Boards of Directors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer and information science from the University of Florida and his master’s degree from the University of South Florida.  

Among other topics, Stuart discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * Johnson & Johnson IT’s organizational divisions and how IT balances standardization and customization across its 250 operating companies * Stuart’s takeaways from his first 100 days as CIO at three different companies * How Stuart’s IT team aligns itself with the business by engaging the J&J credo * J&J IT’s effort to promote transparency in the use of dashboards * How Stuart fosters innovation and idea generation across a global IT group of 4,000 * Eye on trends: Understanding and serving the customer through actionable data and analytics, and facilitating real-time IT operations with virtual computing embedded in cloud Stuart McGuigan’s Biography Stuart is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Johnson & Johnson. In that role, he has responsibility for shaping the IT strategy and leading the global IT organization. He is responsible for working closely with leaders across Johnson & Johnson to ensure that IT accelerates innovation, delivers against key business performance goals and helps drive growth initiatives. He is also a member of the Corporate Group Operating Committee. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Stuart was Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President for CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States. Prior to that, Stuart was Senior Vice President and CIO for Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Before joining Liberty Mutual, he was Senior Vice President for Information Services for Medco Health Solutions. Stuart has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Fairfield University and earned Master of Science and Master of Philosophy degrees in the Cognitive Science program at Yale University. In 2010, he was appointed to the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council.

Among other topics, Tracey discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * The role and evolution of the role of CIOs and COOs and the evolution of Tracey’s career path * The ways in which the position of CIO lends itself nicely to the responsibilities of a COO * The value of a CIO’s breadth of perspective and understanding as a member of the C-suite * Tracey’s belief in the importance of culture more than strategy as a key to being a successful leader * The role of social media both internally and externally in a company * Eye on the trends: The growth of smartphones and tablets and their impact on augmented reality’s presence and power in marketing Tracey Rothenberger’s Biography Tracey is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ricoh Americas Corporation and is responsible for the Services Consulting, Information Technology, Supply Chain, Customer Administration and Process Improvement teams. He has also been appointed as a Corporate Senior Advisor of Ricoh Company Ltd. Tracey has been a key figure leading the major aspects of Ricoh Americas’ transformation to a services led company. Prior to his current role, Tracey was CIO and Chief Process Officer of Ricoh Americas. Prior to his time at Ricoh, Tracey was Senior Vice President and CIO for IKON Office Solutions before it merged with Ricoh. Tracey has also held senior leadership positions at Ecolab and at U.S. Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America. Tracey has also held senior leadership positions at Ecolab, a Fortune 500 company and U.S. Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America.

Among other topics, Nic discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * The future of technology, and what trends he sees evolving in the online education sector * Revolution of the distribution model utilized by Edmodo and other virtual education platforms * The significance of focusing exclusively on a pre-K to grade 12 audience, and the challenges of reaching those of a younger age * The need for a digital platform in education, and the changes that accompanied the transition from analog to digital * How Edmodo was designed with the teacher in mind first compared with other online education platforms that were designed primarily from the student’s point of view * Eye on the trends: The growing importance and power of a global education network Nic Borg’s Biography Nic is the co-founder and chief product officer of Edmodo, a private K-12 classroom communication tool that’s drawn 15 million teachers and students together in only four years. On the secure platform teachers and students can collaborate, share content and access educational apps to augment in-class learning. Edmodo’s goal is to create social media tools that help teachers engage students and to make sure every school in the world has access to them. Before launching Edmodo, Borg worked at Kaneland High School in Maple Park, IL for seven years, building web-based tools and learning management solutions. He has been named to Forbes prestigious “30 Under 30” list, as an innovative entrepreneur under the age of 30. Nic has a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University.

Among other topics, Umar discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * Umar’s journey from educational experiences in Pakistan to the UK and the US, and how he leveraged experiences at Cambridge and MIT to bring back lessons to Pakistan * How LUMS first responded to the entrepreneurial ethos that Umar brought to the table i.e. creating real-impact projects as opposed to academic research * Umar’s  innovations and projects that have had real social and private sector impact in Pakistan * The importance of the mobile technology and platforms in Pakistan, the world’s fourth largest “texting” country * Cultural and logistical constraints faced by tech entrepreneurs in Pakistan, including a murky intellectual property legal space * The rise of citizen journalism * Eye on the trends: Fundamental changes occurring in the education and media fields, which create great opportunities for entrepreneurs like Umar in Pakistan Umar Saif’s Biography: Umar is the Vice Chancellor of the Information Technology University in Pakistan, a newly created university that aims to implement a unique teaching methodology and cross-disciplinary research that is grounded in real-world problem solving to educate the next generation of innovative and entrepreneurial engineers. Umar has an ideal background for this, having spent time both in academe and in the start-up setting. Prior to his current role, Umar was an Associate Professor in the department of computer science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He is also the founder of one of the first startup incubators in Lahore, Pakistan, called SCI.  He has worked on a number of start-ups including SMSall, BumpIn.com, SeeNreport.com, and Ticketmy.com. Umar was named one of the top 35 young innovators in the world (TR35) in 2011. He was selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum in 2010. He also received the Google Faculty Research Award in 2011 and the MIT Technovator Award in 2008 among many other accolades. Umar has a Bachelor of Science degree from LUMS, a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and a post-doctorate from MIT, all in computer science.

Among other topics, Dan discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * Cornell Tech NYC’s mission and how it has positioned its curriculum at the crossroads of commerce and academia * Why Cornell chose to locate the school in New York City, rather than on its Ithaca main campus * The school’s matrixed learning structure and three organizing themes, which focus on customer-centric technology * How the school is building a culture that equally values real-world engagement and academic accomplishments * Dan’s definition of success for the school * Eye on the trends: Innovation in educational content delivery, MOOCs, IT as an increasingly user-centric field Dan Huttenlocher’s Biography Dan is the Dean and Vice Provost of the Cornell NYC Tech Campus. As Dean, he has overall responsibility for programmatic aspects of the new campus, including the academic quality and direction of the campus’ degree programs and research. Working with both internal and external stakeholders, he is developing strategic plans for the most effective ways of working with companies and early stage investors in New York City as well as overseeing the faculty recruitment and entrepreneurial initiatives of the campus. Dan has a mix of academic and industry background, having worked at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and served as CTO of Intelligent Markets, as well as being a faculty member at Cornell for two decades. Dan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and both his Master’s and Doctorate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and currently serves as a Trustee of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Among other topics, Anant discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * The genesis of the idea behind edX * Four aspects that make edX different from the other MOOCs * How edX benefits both its university partners and other universities unaffiliated with edX * edX’s KPIs * edX’s new strategic forays in to content for Advanced Placement (AP) tests and corporate training * Eye on the trends: Increasing focus on research at MOOC-partner universities, blended courses at universities that combine online and traditional learning Anant Agarwal’s Biography Anant is President of edX, a not-for-profit MOOC-based online learning destination founded by MIT and Harvard Universities. Anant taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT, which drew 155,000 students from 162 countries. He has served as the director of CSAIL, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. He is a successful serial entrepreneur, having co-founded several companies including Tilera Corporation, which created the Tile multicore processor, and Virtual Machine Works. Anant won the Maurice Wilkes prize for computer architecture, and MIT’s Smullin and Jamieson prizes for teaching. He is also the author of the textbook “Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits.” Anant holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and a bachelor’s from IIT Madras.

Among other topics, Simon discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * Simon’s vision for FutureLearn, and how he started the company * How he has leveraged his non-academic background to run a MOOC * FutureLearn’s revenue model, and what Simon thinks about his company’s position vis-à-vis traditional educational institutions and other MOOCs * How FutureLearn engages cultural institutions to enhance its product * The creative potential of forming a more collaborative MOOC sphere * Eye on the Trends: Mobile learning, changing technology to make MOOC learning more conducive to non-STEM subjects Simon Nelson’s Biography Simon is the CEO of FutureLearn, a massive open online course (MOOC) founded in late 2012 as a company majority owned by the UK’s Open University. Simon also oversees digital activities for Phaidon Press, a role he retained while joining Futurelearn Ltd as CEO in late 2012. Prior to his current roles, Simon led a number of projects in the TV, radio and publishing sectors for companies including Random House, UKTV, Specific Media and New York Public Radio. He also spent more than a decade at the BBC, leading all digital activities for the BBC’s television divisions where he helped launch the iPlayer and built an award winning portfolio of online and cross platform services. Simon is a graduate of University of Cambridge and holds an MBA from University of Manchester.

Among other topics, Salman discusses the following with Metis Strategy: * The genesis of the idea behind Khan Academy * Khan Academy’s aim to fill skill and knowledge gaps but not to compete with or replace the physical classroom * The revenue model and examples of performance metrics used like “Total global learning due to Khan Academy” * How Khan Academy differentiates itself from other MOOCs by focusing on how content is consumed and not offering accreditation * How Khan Academy scales and develops its team * Salman’s thoughts on education reform in the United States * Eye on the Trends:  Khan Academy, like other MOOCs, will further enable access to the best education and push for a competency based education and hiring system -  a departure from the current setup that give excessive importance to an institute’s brand name Salman Khan’s Biography Sal is the founder and executive director of the Khan Academy, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. As of December 2013, the Khan Academy channel on YouTube attracted 1,553,000 subscribers and the Khan Academy videos have been viewed over 334 million times. In 2012, Time named Sal in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Forbes magazine featured Sal on its cover with the story “$1 Trillion Opportunity”. Prior to founding Khan Academy, Sal was the portfolio manager at Khan Capital Management and a Senior Analyst at Wohl Capital Management. He also spent time at MVC Venture Capital, Scient Corporation, and Oracle Corporation. Sal received his MBA from Harvard Business School where he was president of the student body. He also holds a Masters degree in electrical engineering and computer science, a Bachelors degree in electrical engineering and computer science, and a Bachelors degree in mathematics from MIT where he was president of the Class of 1998.

Among other topics, Mike discusses the following issues with Metis Strategy: * The genesis of the idea behind ALISON * The strategy behind ALISON’s focus on corporate and vocational training content online * ALISON’s revenue model and key performance indicators used * The rationale behind ALISON’s lack of affiliation with universities * Why platforms like ALISON cannot compensate for learning through others and networking, as Mike experienced at Harvard * How ALISON functions as a filter for the content that exists online in the vocational space * Eye on the Trends: There will be great emphasis on skills-based hiring in the future, a departure from the traditional route that heavily weights an applicant’s college or university name,  and ALISON is positioning itself to provide employers with such candidates Mike Feerick’s Biography Mike is the founder and CEO of ALISON (Advance Learning Interactive Systems Online), a MOOC-based e-learning platform headquartered in Galway, Ireland. ALISON is considered by some to be the first ever MOOC, as Mike launched the company in 2007, which has since became a noted global provider in the e-learning community, and in September of 2013, ALISON was announced as one of six winners at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) awards, an initiative of the Qatar Foundation. Prior to founding ALISON, Mike founded YAC, a unified messaging/telecoms company (acquired by J2COM NASD in July of 2007), and he also founded Advance Learning, a global provider of interactive multimedia courseware for IT literacy. Mike also served as Acting MD of Interactive Investor and on the Board of BMG Music UK. Mike holds a BBS (University of Limerick) and MBA (Harvard University).  

Among other topics, Rob discusses the following  with Metis Strategy: * How Rob led Freddie Mac’s IT department to develop a cohesive strategy to recover from the negative impacts of the economic downturn * Freddie Mac’s efforts to retain its IT employees, who possess highly specialized knowledge of the interactions between financial services, the secondary mortgage market, and technology * Metrics at Freddie Mac IT: external benchmarks and KPIs * How Freddie Mac approached WalMart, Visa, and other companies for data management advice * Code Jam, an IT innovation competition across Freddie Mac that challenges employees to develop working prototypes of their ideas within 9 days * Freddie Mac’s secure bring-your-own-device policy * Eye on the trends: Organizations in the mortgage industry like Freddie Mac are aggressively leveraging big data for predictive analytics and investing in technology to simplify and enable mobile mortgage transactions Rob Lux’s Biography Rob is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, a public government sponsored enterprise. He is a member of the company’s senior operating committee and reports directly to CEO Don Layton. Rob is responsible for the company’s Information Technology (IT) assets and services. In this capacity, he oversees end-to-end technology solutions that ensure delivery of strong operational platforms and integrated services throughout Freddie Mac’s businesses. Prior to coming to Freddie Mac, Rob was a Principal at Towers Watson, the Chief Architect for GMAC Financial Services, and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for GMAC Residential Capital (GMAC RESCAP), among other positions in a 30 year career in IT. Rob earned an M.S. in Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

Among other topics, Daphne discusses the following  with Metis Strategy: * The genesis of the idea behind Coursera * Coursera’s current strategy to only feature courses by professors affiliated with member universities * Its revenue model and and key performance indicators used * How Coursera differentiates itself from other MOOCs by facilitating a “social” aspect to learning * Why Coursera offers a wide variety of courses as opposed to focusing on narrow, technical fields as done by some of its competitors * Eye on trends:  Internationalization of content and enabling of mobile solutions so students have access to the material even if they are not in class 24/7. Coursera intends to expand internationally, given only a third of its current students are from the US Daphne Koller’s Biography Daphne is the co-founder and co-CEO of Coursera, an education company that partners with many of the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. She is also the Rajeev Motwani Professor in the Computer Science Department and the Oswald Villard University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. She is the author of over 180 publications. Daphne pioneered in her classroom many of the ideas that are key to Stanford’s massive online education effort. Among the many awards she has won include a 2004 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and she was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2011. Daphne has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a PhD from Stanford University.