CIO Perspectives

0	Hayes Abrams Senior Director for Enterprise Business Process Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

	Hardik Bhatt CIO City of Chicago Hardik Bhatt, appointed as CIO by Chicago's Mayor Richard M Daley in February 2006, also serves as Commissioner for the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). His role is to protect City’s existing investment in information technology while identifying and implementing new and innovative IT solutions that deliver efficiencies to the constituents and visitors of the City of Chicago. As the CIO of the City of Chicago, Hardik co-chairs Mayor Daley's council of Technology Advisors, comprised of leading CIO's of the region including Boeing, Bexter, CNA, Exelon, Aon and HCSC, as well as leading representatives from technology, non-profit and academic sectors. This council focuses on economic development of the technology sector as well as bridging technology talent gap and digital divide. He also oversees several technology implementations, mobile solutions and information sharing projects. This primarily includes improvements in collection and sharing of information across various City agencies and dissemination within agencies and to the general public. Also of high priority are streamlining the City's various business processes to attract qualified firms to partner with the City; integration of various enterprise systems such as for Revenue, Finance and Procurement, Human Resources, Inspection and Permitting, and Customer Service Requests. Prior to joining the public sector, Hardik worked as a consultant with Oracle corporation in the U.S. and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in India. He received an Executive MBA in 2005 from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Computer Science from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. As an active community member, he is a part of Economic Club of Chicago's membership subcommittee for technology and telecom.

	Dr. Bechara Choucair Commissioner Chicago Dept. of Public Health Dr. Bechara Choucair is Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley on November 25, 2009, Bechara is re-shaping the department to meet the public health challenges of the 21st century. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Chemistry and a Medical Diploma from American University of Beirut. From 1997-2000 he did his Family Practice Residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In 2009 he earned a Master's Degree in Health Care Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. From 2001-05, Bechara served as Medical Director of Crusader Community Health in Rockford, Illinois. From 2005-09, he was Executive Director of Heartland International Health Center. He has served as Vice-chair of Community Medicine, Department of Family & Community Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.

	Stanley Crane Chief Innovation Officer Allscripts Stanley Crane brings more than 30 years of healthcare and consumer-related software experience to Allscripts. During that time, Stanley's development teams have produced electronic medical record software, electronic prescribing, web-based medication sales, online physician education, resource scheduling, financial systems, materials management, medical translation software and voice recognition dictation systems.

	Rick Davidson Managing Director AlixPartners, Inc. Rick Davidson joined AlixPartners in January 2009. AlixPartners is a global business advisory firm offering comprehensive services to improve corporate performance, execute corporate turnarounds, provide litigation consulting and forensic accounting services and execute IT organization turnarounds. As a Director in the Enterprise Improvement practice, Rick provides consulting and onsite leadership services for companies interested in transforming the performance of their information technology function. Rick has 30 years experience as a senior executive and business consultant, leading the development and execution of business and information technology strategies that have significantly improved the performance of numerous organizations. His experience spans several industries, including industrial and consumer products as well as professional services and he has implemented several transformation initiatives in the areas of materials management, supply chain, product lifecycle management, ERP, CRM, e-commerce and web 2.0. Prior to joining AlixPartners, Rick was the Global CIO for Manpower, a global HR services company. Previously, he was a CIO Partner at the Feld Group, an IT leadership and consulting firm. He has also been the CIO at Case New Holland, an agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer and at Haworth, a global office furniture manufacturer. Rick began his career as an electrical engineer for Revlon.

	Adam Hartung Managing Partner Spark Partners Adam Hartung is Managing Partner of Spark Partners, a suburban Chicago consulting firm focused on innovation, growth strategies and achieving above-average performance. Adam helps companies, functional groups and even individuals produce and sustain above average performance. By understanding the causes of organizational Lock-in his clients overcome obstacles to improved performance, and they produce superior results through effective scenario planning, competitor analysis, internal and marketplace Disruptions and White Space implementation. Adam started, financed and sold three start-up companies, and is still an active angel investor. He has consulted as part of The Boston Consulting Group, Coopers & Lybrand, Index and Computer Sciences Corporation. He ran Business Development, implementing innovation and creating growth delivering above-average returns with PepsiCo and DuPont. He is a leadership columnist for Forbes magazine. Awarded an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School, Adam authored Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition , Financial Times Press, 2008 and The Fall of GM: What Went Wrong and How To Avoid Its Mistakes , 2009.

	Martha Heller CIO Paradox columnist CIO Magazine Martha Heller is president of Heller Search Associates, recruiting IT executives for senior level positions across all industries and geographies. She spent five years leading the IT management practice at ZRG Partners in the Boston area. Prior to ZRG, Martha was co-founder and managing director of CIO magazine's CIO Executive Council, a professional organization for CIOs. At the Council, Martha developed programs that allow CIOs to share leadership development ideas and hiring and retention best practices. She led advocacy programs to improve the IT workforce and better the standing of the CIO in the executive suite, and she ran research projects on IT staffing trends. Prior to this, Martha developed and directed the CIO Best Practice Exchange, a members-only network of CIOs from top-tier organizations, as well as CIO Select, a peer-to-peer program for IT executives. During her seven-year tenure at CIO magazine, Martha wrote a weekly column on IT leadership and led a series of executive events on IT staffing, career development, and leadership. Before joining CIO magazine, Martha was an acquisitions editor at Rutgers University Press. Martha continues to write for and speak to CIO audiences. She is CIO magazine’s Career Strategist columnist and has been a featured speaker at the United Nations Forum on Women and Technology, MIT’s emerging technology conference, SIM, and numerous executive education events.

	Maryfran Johnson Editor in Chief CIO magazine & events An award-winning IT journalist and editorial executive, Maryfran Johnson was named Editor in Chief of CIO magazine and events in January 2009. This unique dual role combines strategic direction of the leading publication for chief information officers with all editorial content for CXO Media's extensive portfolio of national and regional events. Along with agenda content development and speaker recruitment, Maryfran also serves as the conference moderator for the CIO 100 Symposium, The CIO Year Ahead Summit, The CIO Leadership Event and the regional series of CIO Perspectives Forums launched in 2008. Maryfran brings more than 20 years of experience covering IT leadership, technology and business trends to her role, along with an extensive network of CIO contacts built during previous leadership positions as Editor in Chief of Computerworld (1999-2004) and Founding Editor of CIO Decisions magazine (2004-2007). Since the mid-1990s, Maryfran has been featured in media interviews as an expert commentator on IT/business leadership issues. She frequently serves as a guest speaker and moderator at industry conferences, where she is known for her engaging stage presence and deep knowledge of IT executive issues. Starting her career as a newspaper reporter, she spent eight years working for daily newspapers in Florida, Washington State and Ohio before joining the Computerworld staff in 1989 to cover the technology industry. She was the first national winner in 2004 of American Business Media's Timothy White Award for editorial integrity, and in 2005 was named one of the “21 Most Intriguing People in Publishing" by Min’s B2B Magazine. Maryfran holds a Master of Arts in Journalism from The Ohio State University's Kiplinger Program and a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Florida. She and her husband, Doug, have two grown daughters working in New York City, and three spoiled miniature dachshunds living with them in the Boston area suburbs (but showing no signs of ever leaving home).

	Gerri Martin-Flickinger Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Adobe Systems, Inc. As senior vice president and chief information officer, Gerri Martin-Flickinger oversees Adobe’s global Information Technology team, providing strategic direction and management for the company’s IT infrastructure worldwide, including its hosted services. In partnership with the business, Martin-Flickinger also has responsibility for developing innovative enterprise solutions built with Adobe products and technologies that solve business issues and reduce IT costs. Martin-Flickinger has more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale global IT organizations for companies experiencing explosive growth through acquisition, global expansion and/or implementing new business models. Her expertise includes leading organizations through transformational change, connecting IT to the needs of the business and aligning IT costs. Before joining Adobe, Martin-Flickinger was CIO of VeriSign, where she oversaw corporate information technology services for the company’s 60 offices worldwide. Prior to VeriSign, she served as CIO for Network Associates, Inc. and McAfee Associates, Inc. Before joining McAfee, Martin-Flickinger held several senior systems roles at Chevron Corporation, including serving as process consultant to Chevron’s executive staff. Martin-Flickinger holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Washington State University.

	Howard Niden Global CIO Mayer Brown LLC Howard Niden is Global CIO for Mayer Brown LLC, the ninth largest law firm in the world. He is an innovative technology systems executive with senior level management experience at large global businesses. Previously, Howard spent 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a partner in their consulting business. His experience has focused on bringing innovative business solutions to a variety of organizations both as a consultant and internal business leader. He was educated at the University of Chicago where he received an AB and MBA. He is also a member of the both the IEEE and ACM.

	Dave Patzwald SVP of Integration Services Schneider Electric David Patzwald joined Schneider Electric in 2005 as VP, Information Technology, responsible for all information systems and services in the North American Operating Division. Dave joined the company with over 20 years of diverse business and information technology experience. Prior to Schneider Electric, he was the founder and president of smallCo, an IT solution business whose clients included Kinko’s, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., and Brach’s Confections. Before smallCo, Dave was Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Emerging Markets within PepsiCo’s Business Solutions Group, where he also led the international integration program following the Quaker acquisition. Dave also has held senior level positions at Frito-Lay, including CIO for the Asia Pacific region. Based in Australia, he was responsible for IT in ten countries and led the SAP implementation following a major acquisition. Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computational science from Stanford University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Headquartered in Palatine, Ill., the North American Operating Division of Schneider Electric had sales of more than $4.0 billion (U.S.) in 2007. The North American Operating Division is one of four operating divisions of Schneider Electric, headquartered in Paris, France, and markets the Square D, Telemecanique and Merlin Gerin brand products to customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the United States, Schneider Electric is best known by its flagship Square D brand, with Telemecanique becoming increasingly known in the industrial control and automation markets and supported by many Square D distributors. For 100 years, Square D has been a market-leading brand of electrical distribution and industrial control products, systems and services. Schneider Electric is a global electrical industry leader with 2007 sales of approximately $21 billion (U.S.).

0	Dr. Fred Rachman CEO Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services Dr. Fred Rachman is CEO of the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services. He also serves as Chief Medical Officer of the Alliance. Fred has more than 20 years experience in primary health care delivery and administration, and extensive experience in grants and project managements. He previously served as Medical Director at Howard Brown Health Center and Erie Family Health Center, Chicago. He is Attending Physician in Pediatrics at Children’s Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and has been a Joint Commission field representative since 1998, trained under the Accreditation Manual for Ambulatory Care. He conducts ambulatory care surveys, including unified surveys federal Effectiveness Review under the Bureau of Primary Health Care's (BPHC) Primary Care Accreditation Initiative, and provides field education for JCAHO.

	John Schmidt VP Global Integration Services Informatica Mr. Schmidt is vice president of Global Integration Services at Informatica Corporation. He leads in the creation of strategies for enterprise initiatives and directs Informatica’s Integration Competency Center Practice. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and the author of Lean Integration: An Integration Factory Approach to Business Agility, and Integration Competency Center: An Implementation Methodology. Mr. Schmidt has held leadership positions in Banking, Retail, and Telecommunications industries in several countries. Previous employers include Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Best Buy, American Management Systems, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

	Moderator: Pam Stenson SVP & GM CIO Executive Council Pam Stenson is the General Manager of the CIO Executive Council, charged with growing the membership and enhancing current members' experience during this challenging economic period. Pam manages the Council team to ensure the best service and value delivery, sets the strategic direction of the organization and works intimately with the Council's member leadership and board of advisors. Pam has 22 years experience in IT. She has been a valuable part of the Council team since February of 2007, in the primary role of securing new members. Pam has also been a strong influencer in shaping various Council initiatives including our Youth in IT program, Executive Women in IT group, partnerships with third-party associations, internal processes and the improvement of the overall membership experience. Before joining the Council team, Pam spent 14 years at MCI beginning in the late 1980s, earning a reputation as a high energy and passionate manager with experience in sales, project management, customer service, sales management, contact center services, network services, quality assurance and workforce development. During the early days of Qwest Communications, Pam was asked to start up the Northeast Global Accounts division. She secured floor space, hired engineers, sales representatives, administrative support, marketing, and service support while rapidly growing the organization before leaving to return to the new, emerging MCI. As director of MCI's northeast sales division, Pam led the organization to an all-time revenue high, managing her team from bankruptcy through to MCI's sale to Verizon.

	Michael Whitmer Global CIO and EVP North American Operations Hudson Highland Group Michael Whitmer is the Hudson Highland Group’s CIO for North America, responsible for all aspects of application solutions, technical operations, and IT delivery and strategy. He has a strong background integrating technology into business operations and managing complex enterprise technology, from infrastructure to applications. Michael's professional achievements include a multi-million dollar PeopleSoft implementation; the architecture of multiple reporting & analysis solutions, customer contact and data warehousing platforms; and technology integrations for mergers and acquisitions. He also has significant staffing industry experience, having managed 100+ member technology department supporting over $1.9 billion in revenue and more than 50,000 external resources on a weekly basis. As VP of Information Services for Spherion Corporation, Michael led the Applications Solutions, Field Technology, and Technology Strategy organizations for Spherion's Staffing and Professional groups. Previously, he served as Director of Technology Strategy for software and services firm Witness Systems, and he also has experience as a manager, senior consultant, and technical architect with firms such as AT&T , MCI, and Turner Broadcasting Systems.

	Timothy Zoph Senior Vice President, Administration and CIO Northwestern Memorial Hospital Tim serves as the Senior Vice President, Administration and CIO for Northwestern Memorial Hospital. This year marks his 17th anniversary at Northwestern Memorial and 23 years as a CIO in the health care industry. Tim has earned graduate business degrees from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University and the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Utah. Through Tim’s leadership, Northwestern Memorial has been awarded one of the 100 Most Wired Hospitals for nine years. He was recently named the 2008 CIO of the Year by the Executives’ Club of Chicago along with The Association of Information Technology Professionals. Tim is also a faculty member of the Chime CIO Boot Camp that is dedicated to training current and future information technology leaders in the healthcare industry.