“You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, and karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.” These words were uttered by Steve Jobs at his commencement speech at Stanford University in the year 2005. However, these words offer little comfort to the dilemma I’m facing right now. I have been working with my current company for over ten years and most of my professional experience has been in high tech companies. Still, it came as a surprise for me when I was offered the position of CIO for France by our …show more content…
The position does report directly to the global CEO and has a certain appeal. By influencing the technology budget and governance, I can potentially drive initiatives from the top. Thus, having an executive sponsor accountable for project goals and benefits will provide me the desired access and leverage. But the role of the CIO is not just limited to that. In my opinion the CIO is the “Chief innovation officer”. Innovation can mean different things to different people. However, in the context of an organization “innovation” means organizational change. Thus the role of the CIO is to be an agent of change, to build capabilities which are aligned with the company’s business. Such core capabilities help the company to adapt and respond to changing laws, business regulations and the ever evolving market. The term CIO dates from the era of the mainframe, before client/server, the internet or any of the communications capabilities and devices that are now considered a given in the consumer market and have found their way into the