"Be grateful for the opportunities you have been given and give something back to the community."

ELOISE YOUNG
CIO
Philadelphia Gas Works

Eloise has been the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Philadelphia Gas Works since August 2007. She brings more than 20 years of experience to the position. As CIO, Young is responsible for delivering IT capabilities to PGW’s 1,700 employees. A native Philadelphian, she loves her city and enjoys doing volunteer work for area community groups. In 2011 Young was recognized as an Employee Chair of the Year with a Champions of Impact award by the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and named one of the "Most Powerful and Influential Women in Pennsylvania" by the National Diversity Council.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations.
Cyber security is a huge challenge. Threats are increasing in both frequency and sophistication. Every end point must be protected. At the same time, we must strike an appropriate balance between the security measures we put in place and productivity. I am very excited about mobility. It enables collaboration in ways that simply were not possible 10 years ago. I am looking forward to leveraging this platform to take employee and consumer engagement to new heights. One of the ways that can happen is through the integration of transactional legacy systems with social/mobile customer engagement systems.

The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier.
The rigors of IT staffing definitely keep me awake at night. PGW is municipally owned and must compete with private companies for talent. That means we have to fight hard to attract and retain skilled people. While compensation is certainly a huge factor, there are big cultural challenges as well. For example, techies expect more flexible work conditions than a 175+ year old public utility is poised to provide.

Technology Trends Impacting Enterprise Business Environment
The move to smarter, more dynamic networks is very impactful. The unending array of devices people expect to be able to use for business purposes heightens the need to be able to seamlessly and securely connect across platforms, networks and Technologies. The Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine communications in general are fascinating. Bi-directional smart meters empower consumers and utilities. Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solutions allow companies to optimize the performance of IT assets. Smart lighting systems detect natural sunlight levels and automatically dim or brighten electric lights as required to reach the desired illumination level.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO
Line of business executives can acquire technology solutions without having to interact with corporate IT at all. As a result, I spend a lot more time developing guidelines that address questions like: when should we build in-house? What criteria should we use to evaluate potential vendors? How can we tell whether proposed vendor-managed technology-enabled services make sense for our portfolio? I work with the business to ensure that there are clearly defined business and technical requirements; that proposed solutions get thoroughly tested against those requirements and are delivered on time and within budget.

Lessons I learned as a CIO that can help you
Have lots of integrity – be someone who people can trust. Find new, fun ways to connect with other people, including employees in your own organization. Play an active role in the recruitment process; get out there and attend job fairs and external events. Get actively involved in professional organizations – they are a rich source of information. Reach out and build alliances with other IT leaders. Be grateful for the opportunities you have been given and give something back to the community. Respect the environment. Learn about, respect and enjoy your company’s business. Stay current.