"CIO’s are not Chief Technologists only, they need to be multi dimensional and business relevant. They are now business people first, IT professionals second"

KATHY PERSIAN
SVP & CIO
Supervalu

Kathy has previously been the GVP of Corporate Planning and Analysis, and held GVP roles in IT including overseeing Retail and Merchandising applications. She is with Supervalu for 3 years now. Previously she held positions like SVP International Business Process, Best Buy; also held VP roles in IT for
Merchandising and Supply Chain systems. She also held the position at Accenture for 15 years –as a Partner in the Retail Practice.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations.

The challenges for technology include driving business value at a lower cost and capturing innovation that creates business value. All of the interesting trends in technology (Big Data, cloud computing, mobility) are just that until they are turned into business-differentiating capabilities. This is always the challenge for IT.

As far as solutions from technology providers, there is a growing back-lash against the expensive handcuffs of large solution providers. The solutions are technologically heavy, inflexible, expensive to purchase and implement, and carry an extraordinary maintenance tail that does not always pay for itself. Providers need to look at ways to drive the value that some of these solutions can provide in a more nimble, cost- effective, and customer-friendly way. The start-ups clearly get that, and are pricing themselves that way – if the larger providers don’t figure this out, they will soon find themselves irrelevant.

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 two things that tend to keep technology professionals awake at night are stability and security. Keeping systems up and available is the bread-and-butter of what we do, and keeping the enterprise safe and secure is the price of entry. Any solutions that help achieve those key areas will always be in demand.

Technology Trends Impacting Enterprise Business Environment

Generally, for retailers, Big Data and mobility are key areas to be addressed. Retailers all have a myriad of data, and the ones that will win will be the ones that can figure out what to do with it to differentiate their business models. Mobility is becoming more and more relevant every day, and we are on the edge of a generation that integrates mobile into their everyday lives coming of “spending” age – retailers need to understand how to address that.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

As a fairly new CIO, I haven’t yet experienced significant change during my tenure. However, what I have observed is the following:

1. CIO’s are not Chief Technologists only – they need to be multi-dimensional and business-relevant. They are business people first, IT professionals second. A clear understanding of business strategy and how technology addresses it, is key. Also, they must possess strong leadership skills as well, and develop the right talent for the future. Deep financial acumen is becoming more important as well, both for investment returns and P&L management.

Lessons I learned as a CIO that can help you

Lessons learned:

1. Be a business person, not just an IT specialist.

2. Recognize and incent talent development.

3. Create a culture of efficiency – always be thinking of how to do more with less.

4. Don’t follow every fad, but address what’s relevant for your business – many times the fads are just the old stuff reconstituted with a fancy name and a bigger pricetag.

5. Don’t fall into the “transformation” trap – calling it “transformation” makes key change a one-time event, not an continuous, ongoing improvement culture.

6. Take the time with the team, and be open – don’t avoid the tough conversations because you don’t have all the answers. Tell them that.