MYR Group

Rodrigo Ovalles, Senior Director of IT at MYR Group, leads technology strategy and digital transformation across the organization. With expertise in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise systems, he drives innovation, ensures operational resilience, and optimizes IT performance. His leadership enables MYR Group to leverage technology for efficiency, scalability, and strategic growth.

Practical Leadership in IT

What has shaped my approach to leadership the most is experiencing the impact IT has on either simplifying a business or making it more complex. There are times where what we think is a good solution is not necessarily the right solution from a practical business perspective. Sometimes we just have to listen rather than pour all our knowledge and getting into a battle with the folks that make the money. Also, doing the “hands on” work the business does gives us a better perspective of how simple or complex their jobs might be. It also allows us to have another level of respect for those that do a job day in and day out.

There are two significant challenges in IT leadership roles: - Cybersecurity and AI: Many companies have a repertoire of tools to mitigate cyber risks, they carry insurance for cyberattacks that can impact the business, train users on an annual basis but what we cannot see is the mind of the cybercriminal, whose only daily thought is to how they can make money with technology. This puts businesses in a reactive mode. Although we can predict the next major threat to IT, as we did with AI, we cannot predict how it will be utilized against us. Here is where staying up to date on the latest and greatest tools, attending conferences and seminars, etc. delivers value. You are listening to other people that have experienced cyberthreats. There is no better learning material than learning from other people’s experiences.

  Also, doing the ‘hands on’ work the business does gives us a better perspective of how simple or complex their jobs might be.Also, doing the ‘hands on’ work the business does gives us a better perspective of how simple or complex their jobs might be. 

Vendor Management: As IT has moved from the on-prem software model to SaaS, it is imperative that we know where our data will be, what type of cybersecurity practices our vendors holding our valuable data employ and understand the liability each party is accountable for in the event of a breach. Most MSA’s still carry language related to on-prem systems, and vendors have not yet updated these important agreements to reflect the reality of today providing very limited liability. I see this over and over as our vendors transition us to subscription-based models. It is almost a necessity to provide liability guidelines your company is willing to accept to vendors up front before engaging in any contract negotiations. My recommendation is to sit with your legal counsel and establish those minimum liability requirements to clearly communicate up front what you are asking for as a minimum.

Balancing Innovation and Stability

The concept of digital transformation is not new. It has been happening since the first day a computer was introduced to the workforce. Ever since the first computer, we have been digitizing manual work. The “secret sauce” behind not being disruptive during periods of mass change, such as M&A’s or significant organizational changes, is being patient. The latest and greatest buzzword is AI. I think many companies are adding .ai to their URL’s and pushing their services as unique because of some AI technology built into their software. The construction industry’s primary tools are solid estimating and BIM (Building Information Modeling,) software. Any AI enhancements to those tools will benefit the construction industry.

Sometimes we have to provide interim solutions for financial and business reporting while not disturbing business operational tools (ERP, WMS, Supply and Demand Planning systems.) Agreeing to and providing a period where a good integration strategy can be built is key to a successful M&A or major business integration with a close eye on Change Management since “change” is what most people resist and it is where you need buy-in the most.

Sage Advice to Budding Professionals

My advice to any aspiring IT leader that is looking at digital transformation and running IT operations is to take the time to learn the business you are working for. Believe it or not, this is a big mistake many IT professionals seeking leadership roles make. Giving yourself the time to spend a day in the field, be it laying wires/cables, carrying bricks and laying rebar, getting your hands dirty in the scorching sun as construction workers do day in and day out, gives you an appreciation for the hard work needed to sustain our businesses and at the same time, we become more sympathetic to the daily struggles construction workers face on a daily basis. This in turn, allows us to think of solutions with the actual challenges the field faces every day.