MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Selects Leading Chief Information Officers as Finalists for the 2012 Award for Innovation Leadership

The 9^th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium today announced four finalists for the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium 2012 Award for Innovation Leadership. The winner will be announced at the Symposium on May 22, 2012.

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Award for Innovation Leadership honors Chief Information Officers (CIOs) who lead their organizations to pursue the innovative use of Information Technology (IT) and business processes to deliver business value.

“We received many impressive applications for this award that demonstrated strategic vision, innovative use of technology, improved customer satisfaction and service delivery, and focus on reducing response time,” said Ray Chang, Co-Chair of the Award Program. “Our finalists integrate the elements of innovation leadership into their practice in dynamic ways to deliver powerful results. We are pleased to recognize their achievements and ongoing mission.”

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium 2012 Award finalists are:

• Catherine Bruno of Eastern Maine Healthcare
  Ms. Bruno is the VP and CIO at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) and has successfully developed Information Systems Strategic Plans and Governance designs at three large, complex healthcare organizations. Ms. Bruno has implemented and integrated major clinical, financial, and decision-support information systems (e.g., Computerized Provider Order Entry), two of which received the Nicholas R. Davies Organizational Award, the nation’s highest award for implementation of a system-wide Electronic Health Record, by the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS). She is the Executive Sponsor for the Bangor Beacon Community, one of 17 communities in the U.S. to receive a $12.75 million grant to improve the health of the people in the Bangor community through care management supported by Health IT and was asked by the Office of the National Coordinator to co-chair the Leadership and Governance Community of Practice for the national Beacon program.
  
  “I am honored to be a finalist for this prestigious MIT Sloan CIO award and would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the dedicated, hard-working people at EMHS who, together, are changing the way healthcare services are delivered in Maine,” said Catherine Bruno, VP and CIO, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.

• Susan Cooklin of Network Rail (UK)
  Ms. Cooklin, CIO of Network Rail, leads activities that underpin a large and complex technology portfolio focused on reducing the cost of running the railway by 21% by 2014. This required a fresh, bold, and innovative approach to leadership and delivery, one that puts technology at the heart of the business operation and harnesses talent. As a result, projects like the Train Graph application have been deployed quickly and effectively with a positive impact for colleagues, customers and business profitability. Ms. Cooklin is passionate about using innovative technology to drive increased business performance and was recently asked to join the board of Leeds Metropolitan University as a Non-Executive director.

• Bill Oates of the City of Boston
  Mr. Oates is the CIO for the City of Boston where he is charged with spearheading the City’s technology initiatives and is responsible for the delivery of IT services in support of the various city functions. Under Mr. Oates leadership, the City of Boston has been recognized as a leader in leveraging technology to improve citizen engagement and access to services. In 2011, he was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Public Sector Innovators” by Government Technology Magazine and was recently named the New England CIO Innovation Award winner by Mass High Tech. Mr. Oates was named to the Cabinet level position by Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino in June of 2006.
  
  “I am honored to be a part of the prestigious MIT Sloan Award for Innovation Leadership,” says Bill Oates, CIO, City of Boston. “This recognition is a result of the hard work and dedication of the entire City of Boston IT team. We are thrilled to be acknowledged as an organization that has made real strides towards transforming city government through innovative technology solutions.”

• Chris Perretta of State Street Corporation
  Mr. Perretta, EVP and CIO, State Street Corporation has global responsibility for all of State Street’s information technology activities; leading a team of over 5,000 employees and contractors supporting operations in 27 countries, covering all major investment centers. He oversees the IT strategic planning process, application development and maintenance, system architecture, global technology infrastructure, and information security for the firm. In addition, Mr. Perretta co-leads the company’s Operations and Information Technology Transformation Program.

The Award for Innovation Leadership ceremony will take place during the 9^th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium from 4:45 pm to 5:15 pm in the MIT Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Professor Glen L. Urban, Dean Emeritus, MIT Sloan, will present the award.

After two rounds of intense review, a panel of judges that includes CIOs, academic researchers and IT professionals, selected the four finalists who exhibit the key traits of a CIO leader:

• Trusted Advisor - to the CEO, CFO, and other senior executives. Incorporates IT into business decision-making by educating business executives on IT potential, managing risk and participating in key operational and executive committees.
• Business Leader - Intimately aware of business challenges, competitive landscape, and the organization's core strengths. Able to identify opportunities to improve business performance and deliver business value through the innovative use of IT and business processes.
• Strong Communicator - articulates a vision for IT-enabled innovation and works across the organization and with external stakeholders to gain support for this vision. Collaborates to identify and secure resources and achieve organizational alignment to enable innovations.
• Proven Manager - delivers core IT services, using internal staff and external services, within budget and staff constraints. Measures and reports IT performance against business-oriented metrics. Recognized among peers as an effective manager.

A list of the 2012 Award for Innovation Leadership judges is available at http://www.mitcio.com/award.

The theme of the 9^th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is Piloting the Untethered Enterprise. For more details and to view the full agenda, visit www.mitcio.com/agenda.

About the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier global event for CIOs and senior IT executives to become better business leaders. In one day, CIOs and senior IT executives receive actionable information that enables them to meet the challenges of today’s changing global economy. The annual event offers a day of interactive learning and thought-provoking discourse on the future of technology, best practices, and business that is not available anywhere else. The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is organized and developed by a team from the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of Boston, the MIT Center for Digital Business and the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management. Visit www.mitcio.com for more information and registration.

To stay connected to the community developing around the Symposium, please join The Global CIO & Executive IT Group (An MIT Sloan CIO Group), which can be found on Linkedin.com: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=1719457. Follow Symposium updates on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mitciosymposium.

Journalists interested in a press credentials or speaking with any of the Award finalists should contact Sadie Furlong (sadie@warnerpr.com; +1 717.220.1804), Warner Communications or Derek Beckwith (derek@warnerpr.com; +1 617.331.3567)