February 2024 Perspectives

CIO Perspectives features Silicon Valley or Global CIOs that provide short answers to 5 questions I pose to provide readers 5 minutes of insights from today’s top technology leaders.

In this edition of CIO Perspectives, I am featuring Ralph Loura . Ralph currently serves on several advisory boards and is chairman of SustainableIT.org .

Ralph is a highly accomplished technology executive with a career spanning almost 40 years in leading edge organizations starting at Bell Laboratories and continuing to Symbol Technologies (part of Motorola), Hewlett-Packard, and Clorox to name just a few.

He's held a variety of executive technology roles, including CIO and CTO, responsible for delivering on large-scale business transformation initiatives. He's also been recognized with Top 100 Technology Leader accolades as well as CIO of the Year.

1. Ralph, what is top-of-mind for you today from an overall business or macroeconomic perspective?

"I've said “The CIO job has never been tougher. The business landscape has never been more complex and the competitive playing field never so ferocious. […] There has never been a better time to be a CIO than right now.” That was from an Information Week article in 2008. The same was true in 1998, and 2018 and will likely be true in 2028.

Innovative and disruptive technologies come at us at an alarmingly fast pace, with new ideas and business models cropping up continually. I’ve spent a career feeling like I was lagging behind in a race that has no finish line and requires new skills and talents to compete on a daily basis, which is what makes the role so exciting and rewarding.

What is top of mind? Mastering the disruption of the day, and looking out for the one coming next while driving as efficient an operational delivery model as you can. What an exciting time to be a technology leader."

2. How do you envision your top priority in your role of CIO? Do you have anything interesting to share in terms of how it may have evolved over time?

"The evolution is pretty clear over the past 30 years. The CIO's main responsibility a few decades ago was to provide and support data center solutions and support, with the key focus on uptime and availability.

However, the role has shifted to become more strategic and focused on building business value, driving digital transformation, innovation, and the adoption of new technology at all levels of the organization. CIOs are now expected to be business strategists, partners with the business, and leaders of disruptive change.

Top priority of the CIO? All of them."

3. What do you like to see when it comes to your organizations journey around AI, Cloud adoption, Cybersecurity, or other important trends?

"I have been asked many times what my cloud strategy was, I always retorted that I didn’t have a cloud strategy, I had a business strategy and the cloud was a tool.

The same is true for AI, CX, etc. Cybersecurity is quite different. You need an unwavering focus, a strong culture which includes continuous user education, a technical architecture and a tools and multiple backup plans to recover when the inevitable occurs."

4. Speaking of organizational effectiveness and acquiring & retaining talent, what are your priorities? How about focus on workplace culture?

"Build a place you’d like to work. A focus on communication, learning and development, trust and transparency, inclusion and most importantly -- an opportunity to make an impact and be recognized and rewarded for it."

5. What is useful for you as a CIO, when it comes to how your leaders, teams, or technology partners interact with you? What advice or suggestions would you provide them to be more effective?

"I have always preferred to work with partners that are transparent and I’ve always coached my leaders to be the same. I don’t like games. I prefer partners that have the long game in mind vs a transactional mindset. If you want to be treated fairly and with respect, then you must offer the same.

Keep an adaptable mindset, focus on building a community, vigorously align to business strategy, maintain transparency, and treat cybersecurity as if your life depended on it."

I hope your enjoyed these insights and I want to thank Ralph for providing invaluable insights as a top business & technology leader.

If you have feedback on this edition of CIO Perspectives or have suggestions for future insights from CIOs, please provide them here and I’ll consider them for future editions.