Private + Public Sector = Best of Both Worlds

[ This is a copy of the article I wrote for the SIM Chicago board newsletter sent out on September 13, 2019 -- https://conta.cc/30hjUK6 ]

Yesterday, we heard Chicago CIO of the Year Award winner Danielle DuMerer share her 12-year journey at the City of Chicago. What struck and resonated with me was her commitment to her small but mighty team of 100 that supported 35,000 employees, 50 wards and 2.7 million Chicago citizens – and that they are not your stereotypical clock-in and out public service workers. They are hard-working employees operating under challenging constraints trying to make a difference.

Danielle first started by sharing what I feel is the most important… “the people”… her team! As technology leaders, we must remember it’s not always about the “technology", rather it’s about the people and change management that makes technology possible and successful! After sharing about her team and its successes, Danielle then shared about all the different “technology” efforts underway at the City of Chicago… from harnessing and making available tons of location-based data via data.cityofchicago.org , to smart lights reducing 60% energy consumption, to “nodes” that have all kinds of sensors (video, audio, light, temperature, weather pressure), to citizen friendly web and mobile apps so that citizens can not only submit requests but more importantly monitor the status towards completion… with all those efforts underway to solve real problems, it’s no wonder why Danielle and the “team” won the Chicago CIO of the Year Award! She concluded by sharing that she recently made the switch from public sector to private sector at the Shedd Aquarium. As a non-profit, also working under constraints, the Shedd will certainly benefit from her public service experience!

For myself I had an opportunity a few years ago to do the opposite… to switch from private sector to public sector. All of you will remember that our State had no budget for over 2 years. In many financial ratings, Illinois was ranked 50th, last of all states, for financial worthiness. With such a dire situation at hand, why would anyone want to work at the State? The Answer: You must be mission-driven and be passionate about the opportunity to make an impact for our citizens. It certainly wasn’t for the pay, and it wasn’t because you knew the opportunity would be well-funded and resourced. For me it was the challenge of doing something new (public service/government) and knowing there was a chance to do good (educational impact) during a difficult time in our State (no budget)!

Although my time at the State of Illinois was short, it was worth it. I value the many relationships built and appreciate the willingness for many long-time public service folks to collaborate with and accept a long-time private sector guy. Danielle said it right… “We can both learn and benefit from each other!”

Private + Public Sector = Best of Both Worlds

?So with all this talk of the challenges and impact opportunity of public service, I would encourage everyone to consider giving it a try. It doesn’t have to be a full-time job commitment; there are many ways to contribute to community and public service as I wrote in my last board newsletter. This is why I enjoy being a part of SIM Chicago… on November 7th we will have our 3rd annual Feed My Starving Children Food-Packing event right in time for the Thanksgiving season. And don’t miss our October 10th SIM Gala – registration is open, so please register below and I hope to see you there!

George Wang

?SIM Board, VP Marketing & Referrals

CMO, Peterson Technology Partners 

George Wang is a business technology leader, innovator and translator, having held senior roles in both technology and business areas. He implemented multiple technology "firsts" in wireless telecomm, insurance, financial services, healthcare and education. His 25+ year journey through startup, mid-cap and Fortune 500 firms has given him a broad industry perspective of the common as well as unique business and people challenges in enabling technology transformation and innovation. During the second half of his career, George has been passionate about implementing change in the social good areas of education and healthcare, something that every human is entitled to regardless of socio-economic class.

George is currently Chief Marketing Officer for Peterson Technology Partners and interim COO and CIO at Arx Nimbus, a Cybersecurity software startup that mathematically quantifies risk, using regulatory frameworks, into financial terms. Previously he was Cluster CIO for the State of Illinois, focused on our Students (K-12, Community Colleges and Universities). Prior to that, he was Technical Director, New Business Development at Stericycle, where he launched a new Healthcare IT startup investment fund SteriVentures LLC, identified new business service lines and led the technical M&A assessment of two major acquisitions out of the 300+ that Stericycle has completed.