Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Mid-Market CIO Panel: Tips and Techniques for Improving Vendor Relationships
July 15, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
We'll highlight relationship priorities and best practices identified in a Council study, and we'll interact with a CIO panel on the approaches they've used to improve strategic vendor partnerships.
Secrets of Successful Vendor Contract Negotiations for the Mid-Market
Sept. 10, 2009, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
On this free public Council teleconference, Matthew A. Karlyn, attorney at Foley & Lardner in Boston, will share tips on negotiating tactics and new, creative contract terms to help mid-market CIOs make better deals.
Executive Competencies Assessment Tool
Assess Your Business Leadership Skills with the Council's new benchmarking tool. Rate yourself in change leadership, strategy, customer focus and more.
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May 01, 2004 — CIO —
The digital divide has been a public issue for nearly a decade, but the gap appears to be widening. We are quickly becoming a society of digital haves and have-nots, with large differences in access to computers, software and content. This should be of concern to everyone who believes in maintaining a democratic society. But for me, it is a personal issue.
Born at the edge of a tropical rain forest in Puerto Rico, I came to the Northeastern United States with a family of migrant farm workers, and grew up in the urban barrios of Paterson, N.J., and East Harlem in New York City.
Blessed with maniacal tenacity, I was driven to change the circumstances of my birth. As an eighth grader, I looked old enough to work the graveyard shift in factories in Northern New Jersey and continued to work from midnight to 8 a.m. through high school. Eventually, I transferred from the public schools to a parochial school in Passaic, N.J., where I worked as a janitor after school, cleaning the toilets to pay for my tuition. I took college classes, often walking as much as 12 miles to class. I played varsity baseball, as well as basketball and football. Somehow on three hours of sleep, I was able to maintain excellent grades and score well on standardized tests. Along the way, I managed to impress people of influence who wrote glowing recommendations for college. By the grace of God, these combined factors allowed me to acquire a first-class education at Yale, which made an extraordinary difference in my life.
After graduating from Yale, I began my work career at Morgan Stanley on Wall Street in a unique two-year management training program. It was there that I became fascinated with technology. I continued onward, with six years on Wall Street, five years of management consulting at Deloitte & Touche, and increasing responsibility roles in technology at a number of Fortune 100 companies. I worked for Federated Department Stores, Office Depot, Alcoa and as CTO at Kmart; and ultimately became CIO at Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 health-care distributor based in Richmond, Va.
Of course, technology was not a significant differentiating factor when I attended college in the mid-1970s; personal computers were rare then, and were just beginning to have a major impact in the business world that I entered in the early 1980s. But that is no longer the case today. Computer literacy is a must for any child who enters the world with a lack of advantage and dreams of achieving success in business or any career path.