The CIO Questionnaire: Jora Gill, business systems VP at Standard & Poor’s

Jora Gill is VP for international business systemsat Standard & Poor’s the global credit rating s agency. A keen proponent of the Agile project management methodology.

Q: Where were you born? A:Wolverhampton

Q: What is the basic structure of your IT department? A: An International department with teams in London, Tokyo, Melbourne and India and offshore partners in Asia and Europe.

Q: Who has/have been the most influential people in your career? A: It is difficult to pick out a few as there have been so many.

Q: Do you believe in mentoring? A: I thought mentoring was something that really had little or no effect having experienced it being run poorly at University. That remained my view until I joined McGraw-Hill and saw when professionally applied and taken seriously what value it can bring an organisation and an individual. Here it is taught and organised by our HR department who dedicate an incredible amount of time in ensuring it success from the selection process to tracking progress and finally following up on benefits received.

Q: Which tools or tactics have given you most success in communicating up/down/across? A: Be yourself…unfortunately it took me years to realise this.

Q: What has been your biggest mistake? A: During the early part of my managerial career I would try to please too many senior business managers and set unrealistic goals for my IT team…the ones I should actually have been protecting

Q: And your greatest success? A: Creating a culture where individuals are given every opportunity to succeed.

Q: How do you keep up to date with the march of technology? A: I enjoy surrounding myself with people who are passionate about technology with strong views and fierce debate of where it is heading. I also read blogs, technology websites and of course CIO magazine and CIO UK on-line (I will send you my address for the cheque you promised).

Q: How do you deal with stress? A: Head on, I do not like to sleep on it but rather confront it. I find that if you do this early enough mountains quickly turn into mole hills.

Q: What profession would you most/least like to attempt? A: Most – A job with the Top Gear team, I am not a car fanatic but they seem to have so much fun. Least – Deep sea diver, I am claustrophobic.

Q: Which business (or other) books have been influential in your career? A: Usually the latest book I am reading. My current one, I never read autobiographies, but was recommended Warren Buffets Snowball, he certainly has lived an interesting life and his wisdom and common sense oozes out of every page.

Q: Do you have a sport you practise or sportsperson/team that you follow? A: I enjoy the gym, well the weight training part not the cardio. I am a Wolves supporter who have just been promoted to the premiership and will no doubt have Man U quacking!

Q: What else do you do outside of work? A: I do not spend enough time with my kids who seem to be growing rapidly so most of my time is spent with them. I enjoy cooking but I am extremely slow so closet weekends cook.

Read the full CIO UK intervew of Jora Gill here.