Two weeks left to nominate for the CIO50

Victorian Department of Health and Human Services CIO, DrSteve Hodgkinson, said the secret to success – when delivering public sector IT projects – comes down to valuing people.

That’s one piece of advice offered up by Hodgkinson – who cracked the Number 7 spot on the CIO50 list 2017 -during last year’s panel discussion at the celebration event. He revealed how public sector IT projects have typically lacked common sense and need to evolve in order to survive a change of government and leader.

“Disruption comes and disruption goes. In the public sector, I’ve always had the view that there’s a whole cadre of people that keep the public sector operating from one day to the next, from one week to the next, from one month to the next – and those are the people, that as a CIO, we need to connect with and empower because they know what to do,” he told the audience at the time.

Indeed, this advice is still timely and pertinent given today’s tech leaders are currently submitting nominations for the CIO50 2018 and sharing their stories of business innovation and leadership.

Certainly, with the August 16 deadline looming to nominate for the third annual CIO50, it’s time to be heard and tell us your story of business innovation and leadership. All too often the CIO voice gets lost in the shuffle – sadly with some incredible stories of change management and visionary projects not being shared or recognised. But that can change by entering a nomination and being apart of the CIO Australia program that celebrates and recognises the CIO community for its outstanding achievements in delivering transformation.

So what might stand out? At last year’s panel discussion one of the judges spoke out and offered up some tips.

For judges like Gartner’s Jenny Beresford, research director for digital innovation, she said the business and technology stories of ‘inspiration’ and ones that change the culture of people often stand out for her.

“I am looking for CIOs who can inspire, not only their own people now, but the next generation. We’ve got to be bringing people up behind us as CIOs. I’m looking for someone who has been able to take a big vision and make it happen, who’s doing something that’s making a difference (maybe a difference to their people and culture, maybe a difference to their business and the technology implement), but also hopefully making a difference to society.”

Here’s more information on the CIO50:

The CIO50 list: Recognises Australia’s 50 most innovative and effective CIOs, or head of technology, who are influencing rapid change across their organisations. It applauds those who are leading the IT function and driving innovative technology-driven projects that have completely transformed business processes. It also showcases the variety of organisations and transformations that exist in different market sectors. A cocktail reception and celebration to reveal the CIO50 is slated for November. The full CIO50 list of profiles will also feature on the CIO Australia website in November.

The esteemed judges include:

Pip Marlow, CEO, strategic innovation, Suncorp

Jenny Beresford, research director, Gartner;

Tim Sheedy, principal advisor, Ecosystm, and founder at Singularity Research

Garry Whatley, director, CIO Advisory

Bridget Gray, managing director, Harvey Nash

Marc Bailey, CEO, Intersect Australia

David Kennedy, Group CIO, Transaction Services Group

Mark Gay, CIO, CrownBet

Dr Malcolm Thatcher, CEO and founder, Strategance Group

Bill Le Blanc, CIO, SA Health

Dr Vladas Leonas, director of GovDC and marketplace operations

Craig Wishart, CIO, KPMG Australia

To get more information and to enter online, click here.

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please feel free to contact CIO Australia editorial director Byron Connolly (byron_connolly@idg.com.au) or associate editor Jennifer O’Brien at (jennifer_obrien@idg.com.au)