CIO50 2023 26-50 Michael Ciavarella, A&S Labels

Name: Michael Ciavarella
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Company: A&S Labels (Tigermist and I.AM.GIA)
Commenced role: April 2022
Reporting line: CFO/COO
Member of the executive team: Yes

As the first chief technology officer for e-commerce fashion retailers, Tigermist and I.AM.GIA, Michael Ciavarella was tasked with introducing digital innovation and technological leadership into the business.

Within a year, Ciavarella developed an aligned technology strategy, stabilised core operations and efficiency, implemented the technology for a new warehouse distribution centre, and transformed the digital team into a sleek unit.

“Two of our non-negotiables within our technology strategy are scalability and reliability,” Ciavarella tells CIO Australia.

“As a global retailer, our systems must be available 24×7. We must scale when it matters – key sales events are paramount.”

To aid scalability and reliability, Ciavarella implemented core infrastructure and system redundancy, as well as a managed service model to move reactive support to proactive.

Unified powerhouse

At the same time, Ciavarella also prioritised growth and a culture of engagement, transparency, and accountability across the digital function.

“The engineering team, which had several challenges initially and single points of sensitivity, are now a unified powerhouse, delivering 250 per cent more value than six months ago,” he says.

“The frequency of releases across digital platforms has also doubled and customer satisfaction is at its highest. All key digital initiatives slated for the financial year have been rolled out, delivering value for customers and organisation.”

Ciavarella credits his team and strategic partners for these achievements.

“I’ve been extremely impressed by the open-mindedness across our organisation and drive. We are a small team, yet the approach, teamwork and outcomes are nothing short of amazing. It’s the team who deserve the credit for these positive outcomes” he says.

A&S Labels continues to invest in the team, recognising the importance of their achievements.

To make an impact, technology executives must build relationships, drive innovation, ensure customer focus and strategically guide organisations in remaining ahead of the competition, says Ciavarella.

“A blend of leadership skills, technical expertise and influencing is paramount.”

On joining the organisation, Ciavarella held one-on-one sessions across the business and communicated his approach while seeking feedback and input.

His intent was to meet individually with every executive and department leader across the business to form a draft technology strategy within the first fortnight which would be presented and endorsed. An ambition on which he delivered.

Building genuine interactions

The draft technology strategy Ciavarella produced aligned to business goals and provided confidence in his approach, as it showed he had listened and understood the needs of the organisation.

With a focus on building genuine interactions and working relationships, Ciavarella works to understand individual interests and discover common points of interest, and takes the time to understand, ensuring he can best relate, connect, and empathise with others.

“Understanding different experiences, interests, and outlooks create diversity in thinking.”

Ciavarella also aims to foster a culture of innovation and leads by example while respectfully challenging others and inspiring creatively.

In addition to his role at A&S Labels, Ciavarella is also on the board of directors at Volleyball Victoria where has been working on guiding strategic ways to grow the sport, placing the focus on members and new initiatives. He provides advice on technology, digital, marketing, data, and sport growth, whilst using the opportunity to learn from of the other directors on the board. In April, he was recently re-elected at the organisation’s annual general meeting, showing the influence, trust, and value of his contribution across the sport.  

Louis van Wyk