Upcoming Targeted IT Conferences

What made CIOs successful in 2005?  What are the key initiatives in 2006?  What are the biggest challenges for the CIO in 2006 and beyond?  How are CIOs making their department indispensable to the rest of the organization?  What can direct reports do to help further the goals of the IT department?

This one day conference is designed for CIOs, senior IT managers and individuals within IT interested in exceeding the goals of their IT organization.

9:00am-10:00am
Perception is Reality - Marketing: Getting the Respect & Appreciation Needed to Survive and Thrive in IT
Sheleen Quish, Former VP & CIO, US Can Company

The most misunderstood and least appreciated department in most companies is IT. That happens for one primary reason. IT does not market itself to its customers. This session will discuss the philosophy and psychology of marketing. It will challenge the way you think about your role and relationships in the business. You will understand how critical it is to win friends and influence people in your company. It will also cover the top marketing techniques, when and how to use them. It is more than alignment, more than measuring business value, it's not free food or discounted used hardware. Join us for this eye opening event and learn how to re-position IT for success.

10:00am-10:30am Refreshment Break

10:30am-11:30am
How to Measure & Prove IT’s Effectiveness and How to Demonstrate Efficiency
Moderator: Rob Sullivan, President, Rob Sullivan Productions
Panelists:
Barry Robinson, IT Director, Trizec Office Properties
Tom Lang, Executive Director, Technology, Encyclopedia Britannica
David Klauser, CEO, PRISM Technologies 
David Gillhouse, Former CIO, The Chamberlain Group

Have you ever had a project you knew would have a huge, positive impact on the organization killed because other people didn’t support the possibility? Do you ever find yourself struggling to communicate your vision to the people whose support you need the most? Is the prospect of measuring the impact of particular projects—or you team as a whole—a daunting task? If you answered “Yes” to even one of these questions, you won’t want to miss this session.

Together, this panel will examine:

• The six key quantifiers for measuring effectiveness
• An often misunderstood marketing concept that can help you and your team communicate possibilities, capabilities, and accomplishments more effectively
• The challenges and mistakes of other IT departments (and what you can do to avoid them)
• How to solicit & shape feedback daily (plant the seed first)
• How to build a corporate partnership for strategic impact
• How to structure Service Level Agreements between IT & other internal departments and between outside vendors and partners

11:30am-12:30pm
Strategies for Effectively Communicating with Other C-Level Executives
Moderator: Terry Greer, Vice President, PerformanceIT
Panelists: William Farrow, CIO, Chicago Board of Trade
John Fisher, CIO, Smith Bucklin
Charles Melidosian, CIO, Baird & Warner
Lac Tran, SVP & CIO, Information Services, Rush University Medical Center

The CIO must be able to envision and articulate IT's role in enabling and driving innovation, competitive differentiation, customer loyalty and efficiency for the company. Communication and interpersonal skills are essential—including the capacity to articulate the case for IT investments and alternatives in the language of business; the ability to shape and manage expectations of IT at all levels of the organization; and a facility in building effective relationships with corporate officers, function heads, business partners and suppliers.

This panel will share the following:

• How to build effective relationships to negotiate with IT's various constituencies.
• How to mediate conflicts among his or her groups to make sure technology efforts are engaged consistently and aligned with the company's best interests
• How to articulate the value of IT investments in language the business can understand
• How to manage and shape expectations across all level/departments within the organization

12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch 

1:30pm-2:30pm
Technologies on the Horizon: Benefits to the CIO and the Enterprise
Session Leader: Don Kinney, Catalyst Search Group

Adopting new technologies remains critical to achieving strategic corporate goals.  As information technology continues to play an even greater role in the products and services that an enterprise brings to market, it is important for all CIOs to understand technologies today and those that are on the horizon.  How can these technologies help the CIO drive revenue growth, increase market share, decrease organizational costs and make the organization fiercely competitive as a whole?  This is an interactive session, where the audience will share their thoughts and provide specific examples as to how current and new technologies will help the CIO achieve these specific business goals.

2:30pm-3:00pm Refreshment Break

3:00pm-4:00pm
How to Identify the Top Five Technology Projects to Drive Business Growth
Moderator: Dave Ellard, Senior Vice President, GlassHouse
Panelists: Dave Kamath, CIO, IDEX Corporation
Jeff Johnson, Vice President - IT, Baxter Credit Union
Chuck Oler, CIO, Tuthill Corporation
Dr. Allen Butler, CIO, CTS Corporation

IT departments are constantly overwhelmed with the number of projects to complete in a short timeframe and at the same time deliver actual results to the enterprise. This panel will share their respective methodologies for identifying the top five technology projects.  You will learn the most common pitfalls to avoid and gain an understanding of how to re-prioritize your projects based on changing corporate business needs.

 Additionally, the panelists will share the following specifics:

• What strategies should be used to align your IT projects with the critical needs of the business? 
• What metrics can you use to see if these projects actually deliver the expected value?
• How should you prioritize your projects based on corporate short-term, mid-term and long range goals? 
• How do you make the best use of your fiscal budget, internal resources and external partners?
• Can your systems support new business initiatives/opportunities?

4:00pm-5:00pm
Key Strategies for Developing the Next Generation of IT Leaders
Moderator: Greg Ambrose, Catalyst Search Group
Panelists: Vince Kellen, VP, Information Systems, DePaul University
Scott Zulpo, Former CIO, North America, Publicis Groupe
John Bodine, Corporate CIO, Elkay Manufacturing
Darlene Carrao, CIO/CTO, Thomas & King

An organization's success is defined by one factor: the quality of its leaders.  But developing great leaders has never been tougher.  The business world has changed dramatically in recent years and the standard paradigms of leadership may not be relevant going forward.  Business leaders need a different model to succeed today and into the future, and business customers want to work with IT Leaders who understand the business and have a proven delivery track record. This panel we will explore exactly how to identify tomorrow's best leaders, accelerate their development and deployment, and maximize their value to the organization.  This panel of IT Leaders will explore how to successfully recruit, nurture, and develop the people who will one day lead, and will explore the changes in developing the next generation of IT Leaders and some new and innovative ideas.  We will cover practical tips on how to align executive development with corporate strategy, and how to ensure accountability and measure results.

Each attendee will receive a certificate awarding 7 CPE credits for CISSP continuing education,
 in addition to 0.7 CEUs and 7 PDUs.
CISSP is a registered certification mark of (ISC)², Inc.

In this one day conference, you will learn the following:

• Fresh insights from CIOs as to how they are dealing with today’s top challenges and planning for 2006 and beyond

• How to insure you are doing the things strategically and tactically that will help you achieve results for the CIO and the extended enterprise

• How are CIOs dealing with the challenges of internal organizational development?

• Is the CIO a visionary / innovator or a manager of IT?

• What technologies/solutions are the best investments for the CIO and the extended enterprise?

• The pitfalls you should avoid when evaluating new IT solutions for your enterprise from the viewpoint of top management

• Types of relationships CIOs are looking for with external and internal business partners

• How CIOs attain their position – the skills they possess, the contacts they have built and their communication skills

• What new skills should you learn to make you even more strategic to the goals of the IT Department and the extended enterprise?

• How IT Organizations are taking a unique approach as IT Service Units