MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Announces Leading Chief Information Officers as Finalists for 2024 CIO Leadership Award

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Apr 23, 2024, 08:00 ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium today announced three finalists for the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award. The winner will be announced on May 13, 2024.

For more than a decade, the Award has recognized Chief Information Officers (CIOs) who lead their organizations to deliver exemplary levels of business value through innovative use of IT.

"We are excited to unveil this year's finalists for the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award," said Dr. George Westerman, Award Co-Chair. "These leaders are true pioneers of innovation who bring immense value to their organizations and to our field. It is truly an honor to learn from and engage with them as part of this year's Symposium."

The 2024 MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award finalists are:

Chris Bedi, Chief Digital Information Officer, ServiceNow
Akira Bell, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer at Mathematica
Fahim Siddiqui, Chief Information Officer, Home Depot

"I am honored to be a finalist for the MIT Sloan CIO leadership award as recognition for the team's commitment leading ServiceNow's digital agenda and driving incredible results," said Chris Bedi, chief digital information officer at ServiceNow. "At ServiceNow, we are helping transform the world's largest companies, and technology is a key driver of our speed, scale, and growth. It's a testament to all the teams at ServiceNow that partner together and enable us to be the fastest growing enterprise software company."

"This recognition reflects the collective efforts of our talented technology team and a mission-driven company that centers itself as a trusted data steward," said Akira Bell, senior vice president and chief information officer at Mathematica. "Together, we use technology as a catalyst for solving urgent public challenges, from health care access, cost and quality, to climate change, to the disparities that fuel inequality."

"I am honored to be a finalist for the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award on behalf of the thousands of amazing technology associates at The Home Depot," said Fahim Siddiqui, chief information officer at Home Depot. "The teams that I have the privilege of leading are on the cutting edge of retail technology. They are making home improvement easier than ever before for our customers, and they are improving the experience for our 465,000 associates."

Award finalists will be formally recognized at an exclusive dinner for in-person attendees of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium on May 13, 2024, where the winner will be announced. All finalists will also have opportunities to share their insights in panels on the day of the Symposium.

After two rounds of extensive review, a panel of judges that includes CIOs, academic researchers and IT professionals selected the Award finalists who exhibit the key traits of a CIO leader in the following areas:

Judging Criteria

Key characteristics of CIO leadership include:

Exceptional Communicator – Articulates a vision for strategic business value from IT and works across the organization to build partnership around this vision. Focuses communications on value and innovation, not technology. Helps all IT staff to understand the business and speak the language of business leaders.

Recognized IT Leader – Clearly demonstrates value-for-money in the management of core IT services – providing the right services at the right price and the right level of quality. Recognized among peers as an effective leader of the IT unit.

Driver of Business Value – Understands the business and needs of the CEO, CFO, Line-of-Business heads and other senior executives. Ensures clear focus on potential and realized value in all IT initiatives. Incorporates IT into business decision-making by participating in key strategic conversations, suggesting innovative uses of IT, and for managing risk.

Trusted Partner – Exercises authority beyond IT itself. Considered a trusted member of the senior executive team, not just a technology leader. Suggests innovative uses of IT to transform the business – and successfully executes the changes. May receive additional non-IT responsibilities such as Chief Operating Officer or VP of Strategy, or strategic temporary roles such as Head of M&A integration.

These criteria are adapted from the award-winning book The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value, which draws extensively upon research conducted at MIT Sloan.

To register to attend the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, taking place May 13-14, 2024 visit: mitcio.com/register/.

Attendees will gain access to all the events and networking opportunities taking place the evening before the panels. This includes the Innovation Showcase, highlighting 10 outstanding early-stage companies with cutting-edge solutions that combine both value and innovation to Enterprise IT, and the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award seated dinner where the 2024 Award Winner will be announced.

About the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier global conference for CIOs and digital business executives to become more effective leaders. CIOs and senior IT executives explore enterprise technology innovations, business practices and receive actionable information that enables them to meet the challenges of today and the future. The Symposium offers a unique learning environment by bringing together the academic thought leadership of MIT with the in-the-trenches experience of leading global CIOs and industry experts. The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is organized and developed by the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association. For more information and to register for this year's Symposium, visit www.mitcio.com.

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SOURCE MIT Sloan CIO Symposium