Joe Deragon, CIO and general manager of the information technology division at Australian financial institution, BankWest, argues that CIOs needs to be sitting at the management table with the other executives so that IT issues can be raised directly.
He emphasises the importance of being part of the management team, and has seen an industry trend in this direction. "The CIO is sitting at the table with the other executives and can raise the issues directly with them," he said. "[The CIO] can help lead the business strategy and so that drives the IT strategy."
Just over two weeks into the role at BankWest, Deragon said that part of his role was to be a change leader within the company. He defines the general manager role as more functional--looking at strategy, architecture, client relationships, as well as the delivery of products and services to the business. In contrast, Deragon sees the CIO segment of his role as focusing on working closely with BankWest's CEO and the rest of the executive management team.
Deragon comes to BankWest from a background in IT consultancy work, in addition to corporate roles. "The result is a hybrid person," he said. "Where you have a lot of IT experience and skills in technology [but] also understand their position and how they have to work with IT." His employment history includes positions both in Canada and Australia, the most recent as CIO at Asia Pacific Zurich Financial Services Group, looking after its IT operations in 14 countries.
Deragon admits his background in IT consultancy has impacted his perspective on providing customer service to internal clients. "I'm able to sit on both sides of the fence," he said.
Perth-based, he also joins BankWest only six weeks after its new information technology division was created by amalgamating existing IT service units at the bank. "We've really just gone through a major restructuring of IT departments...recognising the importance of IT and bringing it all together for greater efficiency."
He estimates that it would probably take the next 12 to 18 months to get it working smoothly, during which time he will continue to drive that transformation.
The IT division is comprised of more than 250 full-time staff, with an additional 150 IT professional at its disposal through an outsourcing arrangement with Unisys West, of which it is part owner. Deragon said the arrangement covers the outsourcing of functional areas, such as desktop servicing and support.
According to Deragon, the IT division has four areas--management of the client relationships within the bank; IT strategy and architecture; service delivery and building solutions; and business services.
Since the restructure, Deragon said that the IT division was carrying out a major assessment of all its technology platforms. "That'll be done during the next three to four months--processing, storage, network, desktop--everything," he said. "[To] take a look at all the technologies we currently use and see if they fit well with what we think we should be doing."
When discussing the challenges faced on a general level by CIOs, Deragon highlighted his belief that businesses are now starting to invest again in IT solutions, looking to reduce costs and become more efficient. "New solutions to help businesses grow are fairly critical," Deragon said.
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