Please wait while the page is being loaded Skip this advertisement >
Friday | 5 December, 2008
CIO
How to Move Up During Restructuring
Sometimes, you can make lemonade when your company is reorganizing or being acquired
Meridith Levinson 03 October, 2007 15:03:46

To move up (or to stay put) while others are moving out be sure to make friends with the leadership team that's going to remain

A restructuring doesn't always mean you're going to lose your job. Though the word has come to connote desperate cost cutting and massive layoffs, sometimes an executive can make lemonade from this situation.

Jim Ward's move from acting CIO to official CIO in August came amid an "organizational realignment" at his company, transportation and logistics provider Pacer International. Much like typical corporate restructurings, the realignment at Pacer is intended to streamline operations, strengthen core businesses and encourage integration across businesses, according to the company.

Jerry Wackerhagen was promoted from executive VP and CIO of Cash America International to president of retail lending services amid a management "realignment" designed "to establish management efficiencies and facilitate future growth," according to a company press release. (Some companies have given up the dirty word "restructuring" in favour of the kinder, gentler realignment.)

To move up (or to stay put) while others are moving out (assuming you still want to work for your firm after it's been restructured or realigned) be sure to make friends with the leadership team that's going to remain after such changes, says Gerry McNamara, a recruiter with Heidrick & Struggles. If your newly restructured company is in acquisition mode, McNamara says a CIO has to be able to answer the following questions about an acquisition target if he or she wants a chance to stay on board:

  • Who has the better systems, and how long will that take to determine?

  • How quickly can we move the acquired company's data over to our systems?

  • How much will it cost?
"If you are an IT leader who understands technology and business strategy and has enamoured him- or herself with corporation's leadership, you're going to be part of that team going forward," says McNamara.
Featured Whitepaper Sponsors
Market Place
 

Smart SOA World Tour

Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.

Attend and learn:

  • How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
  • Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
  • The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid

Click here for more information.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00

    For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25

    For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00

    Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00

    Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05

    Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    SOA What? Why You Need SOA Governance Framework 04 December, 2008 08:32:00

    Adopting services oriented architecture (SOA) in your enterprise without thinking through IT governance can cause something like the Gold Rush in the 1800s; extreme rates of growth and minimal law and order which produce unexpected outcomes.
  • +

    The Myth of Cloud Computing 04 December, 2008 08:25:00

    Why the rapid spread of virtual technology is becoming a security risk
    Why the rapid spread of virtual technology is becoming a security risk.
  • +

    Who Pushed Vendors Toward Better Security? 04 December, 2008 09:38:00

    Hint: It had something to do with pressure from customers and government agencies, writes Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson
    Hint: It had something to do with pressure from customers and government agencies, writes Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson.
  • +

    CPO & CISO: A Comprehensive Approach to Information 04 December, 2008 08:42:00

    GE CPO Nuala O'Connor Kelly advocates greater CPO/CISO cooperation to place the right value on information assets.
    GE CPO Nuala O'Connor Kelly advocates greater CPO/CISO cooperation to place the right value on information assets.
  • +

    Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia 04 December, 2008 08:00:00

    Almost all PCs scanned by patch tool have an unpatched app; 46% have 11-plus.
    More than 98% of Windows computers harbor at least one unpatched application, and nearly half contain 11 or more programs at risk from attack, a Danish security company said Wednesday.
CIO Webcast Innovation #8 - What are the biggest roadblocks to IT's involvement in innovation at your company?
Watch the latest latest edition of CIO Innovation which is now available for download.
Watch the webcast
Sign up to the CIO Innovation update email


CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II
Listen to the latest edition of CIO Live which is now available for download.
Listen to the podcast
Sign up to the CIO Live email
Whitepaper

The state of Middleware

Middleware delivers unprecedented visibility and control over your business by making timely information available to decision makers. Organisations are using Middleware to leverage their existing IT investments, while optimizing their IT and business operations, securing their infrastructure and driving compliance. Read on to discover how Middleware can help you increase your businesses profitability.