2005-02-16

Ellen S. Kitzis, Group Vice President
Gartner EXP Americas

"The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results".

Chief information officers today stand at a crossroad. The role of each CIO is inevitably changing. Standing still is not an option - every CIO will follow one of two paths. The path influenced by the view that IT is irrelevant to competitive advantage leads to a role that might be called chief technology mechanic, a role ultimately no more prestigious than that of factory floor manager. The other path, influenced by the view that IT is at the heart of every significant business process and is crucial to innovation and enterprise success, leads to a role we call the new CIO leader. Do you understand this role and what it requires of you? The New CIO Leader reveals exactly what CIOs must do to solidify their credibility, take their place at the executive table and bridge the current chasm between business and IT strategy.

Ellen S. Kitzis is a group vice president at Gartner, Inc. Since 2000, Dr. Kitzis has been part of the global leadership team of Gartner's CIO Executive Programs, which serves over two thousand CIO members. She currently leads the EXP Americas team. Working daily to support CIOs and other IT leaders, Dr. Kitzis regularly engages members in the daily issues of leading and managing IS organizations and specializes in organizational strategy, leadership, and IT and business synergy. Traveling throughout the fifty states and Latin America, Dr. Kitzis frequently speaks with groups of CIOs on topical themes and issues. She is a spokesperson for Gartner for various CIO publications and has appeared a number of times on CNBC. She is co-author with Marianne Broadbent of the new book from HBS Press: The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results. Prior to returning to Gartner, Dr. Kitzis held the position of vice president of strategy and business development for Compaq Services and was the worldwide head of Gartner's Dataquest IT Services Group. She has held previous positions at The Ledgeway Group and Consulting Statistician Inc., a Crowntek company. She holds an undergraduate degree from Boston University and a doctorate in organizational change from Tufts University.