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THE MODERN CIO: MORE THAN TECH
Notlong ago, the CIO’s office was tucked away somewhere near the server rooms—quiet, methodical, and largely behind the scenes. Fast forward to 2025, and things couldn’t be more different. Today’s CIO walks into boardrooms, not boiler rooms. They're expected to lead, inspire, strategize, and still somehow keep the Wi-Fi running.
Let’s face it—being a CIO right now is no small task. AI isn’t just a shiny new toy anymore; it’s a business necessity. GenAI has gone from experimental pilot projects to full-on enterprise transformation tools. So, how do you roll out AI, stay compliant, and still meet quarterly goals? Good question. And it’s one we know you’re grappling with.
Cybersecurity? That’s a whole other beast. With threats getting sneakier and more damaging, today’s tech leaders are doubling down on zero-trust strategies and rethinking outdated systems. Add in ESG responsibilities, sustainability targets, and hybrid workforces—suddenly, the CIO’s job looks more like a high-stakes juggling act.
In this issue of CIO Magazine, we shine a light on the leaders who are not only juggling but innovating. Our cover story features Scott duFour, CIO of Corpay, a global payments giant. Since stepping into the role in 2019, Scott has reimagined Corpay’s IT landscape—from consolidating ERP systems to building a future-ready tech culture. His journey spans continents, startups, and Fortune 500 firms—and his insights on agility, innovation, and transformation are not to be missed.
Also inside: articles, ideas, and real-world stories on everything from ethical AI and cybersecurity resilience to the future of IT operations. We’ve gathered voices that challenge the status quo and offer tangible takeaways for the road ahead.
This issue is a celebration of the modern CIO: not just a tech leader, but a cultureshaper, strategist, and change-maker. If you're feeling the pressure, know this—you’re not alone. We’re in this digital whirlwind together.
Enjoy Reading.
Sarath Shyam
SCOTT DUFOUR
CIO, CORPAY
DRIVING MEANINGFUL CHANGE THROUGH PURPOSE-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY
CIO INSIGHTS
Nabeel Nawaz
Global CIO M&A Leader, IBM
Driving Transformation through Servant Leadership
Heather Dawe
22 Chief Data Scientist, UST
Pioneering Responsible AI for a Better Tomorrow
Karen Habercoss 34 Vice President, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, University of Chicago
Medicine Health System
Safeguarding Patient Trust in the Era of AI
EXECUTIVE OP-EDS
Dr. Mark Weisman
16 Chief Information Officer, TidalHealth, Inc.
The CIO’s AI-First Strategy: How to Drive Business Value with GenAI
28 CTO, Stone
Marcus Fontoura
Technology Shouldn’t Be an Afterthought - Make it the Backbone of Business
Simon Ratcliffe
40 Fractional CIO, Freeman Clarke
Unlocking the Value from M&A
COVER STORY
SCOTT DUFOUR
CIO, CORPAY
DRIVING MEANINGFUL CHANGE THROUGH PURPOSE-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY
Scott duFour joined Corpay, an S&P 500 global payments leader, as Chief Information Officer in 2019. Prior to joining us, Scott held technology leadership roles at McKesson from 2013 to 2019 including CIO for McKesson Europe, where he was responsible for all IT functions across 13 countries. At McKesson, Scott led several major IT initiatives including the consolidation of ERP platforms, infrastructure modernization, and transforming the company’s IT organization. Scott held IT and business leadership positions at two start-ups from 2001 to 2013. His early career includes roles at Accenture, Sun Chemical, and Covalex.com Inc.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Scott shared his professional trajectory, insights on the evolution of the CIO role in the last 5-10 years, personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Scott. How did you first become interested in technology and what propelled you into it?
Well, when I went to college, I wasn't seeking a computer science career. I majored in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan. After my junior year, I got an electrical engineering internship with a defence contractor, but it wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be. As I went back to my senior year at Michigan, I thought about different career opportunities, and I took some computer programming courses focused on chip design. That led me to the path of
information technology, and I soon went to work for Anderson Consulting.
What do you love the most about your current role?
After a 30-plus-year career working for various types of companies from start-ups to public multinationals, the thing I enjoy most is the technology. At Corpay, IT is at the forefront of what we do. By developing and managing the products and services that we offer to our customers, my team and I can make an immediate impact on our business. It is really a strategic and integral part of Corpay’s business.
By developing and managing the products and services that we offer to our customers, my team and I can make an immediate impact on our business
How are you leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive innovation and improvement in IT services?
When you look at newer technologies, we adopt them in a couple different ways. We leverage many third-party software products, especially for our back office. These are both on premise and SaaS-based providers. As those companies adopt new technologies into their products, most recently AI, we look at how we can best leverage that technology for ourselves. The second way we adopt new technologies is by integrating them into the products and services that we offer our customers.
How have you seen the role of the CIO change in the last 5-10 years, and what changes do you see on the horizon in the years ahead?
With technology, there is constant evolution. It is being leveraged more and more not just
in the products and services, but in the backoffice business processes. The pressure is on the technology group to continue to adopt new tools, develop new tools, and develop new products, and that pace continues to accelerate. Managing that change and managing cost efficiently is becoming ever more difficult. With that, the CIO has more of a seat at the table with the business than they've ever had. They’re not just a backoffice support function, but rather they're a strategic partner to help drive costs down and revenues up.
As for the horizon, the big question is how AI will be integrated into the many facets of the business. Companies are going to look to the CIO not only for adoption of the technology, but governance of the technology, as far as how and where to use it. The other evolving aspect is security, which is a more and more challenging space. As the bad guys get smarter and get newer technology, they can use that technology to infiltrate and hack companies. Companies will
need to invest in security for all of their products and services to safeguard their wellbeing.
How do you stay ahead of the curve in terms of technology trends and innovations?
When we look at new use cases for technology, we work with our business partners to survey the landscape, look at what our competitors are doing, look at our pain points, then prioritize the use cases based on their potential value to the company. We then create a small pilot or proof of concept, measure the outcome, and then decide if it’s something we want to scale up in the business or apply it to other business units.
The challenge is to explore and adopt the latest technology without letting costs spiral out of control, particularly with the SaaS model. For that, we make sure to have good visibility into all of our contracts and are ready to negotiate when they are up for renewal. We also look for cases where a new technology is already available from an existing vendor.
Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are?
I've been fortunate in my career to have a lot of different mentors, starting with my father. He provided encouragement and counselling for my career and for life in general. Professionally, I've had several different mentors, both positive and negative, in the sense that I've had good bosses and bad bosses, and they taught me how to do things and how not to do things.
Some of the most powerful coaching I received was just around the power of the organization, the power of your team. A boss I had back at one of my start-up companies had
Oftentimes as leaders, we have to deal with difficult situations, and if you're not transparent with your people and your organization, they can generally see that, and that'll lead to distrust, which can become a cancer on the organization
us read a book called Multipliers. It talked about the different types of leaders, the command and control leaders versus the leaders that really focused more on coaching and providing context to their team, to unleash innovation at multiple levels in the organization. That was some of the most powerful mentoring I got early on as I developed my leadership skills. I learned to be a multiplier.
What does the term "authentic leadership" mean to you?
I think an authentic leader is someone who would never ask you to do anything they wouldn't do themselves. I'm a strong believer in leading by example. Second, an authentic leader is transparent. Oftentimes as leaders, we have to deal with difficult situations, and if you're not transparent with your people and your organization, they can generally see that, and that'll lead to distrust, which can become a cancer on the organization. Third, I would say an authentic leader provides context. When I do my town halls, I always try to talk about how the company is doing and how IT contributed to that success. I get some of the most positive feedback when people understand the context of the company, the context of what we're trying to accomplish, strategically, and then how they can play a role in that.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
First and foremost, will always be spending time with my wife and four children, whether it be on vacations or just spending time around the house or watching a movie with them. Second, I'm a competitive person, so I need
The people I've seen be successful aren't necessarily the smartest from a technology perspective, but they are people who understand business challenges and how to apply technology to address them
an outlet for my competitive juices. Most recently, that has been tennis and golf. Third, one of the things I've learned about myself is if I'm not constantly learning, I become bored. So, I find myself reading up on topics that I'm interested in. Some of them work related, such as technology. Some not, such as history. I like to be learning all the time.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
I am very satisfied, excited, and challenged by my role here at Corpay. I want to continue making this a successful company, helping it evolve to the changing business landscape and opportunities that present themselves. I see myself continuing to work here with my team and with the leadership team to make Corpay successful. Outside of work, as I wind down towards the end of my career, I start to reflect and look back at how I can give back to my community or to my family. So, I'll probably start to look for outlets in that space as my children are older and getting out of college, and I find myself with more free time.
What advice would you give to aspiring technology leaders who aim to make a positive impact in their organizations and the industry as a whole?
If you’re early in your technology career, and you think you might one day want to be a CIO, I would say a couple of things. First, don’t chase titles or salary. Instead, always be continuing to develop your skill set. If you're an application developer, learn about infrastructure and networking. If you're in infrastructure, learn about application development. That will make you a more wellrounded technologist and leader. Second, look for leaders who have been successful and identify what makes them successful. The people I've seen be successful aren't necessarily the smartest from a technology perspective, but they are people who understand business challenges and how to apply technology to address them. The late Harvard University professor Clayton Christensen coined the term “disruptive innovation,” meaning an innovation that creates a new market or overtakes existing market leaders. Applied to technology, that means using innovation to solve customers’ problems as opposed to innovating for the innovation’s sake.
Wa n t t o S e l l o r fi n d
I nve s t o rs f o r yo u r
B u s i n e s s ?
THE CIO’S AI-FIRST STRATEGY: HOW TO DRIVE BUSINESS VALUE WITH GENAI
Dr. Mark Weisman
Chief Information Officer, TidalHealth, Inc.
Dr. Weisman, who joined TidalHealth in 2018 as its Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO), is also the health system’s VP of Information Technology, Chief Information Officer (CIO). He is an internal medicine specialist with over 25 years in healthcare and extensive experience advancing technology to improve quality of care and cost-effectiveness, and reduce waste and unnecessary workloads. He has had numerous leadership roles in clinical management, strategy and development, analytics, and informatics. He received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC and his MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Weisman is double board-certified in internal medicine and informatics, is a certified healthcare CIO and chief digital officer, and has two graduate-level certificates from the Harvard University Extension School in cybersecurity and healthcare artificial intelligence.
When sitting with members of the board of directors or senior leaders in the organization, you may hear statements like, “We need to be an AI first organization”. I interpret that to mean we want our people working at their highest level, and we should offload the mundane tasks to the computer. However, the question we all must ask is whether this technology lives up to the excitement. It is very cool that I can ask Generative AI (GenAI) in a natural language to draw me a picture of a CIO pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but does it drive business value? As CIOs we need to balance the challenges between bringing the latest and greatest to our organizations versus the need to defend against vendor hype and financial pressures. We naturally want to push our organization out of the dark ages and away from manual data entry, but we also wonder when the hype of GenAI will live up to its potential. This article explores that balancing act and highlights some of the considerations CIOs must make.
One of the technologies I believe best exemplifies these challenges in healthcare is ambient AI. We have all experienced the doctor's visit where the clinician has their head in the keyboard pecking away because they never learned to type without looking at the keys. Those days are coming to an end. Now, the doctor enters the exam room, hits record on a cell phone app, and has a normal conversation with their patient. At the end of the encounter, the generative AI creates the physician’s note without the need for the doctor to ever touch the keyboard. Similar tools now exist for many other business verticals. For those of us with enough grey hair to remember documenting on paper, we remember the days
of having eye contact with patients and when the electronic health record invaded our exam rooms, both patients and providers felt the impact. Ambient AI technology has been called a game changer in terms of restoring the doctorpatient relationship. However, is there any return on investment? At prices that range from $90-450 per provider per month, the cost to a health system employing hundreds or thousands of doctors is significant. Most of us have found that providers are not willing or able to add more patients into their day to cover the cost of this technology, nor are we seeing significant improvements in patient throughput related to this technology. So where is the business value? This technology raises interesting questions about the value of a “soft ROI”. Does improving a physician's sense of wellbeing have a measurable ROI? Does having the latest technology improve physician retention or help with recruiting? Does the quality of care improve if the doctor can focus on the conversation and not the capture of various data points to justify a certain level of billing? These questions remain unanswered, but healthcare CIOs are in the position of having to decide whether to invest in these tools or whether to sit on the sidelines to see how the market shakes out.
Other GenAI tools that have sparked interest include the plethora of chatbots that are now on the market to assist with office productivity. Personally, I have found these to be useful, but how much use they are getting across the organization and whether they drive business value remains unknown. For example, there are Excel formulas that I do not use often and rather than watching a YouTube video on the topic for 10 minutes and then trying to fumble through it, I can ask the AI to take a crack at it.
WE NATURALLY WANT TO PUSH OUR ORGANIZATION OUT OF THE DARK AGES AND AWAY FROM MANUAL DATA ENTRY, BUT WE ALSO WONDER WHEN THE HYPE OF GENAI WILL LIVE UP TO ITS POTENTIAL
I would say it is about 50/50 in terms of getting it correct. Has it improved my productivity? Maybe. Since I do not track my productivity by the minute, it is difficult to substantiate the investment. At $30 per user per month, the risks of a Copilot license are pretty low, until we start to scale these investments across the organization. Many CIOs are running these small pilots to see if lightning strikes, but I am not hearing about consistent improvements in productivity with the introduction of these tools. The gains appear to be episodic, where the GenAI does something great for a user, but then sits idle for days. Perhaps the gains are there to be realized, but we have not figured out how to put them into our workflow. Or perhaps there is a learning curve we need to scale before we see the business value. Either way, the ROI on these GenAI productivity tools also remains elusive.
I believe the use cases will continue to grow, and as CIOs we need to continue to explore the adoption of GenAI. In most of these use cases, the ROI will not be crystal clear, so consider using three measuring sticks to consider if you should dedicate your limited resources to a new GenAI tool.
1. Market disruption: Are there enough “soft” benefits to lead you to believe the technology will significantly change your industry? With ambient AI, the feedback from the clinicians is that they cannot live without it, so healthcare CIOs are fully backing this technology. In situations like this, either lead your industry with a pilot or be a fast follower with a strong commitment to adoption. Being late to recognize an industry-changing technology has career risks for CIOs.
ELEVATING THE AI LITERACY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL PAY FUTURE DIVIDENDS, EVEN IF THE CURRENT TOOL DOES NOT HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON THE REVENUE OR EXPENSE STATEMENTS
2. Pilot program potential: Is the cost reasonable where small pilots have low enough risk that they won’t impact the larger organization? There is a large difference in time and money between a project that takes terabytes of your unstructured data and dumps it into a large language model so you can ask the generative AI natural language questions about it versus putting 25 spreadsheets into a model to better understand how well the tools can help end users understand the data. The former will take dedicated resources away from other projects, whereas the latter is less than a day's worth of work. Minimize your exposure on these projects until the ROI becomes clear.
3. Talent development: Will the adoption of the technology lead to more people in your organization exploring AI use cases, learning about AI models, developing their own models, or providing feedback to senior leaders on the pros and cons of these tools? Elevating the AI literacy of your organization will pay future dividends, even if the current
tool does not have an immediate impact on the revenue or expense statements. There is a limit to how much an organization is willing to spend on talent development, but as the technology matures you will want to have basic infrastructure in place to take advantage of the advancements. Internal expertise and superusers are critical to eventual widespread adoption, and some degree of investment is worth the time and money involved.
On one side, there will be pressure from vendors pushing the latest GenAI models, board members who heard about the amazing things AI can do at some seminar, and enthusiastic staff members who are well intentioned, but perhaps not aware of the challenges with enterprise deployment of such tools. On the other side there is the risk of being left behind, caught unaware of market disruption, and with a talent pool poorly equipped to adapt to changes. Being a CIO requires finding that balance between those extremes and understanding the organization’s risk tolerance. It is a moving target in a rapidly changing field, so be prepared to reassess frequently.
Pioneering Responsible AI for a Better Tomorrow Heather Dawe
Chief Data Scientist, UST
Heather Dawe is a Data and AI Leader with 25 years of experience working across the industry, innovating with data and how it can be used to improve outcomes, quality and efficiency. At UST Heather works with FTSE-100 companies in the financial services, retail, manufacturing and logistics, advising on AI strategy and building associated implementation programmes.
A recognised AI Thought Leader, Heather has appeared on the BBC, Sky News, and numerous national and international news publications including The Guardian, Financial Times and Economic Times. A member of the Responsible AI Group at the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College, Cambridge, with her UST colleague Dr. Adnan Masood, she is coauthor of the 2023 book Responsible AI in the Enterprise, a guide to how to succeed with AI in business safely, fairly and ethically. She spoke about AI ethics at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025. With a love for learning, Heather is also passionate about helping others to develop their skills and expertise. She is an advocate for democratising AI as well as achieving greater diversity in those who develop it.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Heather shared insights on the future of work and how AI will impact the skills and expertise required for success in various industries, personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Heather. What drives your passion for data and AI, and how do you stay current with emerging trends and technologies?
I have always been fascinated with probability theory and the wider ways we can apply mathematics to real-world problems to improve a situation and make a difference. Within business this is often saving and making money, but it’s important to recognise the ways in which data and AI can be used to improve the quality of outcomes, in healthcare for example.
I stay connected with emerging trends and technologies by remaining hands-on –exploring and using new AI technologies as they become available, through the building of prototype apps and similar, I’ve coded throughout my career and continue to do so. I find building in this way really helps me to imagine how my teams can use the new technologies to both help their own ways of working and inform how we can use them to innovate solutions with our customers.
INCREASINGLY
WE ARE GOING TO BE
COMBINING
OUR OWN CREATIVITY AND EXPERTISE WITH AI TO BOTH INCREASE OUR PRODUCTIVITY AND TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES
What do you love the most about your current role?
My current role is very varied in that UST works with Clients across industry verticals, our Client base are in the financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and more. As such we get to see, advise on and develop a wide variety of data science and AI solutions for our Clients. I personally love to problem solve and innovate so this is a great role for me. More than that, because of the variety of our Client base and their differing ways of using data and AI, we can help to spread learning across our Client base.
How do you see the role of data and AI evolving in the future, and what implications will this have for businesses and society?
It kind of goes without saying that the role of data and AI has significantly grown in importance and relevance over the past few years. I think it’s still early days for how generative AI is in the process of changing our ways of working. Increasingly we are going to be combining our own creativity and expertise with AI to both increase our productivity and to accelerate the development of new products, services and technologies.
It is also important to recognise that, while generative AI is proving to be a transformative technology, there is much more to machine learning and AI than GenAI alone. I think in the coming years we will see an acceleration in the pace of other new and enhanced AI technologies. The development of many of these will be accelerated by GenAI, as a data scientist I am incredibly excited regarding how I can work with it to innovate and explore in these areas.
Can you share your perspective on the future of work and how AI will impact the skills and expertise required for success in various industries?
I think it is going to be fundamentally important for us to be in touch with our creativity and our capacity to think critically. Perversely over reliance on AI can cause these aspects of ourselves and our intelligence to become diminished. AI is incredibly good at process based cognitive tasks but cannot be intuitive and creative in the ways we can. And human expertise is going to become even more important as we will use this to work with AI to imagine and build new things.
Many jobs are going to change, particularly those that are at least in part process-based (and in this I include software development, the legal profession, accountancy, data science and more). Ways of working in such professions are going to become increasingly focussed on using AI in the most appropriate manner, assuring that work completed by AI is appropriate and in considering how we enhance and build on such output in ways AI cannot.
What does the term "authentic leadership" mean to you?
To be authentic leadership means being myself, treating others in the ways I would want to be treated myself, seeking to understand how I can help how those who work with me to enjoy and grow in their roles, alongside achieving our deliverables in the best ways. Empathy is an important part of this, it helps me understand the values and motivations of others and how we can achieve all together as a team.
It took me a many years to develop the confidence to bring my whole self to work.
I think it’s very important for people to feel comfortable to be themselves – we’re happier and more productive.
What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in tech? How important is it to have authentic conversations with leaders, professionals, and changemakers to create more acceptance across the globe?
As a woman technology leader, I’m in a significant minority, and women make up only 22% of the AI development workforce. Quite apart from the fact that we really should have parity within this workforce, a source of bias in AI is from those who develop it. Striving to ensure the diversity of this workforce reflects the diversity of society is really important as we increasingly use AI to make decisions for us in many areas of our lives. Conversations about this at all levels are very important. I’m a STEM Ambassador and visit schools to talk about how amazing a job in technology can be. I have also discussed the importance of diversity and inclusion in tech live on BBC Business News and spoken of it at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
I have two daughters and spending time with my family is something I love to do. My wider passions include painting and creative writing – both fiction and non-fiction. My paintings have been shown in a variety of galleries and exhibitions around the UK and I’m a published author – my first collection of short stories was shortlisted for the Banff Mountain Literature
prize in 2024. Painting and writing are really important to me – they help me to relax and think differently.
Which technology are you investing in now to prepare for the future?
In my role as a Chief Data Scientist, I prepare myself for the future by actively exploring and using new AI technologies, as well as seeking to explore how these new technologies can help me to use and benefit existing machine learning and analytics methods. While these days I don’t spend many of my working hours doing this – much of it is Client liaison, client, partner and service development and overseeing and mentoring our delivery teams – it’s an important aspect of my job.
At the moment my mind is being blown by the ways I can interact with GenAI to develop progressive prototypes of new AI and ML services. I am also continuing to explore quantum computing. While we’re probably a while away from this going mainstream, when it does it’s going to have huge impact on our technology landscape.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
The development of AI is currently moving at an incredibly fast pace. While this is very exciting, it’s also concerning as AI is far from perfect, it often gets things wrong and it’s not a silver bullet. I’ve been an advocate for ethical and responsible AI for many years now, and have significant experience of innovating with AI ethically and responsibly. While some question whether these can go together, I know they can and am grateful that an important part of my role now is guiding large Enterprises to
AS A WOMAN
TECHNOLOGY LEADER,
I’M IN A SIGNIFICANT MINORITY, AND WOMEN MAKE UP ONLY 22% OF THE AI
DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE
do so. In the future I aim to continue and to scale this advisory and guidance role. And, as we are increasingly seeing the role of Chief AI Officer emerge, I’m excited to see the opportunities that arise in this space.
What advice would you give to aspiring data scientists and AI leaders?
If I had to give three pieces of advice they would be to always seek to deeply understand the problem you are trying to solve with AI and to measure the value the AI brings. In many of our roles this means working closely with nontechnical users to unlock both the solutions and value, not hiding away with the algorithms! I would also encourage the recognition that diverse teams have been shown to be some of the highest performance teams. And lastly that in the future our knowledge and expertise as data scientists and AI developers are going to be at least as important as they are now: keep learning and embrace change, I don’t think there’s ever been a more exciting time to be a data scientist.
TECHNOLOGY SHOULDN’T BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT - MAKE IT THE BACKBONE OF BUSINESS
Marcus Fontoura
CTO, Stone
Marcus Fontoura has spent more than 20 years in big tech companies and has been at the forefront of industry-shaping technology innovations, from computational advertising to cloud computing to fintech. He is now the CTO at Stone, a leading provider of financial technology and software solutions, and has played a role in the company’s technological transformation. His new book, A Platform Mindset: Building a Culture of Collaboration (8080 Books, Feb. 11, 2025), shares how companies can expand and scale processes to bring about competitive advantages.
For decades, many companies have treated technology as a secondary consideration — a tool to support operations rather than a driver of strategy. Those days are over.
Today, technology is at the core of every business function — from managing supply chains and optimizing logistics to handling payments and maintaining customer databases. Companies that fail to integrate technology into their foundation risk inefficiency, obsolescence, and, ultimately, failure. This shift requires a new way of thinking: the platform mindset.
What is a platform mindset?
A platform mindset means viewing technology not as an isolated function but as an integral part of all business processes. It’s a shift in perspective that requires leadership to proactively incorporate technology into decision-making, ensuring it enhances every aspect of the company’s operations.
Organizations with a platform mindset don’t merely adopt digital tools, they embed technology into their DNA. This means that instead of siloed IT departments working independently, technology becomes a collaborative force across departments like marketing, HR, and finance.
How to develop a platform mindset
Shifting from a traditional business model to one with a platform mindset requires intentional effort. Here are three key strategies to make this transition effectively:
1. Leadership must think tech-first
Successful companies ensure that leadership actively integrates technology into strategic
decisions. This goes beyond implementing automation or upgrading software — it means continuously asking, “How can technology improve our operations, customer experience, and long-term success?”
CEOs and executives must recognize that digital transformation is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Companies that thrive in the digital age don’t simply react to technological advancements; they anticipate and leverage them.
A great example comes from Microsoft’s transformation under Satya Nadella, who shifted the company’s focus from isolated products to a collaborative cloud-first, AI-driven approach. This change required leadership to break traditional barriers and integrate technology across all functions.
2. Build a strong internal tech ecosystem
Having a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or an engineering leader is no longer optional — it’s a necessity. But more importantly, this leader must oversee a team that doesn’t just maintain
systems but actively collaborates with all departments to create digital solutions tailored to business needs.
For example, HR managers should have a dedicated tech counterpart who understands recruitment challenges and can develop tools to enhance hiring efficiency. Likewise, sales and marketing teams should work alongside developers who create personalized customer experiences through data-driven insights.
One practical approach is ensuring that engineers work closely with business units rather than operating in isolation. This model allows for real-time feedback and innovation that aligns with strategic goals. By embedding technology expertise into every department, companies create an agile and adaptive environment where innovation thrives.
3. Make technology a part of every process
A platform mindset requires companies to integrate technology into daily operations. This means rethinking outdated workflows
ORGANIZATIONS WITH A PLATFORM
MINDSET DON’T MERELY ADOPT DIGITAL TOOLS, THEY EMBED TECHNOLOGY INTO THEIR DNA
WHEN TECHNOLOGY IS A FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT RATHER THAN AN AFTERTHOUGHT, BUSINESSES BECOME MORE EFFICIENT, RESILIENT, AND ADAPTABLE TO CHANGE
and optimizing them with digital solutions. For instance:
- Supply chain teams can implement AIdriven analytics to anticipate demand and reduce waste.
- Finance departments can streamline transactions using automated payment processing systems.
- Customer service can leverage AI chatbots to provide instant support and enhance user experience.
At Stone, a Brazilian financial services company, technology was initially seen as a support function. However, by adopting a platform mindset, they restructured operations, making digital solutions a core part of their strategy. This shift enabled them to scale effectively and compete with global financial giants.
A platform mindset is the backbone of long-term success
The future belongs to organizations that embrace a platform mindset — those that build technology into their leadership philosophy, organizational structure, and daily operations. When technology is a foundational element rather than an afterthought, businesses become more efficient, resilient, and adaptable to change.
Adapting to this new reality requires a shift in culture. It requires an investment in the right talent. And it requires a commitment to innovation. Businesses that take these steps now will not only survive but thrive in an increasingly digital world. The key is to move beyond viewing technology as a tool and instead recognize it as the central pillar of long-term success.
Safeguarding Patient Trust in the Era of AI
Karen Habercoss
Vice President, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, University of Chicago Medicine Health System
Karen Habercoss is the Vice President, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer for the University of Chicago Medicine, a leading academic health system with a tripartite mission of patient care, research, and medical education. She is responsible for the enterprise strategy and operations of the health system Information Security and Privacy Office and co-leads the artificial intelligence (AI) governance program for the organization. Karen chairs the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Security Committee and is the chair elect of the Association of American Medical Colleges Compliance Officers’ Forum Steering Committee. She is the past co-lead the Privacy-Security Task Group for the Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council Cybersecurity Working Group. Her primary interest centers around effective collaboration efforts between security and privacy teams, and recent publishing around AI privacy best practices.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Karen shared insights on the role of security and privacy evolving in the healthcare industry, personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Karen. What drives your passion for information security and privacy, and how do you stay current with the latest trends and threats?
As a former healthcare clinician, it’s important for me to continue working to protect the environment and the data of the patients, employees, research subjects, and larger community my entity serves. I want to make certain care is safely delivered and maintained throughout my health system. I stay current by reading and connecting with other professionals I respect. I try to ask a lot of questions of my peers to find out what they might be doing that is different or innovative. I belong to several professional organizations and attend conferences where thought leaders in both privacy and security present. I review the threat intelligence that is available.
What do you love the most about your current role?
Every day is something new and there is always a learning opportunity. I love the challenge of
anticipating and identifying potential concerns and this keeps the role fresh. I have a strong interest in setting short term goals and long term strategies, and I enjoy seeing how these evolve over time in a consistently changing environment. I love that technology is rapidly advancing in the role of healthcare right now and being a part of this is very exciting. Areas like robotics, artificial intelligence, precision and personalized medicine, analytics are all changing the way healthcare is delivered and allowing patients to be cared for in innovative ways never previously considered. Most importantly, and very cliché, I love the people I get to interact with each day.
How do you see the role of security and privacy evolving in the healthcare industry, and what challenges and opportunities do you anticipate?
New and emerging technologies in healthcare are exciting and promising in the care of patients, but they also pose challenges for the security and privacy communities. Many are
NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN HEALTHCARE ARE EXCITING AND PROMISING IN THE CARE OF PATIENTS, BUT THEY ALSO POSE CHALLENGES FOR THE SECURITY AND PRIVACY COMMUNITIES
often not well understood, are unproven, or untested, and they require professionals upskill and educate themselves. There is a need now to really spend time with healthcare business units to understand the actual usage, the workflows,
interfaces, integrations, and ultimately the business risks involved with those critical technologies. The technology environment is also rapidly evolving, but often the oversight cannot keep pace. As an example, the use of
quantum computing may have seemed far away years ago but now is on the short horizon. It offers acceleration in pharmaceutical discoveries and research areas and manners to evolve healthcare in yet known ways but security and privacy professionals are challenged with fully understanding the implications.
What does the term "authentic leadership" mean to you?
Authentic leadership to me is simply being genuine and recognizing that everyone has talents and challenges. It means being able to capitalize on strengths and offer grace when situations are less than ideal. It is supporting your team and your fellow leaders and their teams. It promotes trust among and between teams. I want to be seen as someone who is a strong but humble contributor. It also involves having difficult and hard conversations when needed. Prior to becoming a privacy and security leader, I was a clinical social worker for many years. I use the social work skills a learned long ago every day to try to understand other people’s perspectives. Every person has a history and story that is uniquely that individual’s and the ability to reframe situations has served me well as a leader.
What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in tech? How important is it to have authentic conversations with leaders, professionals, and changemakers to create more acceptance across the globe?
This is such an important topic. The field can be intimidating and it definitely can become
more inclusive. There are barriers that can be difficult to overcome, especially in the area of security where the requirements for entry may appear higher than for other technology professionals to start. It’s not enough to just have an education or a mentor. I’ve discovered that having a mentor is important to learn and guide my career, but what gave me better visibility and confidence was sponsorship. Those couple leaders during my career who were an advocate and champion for me personally, believed I could achieve more, and actively helped to promote my career interests without anything in return for themselves or when I wasn’t even in the proverbial room, was incredibly impactful and helped me to achieve my current role.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
I am extremely passionate about childhood literacy, and my community and volunteer time is spent in this area. I believe childhood literacy is one of the most important predictors of future success for any person. I personally spend a lot of time reading, and I’ll read just about anything including fiction and nonfiction. When I’m not working, I spend time with my family, and we like to travel. My favorite place to go is Italy. I play pickleball every week, and used to play tennis.
Which technology are you investing in now to prepare for the future?
Technologies related to access management, especially around the protection of privileged access are key. I’m also very interested in
TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO ACCESS MANAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE PROTECTION OF PRIVILEGED ACCESS ARE KEY
identity verification solutions. While not a technology, I also think analytics and metrics are so meaningful. It’s useful for both security and privacy professionals to show value for their programmatic work and as much as possible what financial value being added. So often we think about the amount or volume of protection we are providing or productivity when metrics are offered. I think it’s more useful to attempt to show valuation in a financial way through the quantification of risk.
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
My biggest goal is always to practice a better work-personal life balance. In five years I will be moving toward retirement with the goal to continue to travel.
What advice would you give to someone looking to break into the field of information security and privacy?
Attend conferences, meet thought leaders, and network. Introduce yourself, be sincere, and let others know what you’re looking to accomplish in the future and ask for help. Gain an understanding of the different areas of privacy and security such as operations, engineering, incident response, architecture, identify and access, audit, governance, risk, and compliance. If you have an interest in the technical side then you should enhance your skills in that area. There are also less technical roles in compliance and audit that are equally important if you have interest in the profession but may not want something so technical.
UNLOCKING THE VALUE FROM M&A
Simon Ratcliffe
Fractional CIO, Freeman Clarke
Originally a trained psychologist specialising in organisational change, Simon Ratcliffe also trained as an accountant and served as a CFO where he specialised in automating financial reporting systems. Simon has spent the last 20 years maximising the value of technology investments and creating the necessary organisational and cultural change. Now working as an independent Management and Technology Consultant, Simon works with organisations exploring how effective change yields maximum value from technology. Simon is also a recognised industry speaker, a published author and a leading member of a number of forums, writing and contributing regularly to both the IT and business press as both an author and commentator.
M&A is on the rise again as organisations strive to increase their market or connect into adjacent solutions and yet so many of these activities fail to deliver on their promise. Part of the reason for these issues is the lack of post-deal integration. Technology is an ideal mechanism for driving integration forward but is all too often the blocker in the process. If we rapidly connect systems and data, we will help drive a sense of integration among the users and the customers.
Many IT functions will complain that they are the last to know about an acquisition and so begin the integration journey on the back foot. This then results in slow integration of key systems and every day that passes without integration results in leaking value from the M&A exercise.
Simple changes will reinforce integration. Changing e-Mail addresses to the new organisation’s name, changing login details to reflect the new organisation. Too often these are disregarded as trivial and unimportant but have a key part to play in reinforcing the new identity. We do not delete the old organisation we simply need to wrap the new identity around that so that our history is not lost but our future is clear.
When we fail in this simple process, we often create a ‘them and us’ mentality and once begun it become corrosive.
We read and speak often of the value of data and many M&A activities are predicated on precisely that. If we are acquiring an organisation to open new markets for our products, not having immediate access to that data will dilute the value. Every day that passes where we cannot market to the new clients, we
are losing opportunity and potentially creating uncertainty in the customer base.
Too often tech functions will say that it will takes weeks or months to integrate the data of two organisations but this need not be true. Having a strategy to allow immediate secure data sharing can be achieved quickly, even if the systems are very different. Waiting for the perfect integration simply delays the art of the possible.
Achieving this agility requires that a tech function is ready and has an executable plan from Day 1. Realistically it should be possible to enable technology integration within days of an acquisition if the right people, processes and tools are in place.
The other key element is engaging the tech function during the acquisition process. When the target company is a tech centric then Tech Due Diligence is often undertaken but in many other sectors it is far less common with a common complaint for the tech function that they were the last to know. That needs to change. Bring in the tech team as soon as possible and have them ready for when the acquisition happens.
However, the Tech Team needs to understand what due diligence means. Yes, it is an audit of the target systems, but this should be done in the context of how a merger can be effected. Simply having a list of what the target has is only a small part of the process. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses and mapping these to your own is crucial. Understanding why the systems they have were chosen helps understand the culture and attitude of the target and that will inform how you go about the initial engagements.
In engaging the tech team as early as possible, the chances of an acquisition being more successful are significantly raised as data
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF BELONGING AND TECH IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR ACHIEVING THIS
can be shared, identities merged and an overall feeling of belonging can be achieved that, in many ways, is far stronger than any events or presentations. When you get an e-Mail address in the new name you will feel like you belong. When you can see the other customer list you will feel like you belong. When you have access to new products to sell to your existing customers you will feel like you belong. Never underestimate the power of belonging and tech is a powerful tool for achieving this.
A large part of the responsibility belongs to the Senior Management Team to engage the tech team early. But the Tech Team also has responsibilities, and a key one is to stop assuming that it is their systems that will prevail going forward. Oftentimes acquired companies may have more advanced or effective systems and one of the benefits of M&A is being open to changing the current work practices in the acquiring business if new and better systems and processes are available.
This assessment may take time and may be influenced by other non-technical decisions, but that should not stop the initial activity.
Whether or not one Operational CM system is better than another may require lengthy debate but creating an environment where the data from both can be seen by all requires no debate. It requires a rigorous technology approach.
With technology dominating so much of what we do, merging an acquired business has the potential to be a long drawn out and complex process. But it need not be. Create a playbook at the outset and prioritise the tasks. Unifying identity and sharing critical data are absolutely key and should be achieved in days, not weeks and months.
Successful M&A requires speed and agility and a fundamental understanding that the ultimate goal of complete integration will begin with a rapid burst of known activity to draw the organisations together followed by a longer process of working out how to pull everything together seamlessly.
Of course, this all refers to the technology alone. Future articles will explore what happens when two tech teams come together and how to best navigate what can be a testing time for everybody.
Nabeel Nawaz
Global CIO M&A Leader, IBM
Driving Transformation through Servant Leadership
Nabeel Nawaz is a dynamic leader with over 25 years of experience driving innovation and transformation across industries and geographies. Based in London, he has thrived in diverse roles from technical pre-sales at Cisco to VP IT at Abraaj and Director of Business Information at K-Electric, and as Founder & CEO of his own tech startup. An INSEAD MBA graduate, Nabeel now serves as IBM’s Global CIO M&A Leader, overseeing IT integration for strategic acquisitions. A passionate mentor and agile coach, he’s known for his servant leadership and commitment to empowering senior leaders to reach their full potential, globally recognized. Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Nabeel shared insights on the role of CIO evolving in the next 5-10 years, personal hobbies and interests, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Nabeel. How did you first become interested in technology and what propelled you into it?
I think my interest in technology happened in a few waves. The first wave was related to the advent of ubiquitous internet. The applications that started being built on top of that were fascinating, and I remember this gave rise to the Internet of Things, where everything was internet enabled and could feed back data irrespective of where the device was. The second was the personal device transformation that happened through the mobile phone wherein certain reports cited that we look at our mobile screens
about 55 times a day!! Finally in the most recent wave, generative AI, and its potential impact on any job or work an individual, or company does, has got me hooked.
What do you love the most about your current role?
The challenge and impact of the work we do. In my current role, I am globally responsible for post-acquisition integration of any company that IBM acquires, from an IT perspective. No day is the same, and we have to solve complex problems that present themselves across people, process, technology, and data.
I USE STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS TO HELP ENABLE THE BUSINESS PROCESSES OF THE NEWLY ACQUIRED COMPANY, THIS COULD BE SALESFORCE, SAP, ADOBE, AND SIRION
However I know the faster my team is able to integrate these companies, the sooner IBM can achieve its medium to long term growth goals and gain competitive advantage in the market. That’s exciting!
How do you see the role of the CIO evolving in the next 5-10 years, and what skills or competencies will be most important for CIOs to develop? CIOs have always been known for their business acumen and technical knowledge. The success of a CIO is measured on a few key areas, ensuring value from technology investments, protecting the company and shareholder value from security, data privacy, and other risks, and building high performance teams, and coaching for success, amongst other things. However as the massive improvement in efficiency of LLMs takes the world by storm, I think the CIO needs to drive the evaluation, and use of Gen AI technology, to drive efficiency, productivity, and speed, in their own organisation, but also the organisation at large. Here once again, how to extract value from Gen AI technology becomes front a nd centre.
What role do you think technology plays in enabling effective leadership and coaching, and how do you leverage technology in your own work?
I feel leadership and coaching is technology agnostic, irrespective of where you are, you will not get far as a CIO if you are not able to lead and coach well. I use strategic technology platforms to help enable the business processes of the newly acquired
company, this could be Salesforce, SAP, Adobe, and Sirion.
Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are?
Yes, I had two mentors when I was much younger, they both were exceptionally successful as senior corporate executives, and entrepreneurs. They both were able to tell me hard truths that changed my perspective about myself, truths that my friends or family couldn’t tell me. This set me up on the course to progression, from a place I could never have imagined.
What role do you think selfawareness and emotional intelligence play in effective leadership, and how can leaders develop these skills?
These are two of the most important skills that I have developed and have helped me get where I have got to in my career. I believe these skills can be coached, leaders should seek out coaches who can help to develop such skills. Leaders must first assess their EQ, and acknowledge the gap. Only once they realise themselves that there is a need, would they be motivated to develop these skills. There is a lot of material one can read, tests one can take to assess EQ, and also coaches and mentors that can help guide on this path.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
I am super interested in Generative AI and read a lot around the subject. I play with the
MY BIGGEST GOAL IS TO LEAVE A LEGACY IN RESPECT OF HOW MANY PEOPLE’S LIVES I IMPACTED POSITIVELY SO THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THEIR UNTAPPED POTENTIAL
technology and experiment where I can. Aside from that, these days I have Padel Tennis fever, and end up playing at least twice a week!
Which technology are you investing in now to prepare for the future?
Hybrid cloud and Artificial Intelligence is the way to go!
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
My biggest goal is to leave a legacy in respect of how many people’s lives I impacted positively so that they were able to achieve their untapped potential. In 5 years, I see myself as an executive responsible for a major transformation that helps IBM
become the nimble, productive, machine it seeks to be.
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders who are looking to build their skills and expertise?
I always advocate that aspiring leaders should gain three E’s: Education, Experience, and Exposure. Education should be relatively straightforward, this is formal education through degree programs or structured courses. Experience is working in a particular job for a company, in a particular role. Finally exposure is when you get assigned to a “stretch project” which gives you critical access to new contacts, executives, skills, and opportunities. Also don’t stagnate, look for opportunities to rotate your role as this brings significant exposure.
