Computerworld - February 27, 2012

Senior vice president, IT,
Sprint-Nextel,
Overland Park, Kan.
Mamatha
Chamarthi
Vice president and CIO,
Business Technology
Solutions, Consumers
Energy, Jackson, Mich.
How do you
make sure
your most
talented
workers
stay put?
An innovative sta; idea:
William
Chapman
THIS VISIONARY TEACHES O THERS TO IDENTIFY
INNOVATIVE IDEAS
How do you
make sure
your most
talented
workers
stay put?
We have focused on increas-
ing employee engagement
through the “Energized and
Engaged Employee” initiative,
which focuses on tactics that
let people spend time on proj-
ects they have a passion for.
What is your vision for the
future of your IT organiza-
tion? An agile organization —
responsive to the rapid pace
of technology changes in our
industry.
GIFTED WITH A VISION and passion for future possi- bilities, William Chapman, vice president and CIO for Global Services Businesses at Arrow Electronics, built a pipeline to stream innovations into the company. The innovation and patent brainstorming session, which Chapman created and facilitates, teaches IT and business leaders how to identify and implement new ideas. “We train
[sta;ers] on how to innovate, what to capture in innovation, what’s
patentable and what’s not patentable,” he says. “Sometimes the inno-
vation is on the leading edge of where the process takes place.”
Dave Blasi, director of business solutions at Arrow, says the session’s
aim is to “keep our eye on things that are so unique that we can actu-
ally patent the intellectual property around it.”
Chapman, 57, joined Arrow a little over a year ago. Although taking
charge of the newly formed global services business was risky, it’s the
kind of opportunity Chapman says he seeks out. “It was a job that said,
‘Here’s a whole new set of industries that are disjointed at this point,
and here’s a company that really has a vision of pulling it together, and
that’s going to be a great opportunity for innovation.’ ”
“Bill’s leadership style is remarkable,” says Blasi. “He deliberately
builds high-performance teams, interacting individually and managing
peoples’ personal development needs as well as team and depart-
ment development — all with high impact in mind.” ;

— RARI HILDITCH, PATHWAYS COMMUNICATION MANAGER, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, CIO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Michael L.
Capone
Corporate vice president
and CIO, ADP,
Roseland, N. J.
CIO, Executive O;ce of the
President, Washington
How have
you incor-
porated
social
media into
your own
work? I use a blog to connect
with IT employees across the
globe. The forum has proven
to be a very e;ective means
of two-way dialogue ranging
from recruiting candidates
for a key senior-level interna-
tional IT role, to recognizing
and celebrating business suc-
cesses and product launches.
It’s also an avenue for dis-
cussing technology innova-
tion within the organization.