Top Positions Opening Up To Nontechies

Used to be, the person in charge of a company’s information systems won the job by spending years mastering that organization’s data center and mainframe computer. Today, that’s rarely the route to the top.

With technology playing an increasingly prominent role in the financial success of companies, the people responsible for overseeing that technology frequently climb more varied trails to those positions.

Take 41-year-old Paul Hoedeman. A certified public accountant with a law degree, Hoedeman started his career as an auditor and eventually worked his way up to chief financial officer for AlliedSignal Aerospace in Torrance.

Two years ago, AlliedSignal made Hoedeman its chief information officer, a crucial position at a company searching for ways to use technology to carve out a larger niche of the aerospace industry.

“There’s certainly a changing of backgrounds in information systems,” Hoedeman said. “You’re seeing a lot of people with experience in areas such as law, human resources or finance.”

The role technology plays at many companies explains the change in the people overseeing it.

Previously, the chief information officer’s role looked so limited that an industry joke had it that the CIO acronym actually stood for “career is over.” The position is now much more dynamic. It’s not enough merely to make sure the company’s computers don’t crash and that its phones don’t go on the blink.

The chief information officer of today is expected to come up with ways to increase sales, cut costs and improve delivery systems.

Hoedeman’s department, for example, recently created an “electronic storefront” system that allowed an airline to order a part via computer and have it swiftly delivered from the closest AlliedSignal plant that had it on hand.

Previously, someone had to get on the phone and call numerous AlliedSignal facilities on several continents searching for the part. The process could take days and airlines would often turn to other suppliers before it was located.

“The constant challenge for us is to find ways to create a competitive advantage,” Hoedeman said. “With the electronic storefront, we pick up a lot more orders and our customers are happier.”

Chief information officers are often expected to play a more active role in the strategic direction of a company. That means making oral or written presentations, areas where backgrounds outside of technology often help.

That’s not to say that you don’t have to be pretty handy with technology. Hoedeman, for example, tools around on five computers at home and early in his career was involved in demonstrating computer systems at his previous employer, NCR Corp. in Dayton, Ohio.

“You need to constantly be learning on your own time and technology has to be exciting to you,” Hoedeman said.

But at a company like AlliedSignal, which uses tens of thousands of personal computers, thousands of engineering work stations, local network systems and a mainframe center in Phoenix, it’s not possible for Hoedeman to be an expert in all he oversees.

“There’s just too much information for one person to have a knowledge that is both deep and broad,” he said. “That’s why the people side of it is so important.”

Consequently, Hoedeman spends one-third of his day on personnel issues, from recruitment and hiring to training.

Those joining Hoedeman’s team get what appears to be almost contradictory advice from the boss: Develop a passion for a specific area of technology, but don’t become so narrowly focused that a technological advance could make you obsolete.

“You’ve got to stay really flexible. Most of all, people should be doing something that is interesting.”