Fusing Business and Technology to Create Value

By Bob Hennessy, Group CIO, Lendlease [ASX: LLC]

Bob Hennessy, Group CIO, Lendlease [ASX: LLC]

As a CIO, tell us about a transformation you have led that has had a positive impact on your business.
In the last 42 years, I have lucked in to a few massive business transformations. The fact that there is still a complex multiproduct steel manufacturer in Port Kembla, NSW, today, (Bethlehem Steel in the U.S. and Sheffield Steel in the UK were the two comparable steelworks back in the 1970s and 80s but failed over a decade ago now) is because of a seven year transformation (from a ‘make to stock’ to a ‘make to order’ operating model) done from 1981. I continue to learn even today as I look back at my involvement in that major transformation. Most recently, from 2005-2007, I was deeply involved in one of my favourite transformations as we re-imagined a 600,000 customer consumer telco proposition, fully automating every business process for a multi-product portfolio. Over three years, we fully implemented that vision, we decommissioned all of the targeted sunset technologies, and we met every target process cycle time of the new business within three months of commissioning. Despite multiple acquisitions of the business running on that technology, over the last ten years, the core system still remains and may well survive for some years yet. 3000 call centre staff was reduced to 300, over 1700 product options were rationalised to less than 20, and the time to market for new products was limited only by the pace of generating a marketing campaign and not constrained by anything to do with the technology.

What is the biggest technology barrier you are facing to being a more effective CIO?
There is no technology barrier stopping me from being a more effective CIO. My credibility, my relationships, my ability to imagine and to influence… these are far more important than any technology in how effective I am. If I am not seen to be effective, then, unfortunately I am to blame!! A big part of the job does, of course, relate to technology capability to impact on my business. The challenge is still often helping business leaders to come to terms with reality over hype and conversely to then fully engage in reimagining how a business might operate with the enablement now possible through advanced technologies.

Strategy is always ‘business strategy,’ how technology plays a role in the strategy (even if it a key enabler) is a derivative of the business strategy, not a separate strategy needing alignment

How do you strike the balance between operations and innovation among your IT staff?
The landscape is changing in this regard. There are some aspects of operations that must always come first ... that cannot be compromised … security patching of core applications, for example, keeping the network operational, and more. But many traditional ‘operations’ roles (bug fixing, for example) are now blended into a devops delivery model where bugs compete more dynamically with new capability options for resources. We are in the process of an aggressive shift to an agile delivery model where business ‘product owners’ will be far more engaged in these day-to-day prioritization calls and where we will break down the old model of providing a standing resource capacity just to deal with the care, maintenance, and bug fixing activities of the technology assets. This model is operational in some areas but being more broadly adopted now across our organisation.

What organizational structure allows for the best relationships between IT and its business partners?
Organizational structures are obviously very influenced by cultural norms, but, in principle, I believe that a non-negotiable effective strategic exploitation of technology by companies or business units is to have a trusted senior technology executive embedded in the senior team of the unit. Technology-related initiatives can then emerge organically through those relationships/discussions. I have always jokingly said that as soon as you say you are discussing technology business leaders drop ten IQ points … it is not their native territory and their brains freeze … and technology leaders are very often poor at bridging the understanding divide. It needs daily exposure to each other to open the communication channels with common language to allow business execs to allow technology to simply be part of their natural landscape. Strategy is always ‘business strategy,’ how technology plays a role in the strategy (even if it a key enabler) is a derivative of the business strategy, not a separate strategy needing alignment.

You have been the chief information officer at Lendlease for the past four years. Before becoming CIO, you worked as the SVP and with many other designations. How did those roles color your experience as a CIO?
It’s hard to know where to start on how my prior experiences have shaped my approach to my current role. There is no doubt that my experience as a business owner … doing an MBO, running a business that was mine, having to sell, and raising capital has forever changed my perspective of entrepreneurs, startups, and sales people! I now have a respect that can only be borne of having the personal scars for what this all means. I have also realized how richly resourced and how comfortable we are in corporate life. Things can be done massively more efficiently and at far greater speed than most people in large corporates can conceive of. But I also better understand the power that a large corporate can wield and the difference you can make if you DO get your act together. My collective experiences lead to be believe that if I can see possibilities I am not just empowered but indeed obligated to pursue them—even if unpopular—and that with perseverance I CAN make a difference.

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