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GREGG DAVIS, Senior VP and CIO Webcor Builders | |
Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I'm most proud of the fact that I started my own IT consulting business and ran it successfully for many years. I then sold the company to Webcor and have been able to serve happily as its CIO.
Most important career influencer: Andy Ball, the president and CEO of Webcor, who shares my love of technology. He envisions cutting-edge technology helping every aspect of our organization, and I get the great joy of researching and implementing these ideas with unwavering support.
Decision I wish I could do over: I had a knock-down, drag-out dispute with a vendor that I helped accelerate. OK ... I threw major fuel on the fire and eventually terminated the vendor agreement, and we got involved with litigation. We chose a competitor and were extremely happy until it was acquired by the vendor we terminated. Can you hear me eating crow now?
Best advice for future CIOs: Learn business. You need to be able to dissect business publications and basic financial reports, including balance sheets and P&L statements.
View on offshore outsourcing: Use caution about what you outsource and to whom, but if managed properly outsourcing can be a home run.
IT budget: $4 million
Size of IT team: Around 25
Top three initiatives:
How I measure IT effectiveness: I'm not a true believer in most ROI studies since I can get them to say almost anything I want. We do use metrics from our systems to measure our effectiveness, but it's happy, productive employees that really matter. We've won numerous awards for the best place to work!
Computer: I use a Windows PC at work and an Apple at home.
Favorite sports: Hockey (go Sharks!) and golf
Best book read recently: Appaloosa. I love a good shoot-'em-up Western.
If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a physician.