Departments

CIO Institute

Institute attracts top thought leaders

By Anthony Gold, CIO Institute Chairman,
PACT CTO and Healthy Humans CEO

What a year we’ve had thus far! With the merger of the Eastern Technology Council and the Mid-Atlantic Capital Alliance, two of the region’s premiere organizations driving business and technology have created a unique environment for the cultivation of ideas, talent and opportunity.

As the CTO of the new Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT) and Chairman of the CIO Institute, I’ve had the honor to sit among many of the top business and technology thought leaders as they chart the future for their businesses and for entire industries. With its charter to bring together the top CxOs in the region to share best practices, challenges overcome and future visions, the PACT CIO Institute hits on the hottest industry trends and how to realistically respond to them in specific business environments.

Some of round-table brainstorm sessions we’ve discussed thus far in 2010 include:

• Cloud computing
• Social media and business
• Security and business continuity
• Governance and vendor management
• Building and consuming enterprise software
• Talent in the region — what we have, what we need

Our hosts and presenters have included folks like Scott Fraser, CTO and Co-Founder, Portico Systems; Robert Crudup, CIO, SEI Investments; Peter Quinn, Director, Vendor Management, SEI Investments; and Marketing Executive Melissa Shusterman, formerly with D4Creative, Drexel University’s Lebow College of Business and LiquidHub.

And coming up over the next few months are events at SunGard (hosted by CIO Amy Turner LaDow) and TastyKake (hosted by CIO Chan Kang).

And, you won’t want to miss our region’s inaugural Cloud Computing Conference on October 5. Top tier speakers from Salesforce.com, SunGard, IBM, Microsoft and Accenture (to name a few) will share their vision for cloud computing — a technology that many predict will enable businesses to expand innovation at an unprecedented pace. Those who register before September 1 get an early discount to the conference. To register, click here.

If you have an interest in discussing the most important trends in business and technology with the top leaders in the region, please join us for any of our upcoming events. If you are a senior-level IT professional of a startup, growth or established company — no matter what type of business — we welcome your participation as a member of PACT’s CIO Institute. For more information, contact Kim Tuski by phone at 215-790-3860 or by email. Or contact Anthony Gold by email.