Published:
July 10 2008, 06:28 AM
by
Steve Romero
My first day at the MIT CISR Sloan School of Management Summer Conference concluded with a presentation by June Drewry, the former CIO of Chubb and Son, which manages the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.
She presented on her experiences leading the IT Governance Journey at Chubb. I was delighted to see the word "journey." I often describe the IT Governance effort as a journey in hopes of convincing folks that it is not a quick fix or overnight success. As I have said before, it requires audacity, courage, resilience and perseverance.
June described three phases of the IT Governance Journey at Chubb that has so far spanned 2 ½ years. Chubb's IT Governance Journey continues today, which brings me to the subject of my post.
One of the greatest threats to the IT Governance Journey is a change in Executive Management. The loss of the Executive sponsor or leader can be catastrophic if the new guard does not have the same beliefs or values. Years of progress can be undone if the new leader does not embrace the power and promise of IT Governance.
According to the CIO Magazine 2008 State of the CIO Survey, average CIO tenure has slipped in 2008 after increasing each year since 2003 as shown in Table 1 below:
Table 1: Average CIO Tenure Since 2003
|
Year |
Average Tenure (Years) |
|
2003 |
4.3 |
|
2004 |
4.5 |
|
2005 |
not available |
|
2006 |
4.9 |
|
2007 |
5.1 |
|
2008 |
4.4 |
These are averages, which means many CIOs are in their positions less than 4 years. As I mentioned earlier, Chubb has been on their IT Governance Journey for almost 3 years and it continues today.
So if June Drewry is no longer the CIO at Chubb, then who is now leading the way? I asked her, "Did the interview and selection process of your replacement include the objective of ensuring the IT Governance Journey at Chubb would continue?" She answered that in fact it did. They even established two new Executive positions to enable good IT Governance: an Integration Officer and an Innovation Officer.
So Chubb's IT Governance future appears to be in good hands. Who is leading your IT Governance Journey? Is continuity of your IT Governance Journey ensured?