CIO Priorities in an Era of Risk
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 8 ~ JUNE 9, 2023
It’s hard to believe summer is already starting. I am excited to share the next edition of the “CIO Two Cents” newsletter with you all. Read on for insights from me, Yvette Kanouff, Partner at JC2 Ventures, into what is on the mind of CIOs at this moment in time.
NOTE: This particular newsletter first appeared in the Forbes CIO Newsletter series, curated by Diane Brady, Assistant Managing Editor at Forbes. Diane invited me to share my thoughts on the risks that CIOs have to manage to succeed in the current environment. Here’s what I had to say:
The JC2 Ventures team (John J. Chambers, Shannon Pina, John T. Chambers, me, and Pankaj Patel)
The job of a CIO is becoming more difficult, with an expanding list of responsibilities that include:
Spend frugally while keeping all systems up and running
Provide better insights with data while doing more to safeguard the integrity and privacy around that data
Innovate faster while preventing cyberattacks
Motivate talent and figure out where AI can replace it
Support the IT needs of the company’s business units
Game-changing technologies, geopolitical issues, financial volatility, supply chain challenges, and the specter of climate change have created some treacherous terrain in which to innovate. Against this backdrop, IT leaders still have to grapple with prioritizing speed, quality, and risk. Back in 2016, Marc Benioff famously said, “Speed is the new currency of business.” True. But I would ask us to consider a long-term view as we embrace the digital-first world, ensuring we move fast with appropriate risk considerations, therefore increasing the probability of success. This will be particularly relevant as AI adoption accelerates across all industries and business functions. Given my background in cyber, as well as my board-of-director perspective, I invite all of us to consider instilling a risk-based mindset throughout the entire organization as we consider prioritization.
Read on for my insights and actionable advice on Forbes.com: Yvette Kanouff Of JC2 Ventures On CIO Priorities In An Era Of Risk.
Image of the Moment
Fueled by AI, Safe Security, one of the cybersecurity startups in the JC2 Ventures portfolio that I work with, helps organizations autonomously quantify cyber risk.