The moderator for the event, Jane Stevenson of Heidrick & Struggles, led off with a broad perspective on the new CIO position. The CIO is the newest office in the C-suite. There is, as yet, no normative data on the position.

The CIO is at the intersection of R&;, marketing, and product development. CIOs come from very different functional areas. Quote: "Insanity is defined as doing same thing over and over again, without new results." Is the CIO position an antidote to this concept?

Please give a quick biographical sketch, explain your overall organizational structure, and explain how CIO fits into this mix. I'd like to get a sense of your passion for the role.

William Edwards: My career has been a random walk. The only common thread has been variety: a variety of company types, a variety of company sizes within the tech sector. I've had every title from Chief Strategy Officer to Chief Innovation Officer. The CIO is not just about technology, not just about marketing, not just about M&A.; The key: how do you change the organization? I

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started off in engineering, went to BCG as a strategy consultant. Usually, the CIO is a "pseudo-Renaissance" person. The role usually evolves organically, it's just now that we can describe it. We can describe it, but how do you do it? It changes. A lot of ambiguity, judgment, timing are all part of the job.

Amy Radin: My focus at Citi is innovation within the global consumer segment. I came to the role 12 months ago. My functional background is in marketing, especially credit cards and retail banking products. I am leading the integration of the Internet to impact the business model. '

I started off by building a small team within the cards unit. Then we moved it to a new product silo. The key challenge now is organic growth, not M&A-fueled; growth. The real focus is on disruptive innovation - the types of things that are "new to market" and "new to Citi" in focus.

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Cheryl Perkins: Kimberly-Clark has changed over time, from a paper goods company to a consumer products company, and now to a healthcare company. We need to innovate differently.

Look at the brand equity, look at where we can extend it, look at current product & technology capabilities. Incremental innovation = line extensions. Advanced innovation has a strategy component to it. The only thing constant is change. Design is a big thing. There needs to be a constant ebb and flow of capabilities.

Jack Lord: I'm a forensic pathologist by training. Humana has morphed over the past 45 years, from a financial services company to a company that embraces both financial services + healthcare. I've had the title since 2001. I was originally hired as the chief medical officer.

Humana is becoming a consumer company, we needed to adapt. so we eventually came up with the CIO title. Every year is different. It's the Chinese New Year's calendar (the year of the dog, rabbit, monkey). What year is it this year?

There is a fundamental belief that healthcare has to change, due to the current disequilibrium between users and experts. How do we empower consumers? Our work had involved R&.; M&A.; and ICE (integrated consumer experiences)


To achieve real innovation, does it happen by degree, or is it a complete breakthrough?

Humana: "Improvise" is a fancy word for "steal" and "copy." The basic concept is to bring new ideas into healthcare. People are great shoppers, and so the question is: how do we bring this skill to healthcare? It's very important to find talent: people who can handle ambiguity and are passionate for change.

Citi: Innovation can be small and sustaining and it can be breakthrough. Ask people about breakthroughs - they were not necessarily started or planned that way. Talent acquisition is key for us. Diversity is key.

Trying things is key. If looking into the Great Beyond, there is no substitute for experimentation. Borrowing from other industries and sectors is a help - if it works here, it might work in financial services.

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