Steps IT Executives Can Take to Better Service and Communicate with the Business

November 8, 2007
The Adolphus Hotel
Dallas, Texas  

Research has shown that the quality of IT service has a direct impact on the success or failure of the business. As a result, CIO's and IT Managers are under increasing pressure to align with business objectives and achieve service excellence.  At Computerworld’s upcoming IT Executive Summit on Improving IT/Business Alignment, a select group of senior IT executives and managers will explore and discuss the issues surrounding business alignment -- including the concept of business service management, which enables better service delivery and communication with the business.  Through a morning-long program of industry expert and end-user presentations concluding with a rich, interactive panel discussion, participants will gain a fresh perspective from the presenters and each other.

Why You Should Attend
You’ll learn from formal presentations and moderated discussion surrounding the concept of business service management. From the morning’s program, you’ll rapidly gather answers to the following questions:

• What are the inhibitors to business/IT alignment, and how can organizations overcome them?
• How can organizations communicate service delivery in business terms and effectively demonstrate the value of IT?
• What are the positive impacts on SLA compliance, operational efficiency and overall satisfaction with IT?
• What are the pitfalls to avoid?
• Where are the immediate opportunities?

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Agenda

8:15-8:45 a.m.	Registration and Networking Breakfast
8:45-9:00 a.m.	Introduction and Overview Ron Milton, Executive Vice President, Computerworld
9:00-9:30 a.m.	The Value of IT/Business Alignment: A Closer Look at Business Service Management Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President, Nucleus Research
9:30-10:00 a.m.	Real Numbers for Real Dialogue: Improving Customer Dialogue through Customer Focused Service Measurement Scott Grinna, Director of IT Administration, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
10:00-10:15 a.m.	Refreshment and Networking Break
10:15-10:45 a.m.	Overcoming the Inhibitors to Alignment Rich Bentley, Director, IT Service Management, Compuware
10:45-11:15 a.m.	Successfully Managing Programs through a Company Merger and Rapid Growth Joe Lacik, Senior Vice President, Information Services, Aviall Services, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company)
11:15 a.m. - Noon	Moderated Panel Discussion Moderator: Ron Milton, Executive Vice President, Computerworld Panelists: Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President, Nucleus Research Scott Grinna, Director of IT Administration, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company Rich Bentley, Director, IT Service Management, Compuware Joe Lacik, Senior Vice President, Information Services, Aviall Services, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company)
Noon	Program Concludes

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Presenters

Scott Grinna, Director of IT Administration, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
Scott Grinna has 18 years of corporate IT experience in the Insurance and Manufacturing industries. He has served in various roles, including: Project Management, Corporate and IT Strategic Planning, Business Process Reengineering, Network and Systems Management, and Continuous Improvement. As the Director of Administration at West Bend Mutual, Scott is responsible for IT performance management and continuous improvement.


Rich Bentley, Director, IT Service Management, Compuware
Rich Bentley has 20 years of IT experience encompassing software development, project management, systems administration, and marketing. Prior to joining Compuware in January 2007 as the marketing director for the Vantage product line, he held positions with Altiris and EDS. Rich has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Oakland University.


Joe Lacik, Senior Vice President, Information Services, Aviall Services, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company)
Mr. Lacik is the Senior Vice President of Information Services for Aviall. Aviall is the world's largest independent provider of after market supply chain management services in the aerospace industry. In September 2006 Aviall was purchased be Boeing as a wholly owned subsidiary. He is playing a key role in completely transforming Aviall and the aerospace Industry. A completely new technology strategy, infrastructure and team have been created.

He graduated with honors from Villanova University in New Jersey and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. While serving, he also earned his Masters in Business Management in 1981 from Central Michigan University. In 1997, Mr. Lacik was recruited to be the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of PRONET located in Dallas, Texas. In 1999 Mr. Lacik was recruited to be the Senior Director of Information Technology at AMFM, a $3.2 billion entertainment company. In 2003 he was recognized as one of ComputerWorld's Premier 100 IT Leaders and Top Ten Best in Class. In 2002 ComputerWorld's Laureate Honors Program recognized Aviall and Mr. Lacik.


Ron Milton, Executive Vice President, Computerworld
Ron manages the events business and strategic business programs for IT executive titles in storage networking, mobile and wireless, data center and business intelligence market sectors. Milton leads the team responsible for creating content, sponsor sales, operations, marketing and audience development for all of Computerworld's events, such as brands like Premier 100 IT Leaders, Storage Networking World, Mobile & Wireless World, Business Intelligence Perspectives and IT Executive Summit Series. He has 20+ years of experience in information technology, serving in both vendor and information services management positions. Before his current role at IDG, Ron was Senior Vice President of CXO Media and General Manager of CIO Magazine's Executive Program Divisions.

Prior to joining Computerworld in 1999, he was President and CEO of IDG's Internet Commerce (ICE) business unit, which he founded in 1996 as a start-up business, and was a pioneer in using e-commerce systems and web marketing. He was a 1996 recipient of the coveted IDG Chairman's Award for the most successful start-up business globally. Before joining IDG, Milton spent five years as Vice President/Partner of GLA computer Systems, a software developer and channel integrator with market share leadership in wholesale travel solutions. Prior to GLA, he also held a variety of management positions in channel management, field sales and marketing at Honeywell Information Systems and Bull HN. He holds degrees from Concordia University and Sir George Williams University.


Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President, Research, Nucleus Research Incorporated
Rebecca Wettemann is a founding partner of Nucleus Research where she is responsible for development and execution of Nucleus's industry-leading investigative research approach. Ms. Wettemann has written and presented extensively on the topics of return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO), collaborative and knowledge technologies, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise applications, analytics, and the business impact of technology.

She is the author of numerous studies analyzing the impact and adoption of technology, including "Assessing the Real ROI from Siebel," "Benchmarking: On-demand Solutions," and "Oracle and Siebel - Who's ready for small and medium-sized Businesses?" She was responsible for the creation of Nucleus Research's "Real ROI Report" and "Guidebook" series that leverage Nucleus's in-depth investigative approach to provide data and recommendations for maximizing value from a technology.

Often quoted by the business and technology press, Ms. Wettemann is a frequent speaker at user and industry events and vendor-specific user events for companies including Microsoft, SPSS, Cognos, RightNow, UGS, and Oracle.

Before joining Nucleus, Ms. Wettemann was the Program Manager for European Collaborative Technologies at International Data Corporation where she managed research products tracking the European messaging, collaboration, knowledge management, and document and content management markets. She also served as the European expert for IDC's industry-leading ROI consulting practice.

Prior to IDC, she worked as a consultant for the International Telecommunication Union and the United States Information Agency, managing international research projects on digital communications and the economic impact of changing international telecommunications law and technology.

Ms. Wettemann holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Oklahoma State University and a Masters of Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

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