Jude Schramm, CIO at GE Aviation

WHAT WE DO:

"At GE Aviation, we are transforming the IT function from a back-office entity, running projects and delivering cost-saving measures to the company, to becoming a large part of our commercial front-end, digital business. We deliver customer solutions, as well as technologies that advance the way we run our business." 

To what extent does our recreational use of technology drive innovation in business? Is business taking the lead or lagging behind?

"The talent coming out of colleges today are not afraid of technology, in fact they prefer not to work without it. For a time, it wasn’t unusual to have more technology in the house than on the job, but we now have a real focus on our digital workforce. And it’s not just about a seat at the table, IT is becoming accountable to company performance on many levels. It may be fairly new, but it is becoming an expectation that as an IT leader I must also function as a business leader. I recognize that I have different digital generations in my workforce and I have to enable everyone to achieve a certain level of capability in order to move us forward in our digital transformation. It is fun, because it forces me to stay current. It’s a big, interesting dynamic that I think about constantly because it’s a balance of all of the things we have talked about around security, global software capability, big data and most importantly, people.  I’ve got to be able to match solutions to my workforce and bring them together."