Who Should Be InformationWeek’s 2014 Chief Of The Year?

Leadership matters. That's why InformationWeek every year picks a CIO or other IT leader who's changing his or her company and industry through the creative, innovative use of technology.

That's a tall order, changing an industry. But over the years we've seen exceptional IT leaders drive exactly that level of change. Who should this year's Chief of the Year be? You can email me suggestions directly, or leave them in a comment below.

Here are the three most-recent Chiefs of the Year, and the industries they've shaken up:

Higher education: Last year, we recognized five CIOs in higher education, an industry on the edge of -- although often in denial about -- digital disruption. We honored Loretta Early, for example, for her work to bring the University of Oklahoma's scattered digital efforts under a single university initiative. We honored Gordon Wishon, CIO of Arizona State, which has become one of the most aggressive providers of online education, including a partnership with Starbucks that lets the retailer's employees complete their degrees online, with Starbucks paying the way.

[Is work driving you mad? Read IT Leaders Need Split Personality, Gartner Says.]

Baseball: You've heard of Moneyball, the idea of using data analytics to pick the optimal players for a pro baseball team. But how about using analytics to get more fans into the stadium? That's an area where San Francisco Giants CIO Bill Schlough helped change his team's fortune. Schlough and the Giants were among the early adopters of dynamic ticket pricing, where a clunker game on an April Tuesday costs much less than a division showdown on a September Saturday. Many MLB teams now embrace dynamic pricing.

Coffee: OK, Starbucks changed the coffee industry long before Stephen Gillett arrived as CIO in 2008. But Gillett's IT and digital teams forced companies across many industries to rethink the role a "digital experience" plays in their businesses. Starbucks recognized early on that customers want a rich digital experience, from in-store WiFi to smartphone payments. When Gillett left Starbucks to lead Best Buy's digital efforts, Starbucks promoted two colleagues to replace him -- one to CIO, one to chief digital officer.

So which tech leaders inspire you today? Who should InformationWeek recognize as a cut above? Let us know in the comments field below or by sending an email to me at [email protected].

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