CIO Values: Gary Scholten, Senior VP And CIO At Principal Financial Group

Career Track

How long at current company: 27 years

Career accomplishment you're most proud of: I am particularly proud of establishing our CIO Working Group to take on the difficult task of enterprise-level IT governance. Our success in that area has led to much innovation and contributed to a competitive advantage in how we leverage IT.

Most important career influencer: There are many. One that stands out is Bob Delaney, a former CIO for The Principal. He demonstrated to many of us that it is possible to stay current on always-changing technology trends while staying close to our business.

Major decision you wish you could do over again: Several years ago, I proposed and championed a project related to an enterprise solution for marketer compensation that eventually was terminated without completing. In retrospect, neither our business nor the software vendors in that space at the time were ready to deal with the complexities and challenges that the project presented.

On The Job

Size of IT team: Roughly 2,200 globally

Three top initiatives for current year:

Key tech partners: We have many. In terms of the number of relationships, HP, IBM, Oracle, and SunGard top the list.

Vision

The next big thing for my business will be ... Increased employee choice/responsibility related to their employer-provided benefits. Technology will play a critical role in helping to educate and simplify the choices for employees and control costs for employers.

Best piece of advice for future CIOs: There is no way to control all the facets of your responsibility on your own. Surround yourself with strong, passionate IT experts who understand that they need to think and act as businesspeople and then create an environment in which they can influence business direction.

Personal

Colleges/degrees: University of Northern Iowa, BS in math and computer science

Favorite leisure activity: I'm an avid runner.

Best book read recently: 1491, by Charles C. Mann

Favorite presidential candidate: I don't have a favorite candidate right now, but am very interested in the Unity08 online political movement.