Mario Foster is an skilled CIO who has been within the business and the area for over 15 years. Earlier than becoming a member of Al Ghurair Group, he labored for Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group based mostly in Dubai for seven years main the digital constitution of the group by exploring the enterprise potential of recent applied sciences equivalent to RPA, AI, IoT, 3D printing and others.

What was your first job within the IT business?

I used to be a technical help engineer in Canada. I all the time appreciated electronics on the whole, and I nonetheless bear in mind my teenage days once I used to observe my older brother (who’s {an electrical} engineer by career) repairing our stereo cassette tape recorder and different outdated dwelling electronics, and attempting to study from him. I even managed to restore some, however I by no means knew that I might be in IT particularly. I used to be extra considering electronics engineering. 

What was your training?

It was initially in electronics engineering after which moved into laptop science. I’ve additionally accomplished my MBA in expertise administration. As for the numerous expertise certifications I maintain, my first was MCSE [Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer] greater than 20 years in the past. I even have a number of Cisco and RSA Safety certificates, and two ISACAc Certificates [CISM and CRISC] along with my PMP from the outdated days. These are just some that I can bear in mind.

Clarify your profession path. Have you ever all the time been within the business?

I began as an IT {hardware} help engineer in a small firm assembling PCs. I then moved into networking and determined to concentrate on Microsoft applied sciences. MCSE was a scorching certificates at the moment, which even by itself might instantly safe a job for folks at the moment, so I made a decision to finish it whereas working. It was difficult as a result of then I couldn’t afford to review the six required programs at a coaching centre to finish my six exams. I ended up studying alone and constructing my first small community and my trade mail server at dwelling, and that was when my actual IT profession began. I then labored for a number of years with Microsoft in Canada earlier than accepting a job within the US with RSA Safety, which was a wonderful studying expertise for me. After a few different senior IT jobs in Canada, I moved to Saudi Arabia and landed a job with Riyad Financial institution to handle their SOC. Proper after that function, my focus switched to the enterprise purposes area, as I needed to have an expertise span over all predominant expertise domains—infrastructure, safety and enterprise purposes. And right here I’m now securing my fourth CIO function, however this time it’s with Al Ghurair Group, the place all my earlier CIO roles have been with family-owned massive conglomerates, two in Saudi Arabia and two within the UAE. 

How do you suppose your experience and job at Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group will help your new function at Al Ghurair Group?

Working as a bunch CIO for a big, family-owned conglomerate is a completely completely different expertise than some other CIO function with a single firm having one enterprise vertical, even when it’s an MNC, and it requires a really particular ability set and work tradition expertise that’s very area of interest to any such family-owned group corporations.

For instance, in such massive teams, the group CIO has to cope with a number of enterprise unit heads and GMs, and every one in all them is working a unique enterprise vertical. So their expertise necessities from the CIO could be completely completely different, and their expectations from expertise are completely different. Some are believers in expertise, whereas others aren’t. On prime of that, you could have the company head workplace or holding group to help and empower too. This a part of my expertise at Al Naboodah and at earlier family-owned conglomerates is empowering and can assist me at Al Ghurair Group. I’ve additionally beforehand labored for a Saudi conglomerate, which included a number of industrial manufacturing corporations throughout the group, which I anticipate will even assist me since industrial manufacturing is likely one of the key companies inside Al Ghurair Group. I also needs to spotlight the significance for the CIO to have stable enterprise information, since relying on technical information could be adequate for an IT supervisor, however not for a CIO. 

What are your priorities on this new function? What would you want to realize?

First is to finish my full evaluation of the present IT working mannequin throughout the group and to current my findings and my suggestions to the group CEO and the board as a way to obtain their approval on a brand new really useful IT working mannequin that’s including worth to the enterprise, whereas additionally being in full alignment with enterprise technique. Subsequent comes IT governance and safety, which can also be a precedence earlier than I even begin taking a look at enterprise digital transformation initiatives. Issues can then comply with naturally when the proper construction is in place, and this contains having extra expertise skillsets that could be lacking and wanted for any digital transformation initiative down the street. 

How do you outline long-term IT division success, and what strategies do you employ to measure general efficiency?

I outline it by the quantity of worth added to enterprise over time when IT turns into a enterprise enabler and a associate to enterprise relatively than only a help perform.I measure the general efficiency at minimal in two areas: one by conducting common enterprise suggestions surveys and evaluating our efficiency with earlier years, and the second is evaluating the IT division efficiency and my CIO’s efficiency towards business commonplace benchmarks from worldwide expertise analysis agency leaders equivalent to Gartner and others. There are additionally different methods to measure general IT efficiency.

What are the highest questions CIOs ought to ask earlier than accepting a brand new job?

Ask in regards to the high-level enterprise technique to seek out out if enterprise leaders worth expertise and take a look at the IT division as a enterprise associate or as a help or price centre. Additionally, a CIO understands the IT construction in place earlier than accepting a proposal and evaluates if this can be a construction she or he is snug working inside. CIOs shouldn’t be shy asking what’s anticipated from them and what will likely be thought of their key success elements. Then these expectations could be evaluated towards their very own experience and whether or not they can obtain and ship these targets or not.

What would you advise to a CIO who desires to take a brand new job?

Don’t be afraid to tackle a brand new problem, and all the time increase your individual bar and problem your self.