SearchCIO: CIO’s change management strategy gives left and right brain their due

CIO Michael Saitow can’t divulge the details of his biggest challenge in 2012. Suffice it to say, he’s embarking on a major project at M.S. Walker Inc., a Somerville, Mass.-based wine and liquor distribution business. What he can say with certainty is that the toughest part of the project will be finding the right change management strategy.

“I spend half my time working on projects, and half my time trying to figure out how you get people to buy in on these projects,” Saitow said.

M.S. Walker will produce more than 1 million cases of spirits in 2012. The 80-year-old company does business in more than 30 states and has offices throughout the Northeast. So, what is the challenge for Saitow on IT projects big and small? “How do you make sure that you have done enough research to know what your end community’s requirements, expectations and wants are? So that when you are ready to make the change, it is as easy and painless for them as possible — and even exciting,” he said.

More of the SearchCIO article from Linda Tucci

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.