Kathy McElligott, CIO of McKesson, has a diverse background in the industrial sector, having spent decades with companies like Emerson Electric and General Electric. This has given her a unique vantage point of the CIO position — both how it changes across industries and the ways it stays the same.
"Every company is trying to figure out their digital customer experience, what to do with all this information and how to make more profit for the company," Ms. McElligott, CIO of McKesson, told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. "A CIO can bring that perspective."
Here are five takeaways from the WSJ interview.
• CIOs are working to improve their internal visualization in terms of operations efficiency and supply chain. Big-data analytics is a significant opportunity to gain the best understanding of which processes, treatments and medications yield the best outcomes for patients. Leveraging big data will secure reimbursements as better care is provided.
• As CIO for a major EHR vendor, a portion of Ms. McElligott's focus is directed toward using technology and data to produce solutions for insurers, hospitals and patients. While technology as a "mode of execution" is important, she also aims to offer technology as a product and solution unto itself.
• McKesson's board is very interested in what its IT team is tackling from a customer perspective, Ms. McElligott said. This includes cybersecurity and risk management and also how the company fits into the global picture.
• CIOs can offer a diversity of perspective to company boards. They must have the ability to see the entire company and how it interacts with its customers digitally. They have to manage the information flow and ensure that it ties together.
Read the complete interview here.