Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace, a former Fortune 500 HR executive, a BusinessWeek author, and the author of Happy About Online Networking: the Virtual-ly Simple Way to Build Professional Relationships. Liz speaks to audiences around the world about work, life and networking, and works with employers on attracting and retaining world-class talent.

Innovation is a key to success in all aspects of the technology business and innovation in the best companies extends deeply into the recruitment process. Liz will lead an energetic and interactive discussion o this topic. You can learn more about her at her Business Week site: www.businessweek.com/bios/Liz_Ryan.htm or at her Ask Liz Ryan web site: http://www.asklizryan.com.

All signs point to another 'talent trough' for IT in the coming decade - with talent shortages affecting organizational performance, client satisfaction and the bottom line. Former technology HR VP and Business Week columnist Liz Ryan shares insights for re-thinking the recruiting process to find and 'snag' talented IT team members even in a competitive market. Liz will share elements of the 'community recruiting' approach that is changing the way employers and employees find one another. Join us for a rousing discussion of a sea change in tech recruiting with right-now implications for your own recruiting and retention efforts.

This presentation is a must see for IT practitioners and IT managers. If you are not currently a member, you may join this meeting by registering at our website www.sim-colorado.org or by calling Kimberly Lucas at 303.532.2744.

The people and leadership aspect of IT surfaces time and again as a major issue in all of Gartner’s recent surveys. Because the IT demands and complexity are continuing to increase, the impact of not addressing this issue in the near term greatly impact IT effectiveness as well as its ability to truly support key business strategies. Steve’s presentation will provide insight into the critical few skills required for IT leaders to be successful in today's environment.

Steve Weber is a Program Director in Gartner Executive Prior to joining Gartner, Steve was an executive technology and IT leadership development consultant. Prior to that, Steve was the Senior VP and CIO for One America Financial Partners, an insurance company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent), a financial services organization based in Appleton, Wisconsin. In both roles, he pioneered the concept of “Best Solution” – providing technology solutions before the organization asks as a way to improve responsiveness and fit to business needs. His diverse background includes bottom line accountability for a strategic business unit, the enterprise marketing and communications departments, the human resource function (home office and sales organization), and corporate strategic planning.

Being an actuary by profession, he also has extensive experience in risk management and financial operations. He was also a pioneer in the use of sales force automation (that actually improved the productivity of insurance agents), outsourcing, project management offices, vendor management offices, and a unique leadership development process for technology and business directors and department heads. In fact, he has personally mentored over 50 IT and business leaders.

Steve has spoken on technology and leadership at the Association for Corporate Growth, the LIMRA Marketing Forum, the Society of Actuaries annual meeting, EZ Data’s Client Partner Conference, the Project Management Institute, DCI Project Management Conference, the University of Wisconsin Executive Education Institute, the Society of Information Management CIO Roundtable, the Association of Lutheran Development Executives, and numerous insurance sales conferences.

Click here to view Steve's presentation

Perhaps no area within IT has so much potential to impact the overall success of a business as innovation. Yet without a game plan and a methodology to evaluate and implement innovation, great ideas become nothing more than that – great ideas.

Maria Azua, VP of Technology and Innovation for IBM has played a key role in the initiatives that have put the processes, tools and leadership in place that allow IBM’s Global constituencies to collaborate on product and service innovation. The results have been exceptional. The number and quality of inspiration-to-success projects have increased dramatically at a relatively low cost. You will hear about how IBM has used Web 2.0 philosophies to deploy Information Technology as an innovation facilitator.

Ms. Azua is an IBM Distinguished Engineer, member of the IBM Academy, Master Inventor, Senior Consulting Architect, and Certified Project Manager. She is an accomplished speaker and was named one of People Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” in 2006. She has 48 patents and 41 pending patents that span a wide range of technologies including telecommunications, web servers and Java implementations. She was also inducted into the WITI (Women In Technology International) Hall of Fame.

While outsourcing continues to transform the IT organization, complications associated with program management can lead to diminishing returns. Outsourcing success must be achieved through continuous improvement leading to user satisfaction through change administration and price management, along with performance control. In this presentation, Matt Smith, Managing Director at EquaTerra, will explain how to accomplish this by:

• Ensuring transformation and ongoing innovation
• Assessing and improving the performance of joint governance
• Using CI scorecards to sustain collaboration over the term of the agreement

Matt leads the Energy & Utilities Practice for EquaTerra. He has more than 25 years of consulting experience in the Energy & Utility industry. He has helped over 25 of the largest Gas & Electric Utilities in the US and Canada through a wide range of engagements, including strategic planning and execution, design and implementation of business systems, mergers and acquisitions, process re-engineering and sourcing strategies, regulatory consulting and expert testimony. Matt is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board for Xcel Energy, a team of technology partners and business advisors that collaborate on innovation and provide advice to the Business Systems organization. Prior to Joining EquaTerra, Matt served two years with BearingPoint as VP-Utility Segment Leader and 23 years at Arthur Andersen, including several years as the Global Leader of the Energy Business Consulting practice. Representative clients include AEP, DTE Energy, Edison Int’l, Exelon, FirstEnergy, TXU and Xcel Energy.