“I insist on excellence every single time. We never compromise on quality by rushing through projects”: Jeff Richards, Managing Partner of CIO Professional Services, LLC

In the world of mid-sized enterprises, Senior Executives often face the challenge of aligning Business and IT seamlessly. That’s where CIO Professional Services, LLC steps in. With their seasoned expertise as former CIOs, they specialize in maximizing IT investment returns and propelling business success.

Imagine a scenario where business goals and IT strategies intertwine effortlessly, ensuring success without the usual hassle. Through their innovative “Business-Driven IT” approach, CIO Professional Services ensure that everything IT does makes sense from the business perspective. Amidst the vast sea of IT consultants, their team stands out as strategic partners, offering invaluable guidance for optimal business IT alignment and execution.

In an exclusive interview with CIO Bulletin, Jeff Richards, Managing Partner of CIO Professional Services, LLC, shared insights on how his company is helping clients maximize their ROI on IT.

Interview Highlights

Q. What is CIO Professional Services, LLC?

CIO Professional Services is a 15-year-old IT strategy consulting firm that helps mid-size organizations integrate business and information technology to address a wide range of IT alignment and strategy issues. Organizations also approach us for interim or fractional CIOs/CTOs and negotiation and program management or project rescue assistance.

Regardless of the client's needs, we ensure the solution always revolves around the business. With over 30 years of experience in this field, I've observed that IT-led business initiatives carry significant risk and are prone to failure, whereas business-led IT initiatives tend to succeed. Why? Because before determining the systems to use, it's crucial to establish how you want to operate your business. The business case must come first.

Q. Who does CIO Professional Services serve?

Our primary target audience is organizations with $250 million to $1 billion in annual revenues. This means we’re focusing on a market where we can deliver very high-end talent at a mid-market pricing level, and make a significant difference for our clients. However, in recent years our largest client was $6 billion and our smallest was $35 million in annual revenues.

Q. Why did you create CIO Professional Services, LLC?

I actually started my career in manufacturing operations. Then I got more interested in putting in systems than running factories. So I hired on at Ernst & Young, where I worked my way up the ladder until I found myself managing 5,000 people across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Suddenly I realized that although I was making lots of money, the job was eating my life, I wasn’t dealing with clients, which is why I went into consulting, and I certainly wasn’t having fun. So I moved back home from Europe, took off with a couple of other EY guys and opened up a little shop where I could start solving client’s problems again.

Q. How has the company grown and changed since its inception?

In consulting, particularly in IT, you have to be able to see what’s coming next. What is the next big thing? Because we always stay at the leading edge of technology, over the years our firm has changed based on advancements in technology.

As technology evolves, so do the market demands for services. For instance, whereas 15 years ago many clients were asking about the feasibility of and strategy for transitioning to the cloud, today the big thing on everyone’s minds is AI—artificial intelligence.

Our team has also changed over the years, and I am the sole remaining original founder still actively involved.

Q. What differentiates CIO Professional Services from the rest of the industry?

I believe we have four key differentiators:

First, we are an IT strategy house that also assists with implementation. This sets us apart from most big consulting firms, which typically only handle strategy. But how helpful is it to just do the strategy work? Giving someone a 40-page PowerPoint deck explaining what their strategy should be doesn’t get them very far. It’s in the expert assistance making these recommendations happen where our clients derive tremendous value.

Second, all our consultants are senior-level practitioners, and most are former CIOs, CTOs, or CSOs who have been in that seat delivering results for their companies. In contrast, larger firms often deploy freshly-minted Ivy League MBAs who lack practical experience. Our crew is 30-year veterans who have been there, done that as practitioners and learned from their experiences.

Third, all of our consultants “speak business.” Our clients really seem to appreciate this. Our focus is always on ensuring that IT meets the business’ needs, and we excel at communicating this alignment in clear, non-technical terms.

Finally, the fourth differentiator is that we pride ourselves on always staying at the cutting edge of technology.

Q. What are some important values and principles that have helped shape CIO Professional Services into what it is today?

I'd say we'd easily be a much bigger company, perhaps three times our current size, if we weren't so committed to delivering quality results. I insist on excellence every single time. We never compromise on quality by rushing through projects. We are never going to just slap something together and ship it out.

As I mentioned, part of our dedication to excellence is ensuring that the business case takes precedence in everything we do. Technology for technology's sake is pointless. Our focus is on ensuring that every investment the client makes leads to tangible outcomes, whether it's through revenue enhancement, cost reduction, or, ideally, both!

Q. How does your firm ensure appropriate strategies are in place to manage your clients’ cybersecurity risks?

Cybersecurity is one of our core offerings, and when I say we stay at the cutting edge of technology, this naturally includes cybersecurity technology. It helps that we’re in Silicon Valley, as this makes it easier for us to stay in touch with the cybersecurity startups and stay abreast of the latest threats out there.

Beyond that, cybersecurity is part and parcel of anything that we recommend. It's not an afterthought, but an integral part of our approach. Cybersecurity cannot be retrofitted; it must be engineered from the outset as part of whatever you are going to do or change.

Q. What types of projects is CIO Professional Services currently working on?

Naturally, we're heavily involved in AI-focused initiatives, considering AI's status as today's bright, shiny new technology. However, in addition to this, we also spend a lot of time on the less glamorous fundamentals that large companies should have in place.

Regardless of how exciting the newest, coolest thing is, you still need to refresh, replenish, or replace essential components such as software systems, infrastructure, application stacks, business continuity plans, and disaster recovery capabilities. While you’re busy thinking about how to make the most of AI, you still need to make sure your data center isn’t falling over and your disaster recovery program is up to date. Addressing these types of fundamentals is probably half of our book of business today.

The Visionary Leader Upfront

As an inspirational leader with the ability to develop a "big picture" strategy and drive it down to executable tactics for implementation, Jeff leads the CIO Professional Services team. His experience spans both industry, including Materials, Operations, and IT Management, and consulting. Jeff has held the CIO title twice – once in the semiconductor industry and once in a large regional nonprofit. Jeff developed a unique global perspective and network during his tenure in significant P&L management-level positions in Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.