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Back in 1974, when Suzanne Gordon was a college student at North Carolina State University, she recalls seeing an ad in her school newspaper, warning students against choosing a career in IT because there wouldn't be any jobs available when they graduated. She remembers thinking, well, what do they know, and continued her chosen major. Today, she refers wryly to this story when speaking to students about going into high tech as a career. Layoffs and outsourcing? IT has always been cyclical, counsels Gordon, but if you truly have a passion for the field, don't let those ups-and-downs stop you: IT needs people with passion.

And it's evident from listening to her talk about the career she has built that passion is what brought Suzanne Gordon to the field of high tech, and what fuels her in her current job as CIO of the largest privately held software company in the world, SAS. She is proud to have helped build the company, starting with the fledgling SAS in 1980, and feels that women bring particular strengths to the traditionally masculine IT landscape, both in collaboration and communication. Note, for example, the IT governance council she helped establish, which brings together IT and business professionals at SAS to develop realistic, valuable projects for the company, at a reasonable cost. And included in her wide range of interests in technology today are the new, "disruptive" technologies of IM and RSS, both on the leading edge of communication enabled by technology.

But what might say the most about Suzanne Gordon, the CIO and the individual, is what she points to as the best career decision she made since joining IT at SAS -- leaving IT at SAS, and joining SAS Consulting. There, Gordon interacted directly with customers and salespeople, and gained a new perspective on her company and its products: the customer perspective. And she took that view with her when she moved back to IT as its CIO, helping her shape IT into a more open and client-driven organization.

If you listen to this podcast conversation with Suzanne Gordon, you'll probably learn a thing or two, about the quiet computer giant where she works; its powerful, intelligent software; some good advice about how to establish an IT Governance Council; why SAS chooses to implement many of the controls placed on publicly-held companies by Sarbanes-Oxley and others; and what the future might hold for this strong-willed and charismatic executive on the leading edge of IT.

Resources

About SAS

SAS CIO Suzanne Gordon: Seeing the Forest and Trees

Bio

Suzanne Gordon became CIO of SAS in 2003, the same year she was named a ComputerWorld Premier 100 IT leader. Gordon has also served as the director of National Technical Consulting and acting vice president within the SAS Professional Services Division, where she directed the consulting, strategic support and partnering activities of nearly 300 employees. Before joining the professional services organization, Gordon headed the management information services department in ISD for nearly 20 years, where she helped develop the company’s information- and applications-rich intranet. She joined SAS in 1980.

Production Credits

Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager