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When was the last time that you heard an executive say they viewed the organization's people as its true intellectual assets ... and mean it? Sandra Hofmann meant it, as CIO for a company called Mapics, and means it, as executive vice president and COO for The Turknett Leadership Group. That's why, at her previous company, she held the titles of CIO and "Chief People Officer" for the Human Resources department simultaneously -- and was perfectly comfortable in the two roles. CIOs are all about understanding the context of their company's business strategy, she explains; they must link the people to the strategy and to all the business operations, to deliver practical business results. And as a CIO, Hofmann found ways to do that.

So, how did a teacher of special needs kids find herself as a manager for Big Blue and later as a CIO? She is a great communicator, Hofmann explains, and this is still one of the most critical traits that a successful executive -- particularly a technology executive -- must cultivate, no matter how tough that may be. In the post-Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley era of business, Hofmann maintains an old-fashioned loyalty to "character," that mysterious virtue that the go-go '90s sort of left behind; cultivate executives with character, and you have not just managers, but leaders, she contends. And in case you are finding all this talk about character and virtue, well, a big "quaint," did we mention that Hofmann helped bring Mapics through a very troubled patch, avoiding numerous layoffs through innovative use of technology, even creating one of the first "virtual offices" of the era? The lady likes to think outside the conventional box, is comfortable with change, is comfortable viewing work through the prism of life. The lady is comfortable redefining what it is to be a "gadfly."

Resources

Biography, from the Turknett Leadership Group

"Chief Change Officer" -- from CIO Magazine

Bio

Sandra Hofmann is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Turknett Leadership Group, one of the oldest firms in the Southeast experienced in character-based leadership and organization development. Additionally, Hofmann is currently CIO-in-residence for the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a nationally recognized science and technology incubator helping launch and build successful Georgia companies through strategic business advice and connections. Before joining Turknett, Hofmann served as the Chief Information Officer and Chief People Officer at MAPICS where her leadership has resulted in recognition including Georgia CIO of the Year 2003 from Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA) 2003 & 2004 finalists for Woman of the Year in Technology by TAG's Women in Technology (WIT). She currently serves on the boards of AeA, TechBridge, and the Society for Human Resource Management, and advisory boards of the United Way, TechLinks, and Information Management Forum.

Production Credits

Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager
Scott Ebner, Web Developer
Larry Seyer, Music