Collaboration supports the business

Christopher Johnson’s insatiable interest in technology has not waned since he was a child. In fact, Johnson* thinks he was born with zeros and ones in his blood. Now the CIO for Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia-Pacific (PB A-P) and part of its leadership team, Johnson is less interested in specific technology and more focused on how technology can support business. That’s not to say that he has given up on researching (and occasionally ‘playing with’) leading-edge technology, as his peers will attest.

Three years ago and at a relatively young age, Johnson was appointed to the Australia-Pacific regional CIO role at PB, a global professional services company, thus fulfilling one of his career goals.

“Over the past 20 years, I have been working towards the goal of being fully accountable for all facets of ICT delivery in a multinational corporation. I have worked hard to get to this point.

“I want to see PB realise the full strategic value derived from information systems, communications and technology. This is what motivates me. It’s all about the business management of IS/ICT.”

Johnson has had a number of IT roles in a diverse range of industries, including telecommunications, legal publishing, marketing and advertising, and in the vendor arena with Oracle, Informix (now IBM) and Sybase. During the early years he began with software and systems design, data modelling and project delivery, and moved into online e-business, infrastructure design and management, application support and IT service management. In fact, he has worked in every core area of information and technology management.

“Irrespective of the industry, my focus has always been on tapping the value of information in making better business decisions. I’ve pursued how to drive ‘uptime’ for business with a strong customer service mentality in all the organisations in which I have worked. PB is no exception,” said Johnson.

In a previous role working for a heavily technology-reliant, 24/7 telco required extreme focus on service availability and efficiency. In the legal publishing industry, Johnson was responsible for creating a highly transactional and profitable subscription-based online legal repository.

In the last 12 months, PB A-P has embraced a number of technologies and practices to support business-wide collaboration. “Collaboration is king. When practised well and underpinned by smart technology, we can effectively bring distributed people together, in a virtual environment, to practise knowledge sharing and collaborative delivery. This is a strategic focus for PB and directly supports better outcomes for our clients, as well as our corporate responsibility and sustainability programs,” said Johnson.

“PB management has endorsed an inter-group collaboration focus. As the AP CIO, I was asked to support it with technology, process and policy. We have employed video and web conferencing, online collaboration workspaces and knowledge management tools to directly support this. To succeed we had to start with a drive from senior management, beyond IT.

“We have had good success with video-based conferencing in portable and fixed room settings as well as personal video on the desktop. We will continue to explore the potential, including immersive technology (telepresence), if the business case stacks up for such an investment.

“The benefit from a sustainability aspect includes reduced carbon consumption, achieved from a reduction in flights and vehicle use. In a monetary sense, we realised a full return on the technology investment, well inside the forecast payback period.

“Prior to video being implemented, we ran a multifaceted adoption program which included training, briefing sessions, pilots and marketing, all of which encouraged successful adoption.

Talking about the best path for someone aspiring to an IT career, Johnson said, “It helps to have passion for technology and, most importantly, its effective application. Innovation is important, but not for the sake of it. Remember that IT is part of the business and we are here to partner in delivering positive and sustainable outcomes, ultimately achieving increased value for our shareholders.

“You have to be prepared to grab the opportunities presented to you. I really thank my leadership, both past and present, who have given me the opportunity to stretch and experience a broad spectrum of roles and assignments. The key was stepping out and suppressing any fear of failure.”

Undoubtedly, Johnson has embraced this thinking and relishes his current responsibilities as A-P CIO, but still understands the importance of work/life balance.

Johnson attributes much of his success and overall grounding to the support provided by his wife of 14 years, Louise. With hobbies including digital photography and motor sports, as well as being the best father he can to his two children, Johnson is heading in the right direction in all ways.

* Christopher Johnson is the regional CIO of Parsons Brinckerhoff for Australia/New Zealand. With a background in computer science, Johnson has spent the last 20 years working closely with business leaders in a number of industries including marketing, ICT systems integration, publishing, telecommunications and, most recently, in engineering/construction. In his current position, Johnson is tasked with ensuring that investment in IT directly and demonstrably supports PB’s key result areas in a sustainable manner.