Although it may not always make sense to promote internal candidates to the CIO position, Principal Financial Group CIO Gary Scholten believes companies can reap enormous advantages when a strong match exists.
“Because I had the opportunity to work in all our business units before becoming CIO, I had firsthand experience within the business itself as well as key technology areas,” says Scholten. “Even though the technology has changed, most of the time I can relate it to something we've done in the past, which helps when dealing with the complexity of our business and technology.”
Principal Financial Group is a global Fortune 500 company offering a range of financial products, life and health insurance, and banking services to more than 18.9 million customers worldwide. Scholten began working for the company 30 years ago after graduating from college. He started as an entry-level programmer and worked his way up the IT ladder, serving as CIO of multiple business units before being promoted to senior vice president and CIO in 2002.
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