Many companies perceive IT as a necessary cost of doing business. Further, they struggle to quantify the business value that technology contributes to the top and bottom line.

Yet top organizations that treat IT as a strategic asset experience 20% higher profitability, according to Peter Weill, co-author of the book IT Savvy: What Top Executives Must Know to Go from Pain to Gain.

What is unique about these organizations? Often the challenge lies in the collaboration between CIOs and CFOs, who typically share fundamentally different views of IT.

How can you lead your organization to view IT as a strategic asset? What might happen if you don't?

During this Webcast, Michael Simpson, CFO of CompuCom, reveals how he has partnered with IT to enable more than 10,000 associates worldwide to leverage technology as a pivotal factor in the success of the organization.

CompuCom's CIO, John Douglas, shares his perspective on this story and explains how senior Finance and IT leaders can work together to improve a company's efficiency, productivity and bottom line.


About the Presenters

Michael Simpson	John Douglas
Chief Financial Officer CompuCom	Chief Information Officer CompuCom

Michael Simpson, Chief Financial Officer, CompuCom

To his role as Chief Financial Officer at CompuCom, Michael Simpson brings more than 20 years of experience in financial management, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, and transition and integration management.

Prior to joining CompuCom, Mr. Simpson served as Vice President of Portfolio Operations at Platinum Equity, where he was responsible for transitioning newly acquired companies from both a financial and operations perspective. As part of his role at Platinum Equity, he managed both the CompuCom and GE IT Solutions acquisitions. Mr. Simpson directed the transitional finance activities as CompuCom reverted from public to private status, and focused on EBITDA and margin improvement. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Billing Concepts, a Platinum Equity company based in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Simpson has served as Vice President of Finance for HBS Billing Services, Ltd., and functioned in several accounting capacities with leading firms, such as KPMG Peat Marwick, LLC. He holds an MBA in finance from St. Mary's University and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Abilene Christian University.

John Douglas, Chief Information Officer, CompuCom

As Chief Information Officer for CompuCom Systems, Inc., John Douglas is responsible for leading day-to-day IT operations, setting IT strategy, executing key initiatives, and ensuring CompuCom has reliable infrastructure and applications to achieve business goals.

Prior to joining CompuCom, Mr. Douglas served as the Global CIO leading the Information and Communication Technology Organization (ICTO) of Getronics, headquartered in The Netherlands. As the Getronics worldwide IT leader, he was responsible for the design, implementation, support, management, and hosting of all Getronics-owned global and local information and communication systems.

Mr. Douglas' professional background includes more than 25 years of IT industry experience in positions of increasing responsibility with companies, including Baan Company, Cisco Systems/StrataCom and Bay Networks/Wellfleet Communications. He has also held executive positions at IBM/Rational Software, including that of global CIO.

Mr. Douglas holds a bachelor's degree in management and a master's degree in computer information systems from Bentley College.