In one of my previous Huffington Post blogs, I listed the top 100 business, leadership and technology must-follow Twitter accounts. I was delighted to see the list shared by thousands across all of the major social networks. I was also pleased to hear from one particular social CIO, SAP's CIO Oliver Bussmann (Twitter: @SAPCIO), who astutely noted that the list of 100 did not include a single CIO. In a recent video interview with Byte (Twitter: @byte), Bussmann talks about the importance of mobility and social collaboration in business. Bussmann clearly stated the importance of collaboration in business and his active involvement with Twitter, with the purpose to connect with customers and other industry leaders. Based on Bussmann's comments, I decided that I needed to research and identify the most social CIOs on Twitter.
A Wall Street Journal post written by Michael Krigsman (Twitter: @mkrigsman), titled "Social Media for the Innovative CIO," noted that "social media can enrich your personal and professional lives while providing value to users and your company." The post also noted that "participating in social media requires balancing time, politics and security against the unique value that engagement can bring." SAP's CIO Bussmann (Twitter: @SAPCIO) shared his four step approach to social collaboration and Ben Haines (Twitter: @bhaines0), CIO of Pabst Brewing Co. said the greatest value of social media was access to other thought leaders. Krigsman also published another CIO focused WSJ post where he emphasize the importance of promoting social business transformation based on interviews with social CIO business leaders like Kim Stevenson, CIO of Intel (Twitter: @KimsStevenson), and Stephen Lamb, CIO of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Twitter: @SEE_EYE-OH).
All four CIOs noted above are on our top 50 most social CIOs on Twitter.
In a brilliantly written, must read post by Dion Hinchcliffe (Twitter: @dhinchliffe), Mr. Hinchclilffe asked: "Is it time for C-level social media executive?" and then demonstrated that CIOs, CCOs and other executives must recognize that being strategic and modernizing engagements means an emphasis on social media and enterprise collaboration. The post concluded with a recommendation for companies to consider a C-level social media executive. In my view, the post did a wonderful job of illustrating the absolute need for social executives in business.
Now to our most social CIOs on Twitter list. Before I share the list below I would like to share a bit about my selection criteria. I used a weighted sum algorithm that included multiple parameters including the combination of Klout scores, Kred scores, outreach scores and number of followers. I also looked at explicit listing of CIO and/or IT operational management responsibilities in the Twitter biographies. I had a minimum threshold for each of the parameters listed above. I doubled checked my social CIOs on Twitter list with previously published 'social CIO' lists as a reference point. Most of the CIOs listed in previous posts did not pass my entrance criteria. In addition, I am connected to some of these CIOs and I know they are social. These CIOs produce good and frequent content and are engaging. Since my Top-50 cut-off minimum thresholds -- for example: minimum of 500 Twitter followers -- excluded some amazing social CIO rising stars, I decided to include a rising stars section with 20 more social CIOs.
Top 50 CIOs on Twitter: [Name -- Company, Twitter Alias]
- Oliver Bussmann -- SAP, @sapcio
- Jason Smylie -- Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, @capriottisjason
- Jonathan Reichental -- City of Palo Alto, CA, @Reichental
- Peter Yared -- CBS Interactive, @peteryared
- Mike Kail -- Netflix, @mdkail
- Brenda Cooper -- City of Kirkland, WA, @brendacooper
- Ben Grey -- Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123, IL, @bengrey
- John Halamka -- Beth Isreal Deaconess, @jhalamka
- Susan Bearden -- Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, @s_bearden
- Kelly Walsh -- College of Westchester, @EmergingEdTech
- Casey Coleman -- General Services Administration, @caseycoleman
- Victor Fetter -- LPL Financial, @vpfetter
- Joe Palmer -- Jefferson County, CO, @CIOJoe
- Phil Komarny -- Seton Hill University, @PhilKomarny
- Brett Bobley -- National Endowment for the Humanities, @brettbobley
- Rachel Wente--Chaney -- High Desert Education Service District, OR, @rwentechaney
- Ben Haines -- Pabst Brewing Co., @bhaines0
- Steven VanRoekel -- Executive Office of the President, @stevenvDC
- Aaron Batalion -- Livingsocial.com, @abatalion
- Dan Webber -- Prime Holdings BV, @SocialDanWebber
- Stephen diFilipo -- Cecil College, @S_dF
- Paul Slot -- KPN Corporate Market, @Tri4Ever
- Vivek Kundra -- Salesforce.com , @VivekKundra
- Sonny Hashmi -- Deputy Chief Information Officer, GSA, @sonny_h
- Michael Skaff -- LesConcierges, @mskaff
- Adam Gerrard -- LateRooms group, @CIO_Adam
- Linda Cureton -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, @curetonl
- Mark Brewer -- Seagate Technology, @brewerma
- Jos Creese -- Hampshire, @JosCreese
- Will Weider -- Ministry Health Care, @CandidCIO
- John David Son -- Naperville 203 School District, IL, @JDSCIO
- Kim Stevenson -- Intel Corporation, @Kimsstevenson
- Brian Miller -- Davenport University, @suydam
- Paul Coby -- CIO and Head of BA Services at British Airways, @PaulCoby
- Drex DeFord -- Steward Health Care, @drexdeford
- David Sullivan -- City of Norfolk, VA, @ciophoto
- Glenn Lanteigne -- South West LHIN, @GlennLanteigne
- Stephen Lamb -- British Columbia Institute of Technology, @SEE_EYE_OH
- Laurent Maumet -- SOITEC, @lmau
- Steve Huffman -- Memorial Health System of South Bend, @SteveHuffmanCIO
- Brian Nettles -- Sigma Solutions, Inc, @7bn
- Ganesan Ravishanker -- Wellesley University, @ravishan
- Jon Walton -- City of San Francisco, CA, @SFCityCIO
- Paul Dale -- ITV, @paulcdale
- Bruce Maas -- University of Wisconsin, @uwmadisonCIO
- Sean O'Donoghue -- DreamWorks Animation, @seanwod
- Susan Kellogg -- Kenan-Flagler Businss School, UNC, @susankellogg
- Thabo Ndlela -- Sun International, @ThaboNdlela
- Steve Spot -- Alarm New England, @SteveSpott
- Kelly Flanagan -- BYU, @kelflanagan
20 Rising Star CIOs on Twitter (Name -- Company, Twitter Alias)
- Baz Abouelenein -- Kansas City Kansas Community College, @CIO_Baz
- A. Michael Berman -- California State University, Channel Islands, @amichaelberman
- Raechelle Clemmons -- St. Norbert University, @rclemmons
- Sabine Everaet -- Coca-Cola- Europe, @S_Everaet
- Scott Fenton -- Wind River Systems, @sdfenton
- Bill Greeves -- County of Roanoke, VA, @bgreeves
- David Hinson -- Hendrix College, @davidjhinson
- Rick Holgate -- Bureau of the ATF, @rickholgate
- Jeanette Horan -- IBM, @jeanettehoran
- Roxane Reynolds-Lair -- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, @IBMiCiO
- Tom LaPlante -- Top Golf, @tomlap
- Ernest Lehmann -- Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital, @ernestlehmann
- John D. McMillen -- Graves County Schools, Kentucky, @ujdmc
- Brian Nettles -- Sigma Solutions, Inc, @7bn
- Dan Petlon -- Enterasys, @DanPetlon
- Sukumar Rajagopal -- Cognizant Technology Solutions, @rsukumar
- Bill Schrier -- (former)City of Seattle, WA, @billschrier
- Wayne Shurts -- Sysco, @wayneshurts
- Trad Robinson -- SC School for the Deaf and Blind, @TradRobinson
- Joanna Young -- University of New Hampshire, @unhcio
I encourage you to connect with this amazing group of CIOs so that you can learn about the latest technology trends and top of mind initiatives in IT. I would also love to hear about CIOs that should be on this list.