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Company: Textron, Inc, Providence RI USA
Company Description: Textron is $10 billion global multi-industry company with market-leading brands (Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, E-Z-GO golf cars, etc.) and businesses serving the general aviation, aerospace and defense, industrial and commercial finance markets. We have 43,000 employees in nearly 40 countries.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best MIS & Systems Executive
Nomination Title: Kenneth Bohlen, Executive VP and Chief Innovation Officer
1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Ken Bohlen, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Textron,
Inc., has provided strong and careful leadership through a long, goal focused
process to “right source” the data center infrastructure of the Textron
enterprise. After significant study of the best way to optimize and expand
customer service in a cost effective manner, it was decided that a partnership
with a world-class provider would be best for the enterprise.
Under his guidance Ken assembled skillful teams to cover the various categories
of information technology services. Textron is a major multi-industry company
with 43,000 employees throughout the world and composed of many, diverse
businesses such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, E-Z-GO golf cars,
industrial products, fasteners, and financial services. This diversity
compounds the complexity of building a shared resource to insure a solid base of
IT support.
Prelude to the sourcing activity Ken, maintaining constant communication with
the business leaders, accomplished the task of combining the various business IT
structures into a single reporting structure under his office while honoring the
value of the continuing and consistent support of those businesses. This
consolidation proved essential to the subsequent successful completion of the
outsourcing contract. At all times Ken kept in mind the welfare of the
employees that would be re-badged in the process. A major consideration in the
contract was the retention of all Textron employees in the change. He urged his
teams to protect the benefits of the affected staff and ensure the uninterrupted
support of the businesses.
There is never absolute certainty in every aspect of a major endeavor even with
a relentless pursuit of the voice of the customer, necessary metrics, risk
assessments and other important analyses. One of Ken Bohlen’s strongest assets
is his ability to provide strong leadership throughout large undertakings that
at times may possibly involve some measure of uncertainty. His vision of a
shared IT service environment remains constant and is the foundation of a future
focused information support architecture.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=51202808
http://www.tpi.net/about/displayNews.aspx?NewsTypeID=5&spid=70&id=1013
http://www.textron.com/about/leadership/corp_management/bios/bohlen_kenneth.jsp
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:
Ken Bohlen is executive VP and Chief Innovation Officer for Textron Inc where
he heads the Textron Information Services. Before assuming his current
position in 2000, Bohlen was at AlliedSignal Inc., where he was VP and CIO of
the Aerospace Group. He held other senior positions, including VP of supply
chain and CIO for AlliedSignal Engines; VP of Six Sigma; and director of supply
chain.
Before joining AlliedSignal, Bohlen spent 20 years with Deere & Company where he held numerous information and manufacturing technology-related positions.
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