Hosted by the Association of Interim Execs, CXO Chat is where top company founders and top leaders have real conversations around the high points and challenges in building and transforming a business.

October 5, 2015 @ 10am CDT

Join us as leaders discuss where Internet of Things (IOT) is going and how it will impact your company. Machine intelligence and connectivity is becoming embedded in your washing machine, your light bulbs and even your grandmother. Is your business ready?

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Hardik Bhatt was a Senior Director with Cisco and led market development for Internet of Everything for their Global Public Sector. He is now CIO for the State of Illinois, charged with the modest mission of transforming, aligning, and streamlining all state agencies in their use of technology to better deliver services.
 

Imad Mouline, co-founder and CTO of Everbridge, heads up market strategy, product roadmap, innovation, and R&D, including current IOT product launches. Imad has served as CTO and co-founder of several technology companies that achieved home run results.

After exiting my first company, I was asked to join a merchant bank. Over several years, I participated and/or managed several acquisitions where we deployed over $40 million of capital, and realized almost $180 million in gains. Every year I learned more about sources of funds and what the point-of-view was from the other side of the desk. The Chairman and CEO of the merchant bank came to appreciate the duality of my experiences. We became partners in several ventures over the following decade. I once asked why he trusted me with his money, his answer was that of all the employees of the merchant bank, only I had made a payroll, invested my own money, and signed a personal guarantee.

I have lost count of the number of company owners I’ve met who need help but are scared to death about hiring a consultant. Owners say it all boils down to shoveling out a lot of cash to an outsider without being sure that it will pay off.

“I think a lot of times when the consultants come in, their big advantage is that they come across very self-confident and sound great,” a former Fortune 50 CEO recently told me in an interview. “But I’m always very worried about what I refer to as the articulate incompetent.”