Mike Foley of Watercare Services is CIO of the Year

By CIO New Zealand | Wednesday, July 21 2010

Key successes include improved service and significant refresh of ICT equipment and systems.

Mike Foley of Watercare Services has been named CIO of the Year, and Absolute IT is the winner of the Excellence in IT Recruitment Award.
The winners were announced at the gala dinner last night during the first day of the two-day CIO Summit at the SkyCity Convention Centre.

The judges said Mike Foley built the case for increased investment in ICT at Watercare, gained the support of the organisation, and increased ICT investment 10-fold from what it was previously. The result was a “significant lift in customer service, upgrading and standardising of key ICT systems and serviuces, significant reduction in business risk to Watercare related to ICT.”

In November, Foley will take on the role of information systems manager at Auckland Council. The judges noted that as a result of improved ICT capability and systems, “Watercare is well positioned as it takes on services previously provided by the individual Auckland local authorities as the Auckland Super City is formed.”

The award, sponsored by NetApp, celebrates the success of an individual CIO, recognises excellence in management and for using technology to attain business goals. The other finalists were Peter Finch of Gen-i and Liz Gosling of AUT University,.

The Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) is the sponsor of Excellence in IT Recruitment Award. The other finalists this year were Hays Recruitment, Potentia and Robert Walters.

The CIO Summit is organised by CIO magazine, IDC and Bright*Star.