Under his command at any given time are up to six process information officers (PIOs), 40 CIOs, one CTO and 2,000 I.T. brokers -- all of whom use an incredibly complex and sophisticated strategy for buying and implementing technology throughout all of GM's many business divisions.

In effect, Szygenda has built the largest I.T. department ever known. And his methods are working. Under his leadership, he has moved GM to standardized processes; dropped 7,000 legacy systems to fewer than 3,000; developed common desktop, e-mail and global CAD/CAM systems; moved from one vendor (EDS) to multiple vendors; cut vehicle development process time in half; and trimmed a billion dollars from the company's I.T. budget.

All these efforts were major undertakings, especially considering that GM employs over 317,000 people, produces vehicles in 32 countries, sells them in 200 countries and has an intricate, global supply chain that uses a multitude of languages and just as many currencies.

Szygenda joined GM in 1996 after a three-year stint as CIO of Bell Atlantic. In the previous 21 years, he served as CIO of Texas Instruments. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Missouri and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas.

Szygenda spoke with CIO Today about the secrets to success in running the most dynamic and sophisticated I.T. operation in the world. His authority is palpable, and his voice is clear and strong. He dodges no question and is highly focused on the moment. Paradoxically, nothing escapes his notice yet nothing distracts him.

CIO Today: What are your top concerns as CIO?

Szygenda: I have many concerns: globalization, growth, regulations, security and departmental issues all need my attention. GM has been global for over 100 years and traditionally did everything regionally, meaning we built and sold vehicles in the same geographic area and then repeated the formula worldwide.

Now we do everything globally; we source $90 billion in materials, build cars in plants all over the world and then ship them to over 200 countries to sell. No other company in the world has those kinds of logistic problems. Many companies say they are global, but they actually operate regionally. Few are truly global. (continued...)

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