Dave McQueeney has been the Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Federal Government business since June of 2004.  In that time, he’s developed his own list of dos and don’ts for being a top CTO. Recently, McQueeney sat down with ExecutiveBiz to offer up several of his tips. Among them: Surround yourself with the best technical people. Stay connected to a broader research community. Don’t just view yourself as a techie; be a bridge between the technical and business worlds. In the following Q&A, McQueeney unpacks these and other tips, and lets us in on a few book picks that can also enrich your role as CTO.

Your involvement with IBM goes back to the ‘80s — a long time.

Dave McQueeney: Yes, I started in June of 1988, right out of grad school.  So if you sum it up I’ve been 20 years at IBM, 10 of which were at IBM Research and the other 10 were in the operating units. I have been the Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Federal Government business since June of 2004.

You oversee 70 engineers and system architects — what does it take to be a good CTO?

Dave McQueeney: To be a good CTO, you have to work on three things. First, you have to have the best technical people.  You have to create an environment that is exciting and vibrant. Techies are heat seekers … If you are successful creating this environment, the best folks will find you.  Once you attract them, of course you need to look after them. You have to continually challenge them with problems that really get them excited from both a technical and impact point of view.  You have to help them move “up the ladder” in their jobs, growing into bigger, more significant responsibilities.  Finally, you have to keep the organization’s skills up-to-date. You have to be concerned about whether you have the right technical resources to solve the business or the mission problem that you face, especially as that mission changes.

So it’s all about the people; you get the right people, you deploy them in the right way, you help them advance their careers and you make sure the mix of people is right for the problem you are trying to solve.

Second: You are a “C-level executive,” the CTO of an organization. That organization, whether it is government or commercial, is going to look to you to make or advise on the most important policy decisions. To stay sharp, you have to keep up with journals, the broader research community, and with government and other industry parties.  Said another way, innovation is moving faster and faster and you need to stay strongly connected inside and outside of your organization to be current.

You are expected to make reasoned judgments about policies the organization will set where the fundamental decision is technically-based. Your senior colleagues are going to expect you to have the judgment to answer technical questions on behalf of the organization.

Third: You can’t just be a techie. The CTO has to be the bridge between the business world — or the mission world, as it’s called in the government — and the technical world.  You have to provide advice such as “You haven’t thought of this because you are mission expert, not a technical expert, but here is a new way to address your mission challenges in a completely different, and fundamentally more effective way.” Any good CTO is constantly working to get a deeper understanding of his or her mission area, not just the technology.
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Anne Altman, former Managing Director of IBM’s U.S. Federal Business, has moved to General Manager of the company’s Mainframe Platform Group.

Todd Ramsey has been tapped to head Altman’s former federal slot.

“The managerial changes are part of a yearlong general transformation within IBM, the biggest such realignment in 15 years,” said Lia Davis, an IBM spokeswoman in a recent interview with the Washington Technology.

Earlier this year, Altman gave The Executive Biz Blog her thoughts on the year ahead. “The year will start with a flurry of activity across all major agencies, followed by a slow down in the second half due to election dynamics. IBM will continue working with clients to extend their limited resources by leveraging commercial infrastructure to speed development, reduce costs and risks for mission programs,” Altman said.

While she’s moved out of the federal space, Altman will continue to have an impact on the Washington area business community both in her new role at IBM and at events like the annual Kidney Ball; an event she chaired in 2006.