Medhanie Tekeste
CIO
City of Brampton
Medhanie Tekeste is the CIO for the City of Brampton and a Governing Body Member of the Toronto CIO Community.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
After being a Global CIO for the past 7 years in the Pharmaceutical Industry, I decided that I would take a break and revisit what I would like to do next. I wanted a role that is not Global and in different vertical. I got notification about the CIO role for the City of Brampton, and it piqued my interest so I applied. After a successful interview process, I was offered the role.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
My guiding leadership principles are to empower, enable and uplift the team to succeed and deliver value to the organization.
What is the greatest challenge CIOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
As emerging technologies and AI are changing the way business and cities operate CIOs need to be Chief Innovation Officers and ensure there is proper strategy, alignment and controls in place.
I am developing a strategy and working on alignment and framework that allows introduction of AI and innovation based on business case and with proper controls.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?
The key to success is to continue to enhance your emotional intelligence, understand stakeholder engagement and management, create a persona that inspires trust from your stakeholders and be a business operator, learn to speak the language of the business.
How do you measure success as a leader?
I measure success by delivering on commitments and generating business value, developing my team and striving for continuous alignment with my team, peers and upper management to deliver on corporate strategic objectives.
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