Seattle Business School Alliance

Late, Lavish and Lacking: Why Many IT Projects Are Like Junk Bonds
How Corporations and Startups Can Manage Risk So IT Investments Yield a Decent Return

Yale School of Management’s Seattle Alumni Chapter, SURF Incubator and the Seattle Business School Alliance present an evening with seasoned venture CTO and Wall Street veteran John Helm.

Dr. Helm’s new analysis of corporate IT projects reveals several surprising – and yet not so surprising – lessons for emerging ventures and mature corporations alike. Roughly 15% of such projects fail – comparable to the default rate for publicly traded bonds. However, although so many IT projects are late, over budget and incomplete, there are ways to manage these risks effectively. Risk Adjusted Performance is the key. And guess what, it’s not rocket science.

• What: Appetizers, Drinks and Interactive Discussion
• When: Wed. 11/6 – 5:30pm networking, 6:00-7:30pm remarks and Q&A
• Who: CTOs, CIOs, CEOs and entrepreneurs
• Where: SURF Incubator, 821 2nd Ave., 4th Floor Event Space (Suite 410), Seattle, WA 98104
• Parking: Map of nearby options: http://bit.ly/1cAF9ve
• Price: $9.95 for recent alums*, $14.95 all others – includes food and drinks
• Register: http://event-reg.som.yale.edu/signup/seattle-11-6

* Recent alums include those who received undergrad degrees within the past 10 years, or a grad/professional degree within the past 5 years.

ABOUT JOHN HELM

John Helm is a nationally recognized expert on information technology strategy. For over 35 years, he has held senior technical and executive roles in Internet, Financial Services and Research entities – from technology ventures to Wall Street. With his unique combination of in-house CTO and IT architecture experience at companies from Morgan Stanley to Drugstore.com, John has developed compelling and insightful perspectives on how strategic IT decision-making affects performance. A frequent speaker on IT strategy, he presented on this event’s same topic at the Agile2013 conference in Nashville in August. A former professor at Columbia University, John also earned a Ph.D. there in Applied Physics, a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/johnlhelm.

ABOUT SOM SEATTLE

SOM Seattle is the local chapter of the Yale School of Management Alumni Association, which provides a voice for alumni and works to strengthen connections with the school and within the alumni community. SOM alumni can connect with SOM Seattle on Facebook (www.facebook.com/groups/57275781802) or via the broader YaleSeattle club atwww.yaleseattle.org.

ABOUT SURF INCUBATOR

SURF is an entrepreneur network founded in 2009 by Seaton Gras. It was originally conceived as a way to provide mentorship and meeting space for entrepreneurs starting businesses with a technical programming requirement. For more than two years, entrepreneurs congregated at various locations around Seattle to collaborate on development projects and explore their “big ideas.” The community quickly grew to more than 1,000 members.

In 2012, SURF teamed up with Neil Bergquist and local entrepreneurs to secure a floor of class A office space in downtown Seattle. Since its inception SURF has evolved into a community of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, developers, designers, educators, and a breath of community supporters. SURF is a resource network for entrepreneurs eager to transform their ideas and startups into disruptive businesses. For more, visit www.surfincubator.com.

http://www.yaleseattle.org/2013/10/why-it-projects-are-like-junk-bonds-wed.html