GM’s CIO Ralph Szygenda Inducted into CIO Magazine CIO Hall of Fame

Honored for Leadership, Pioneering Vision and Innovation

DETROIT, MI. (USA) - Honored for 37 years of leadership, pioneering vision and innovation in applying information technology in business, Ralph J. Szygenda, General Motors Group Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO), has been inducted into the CIO magazine’s Hall of Fame. Szygenda, who in 1996 became GM’s first CIO, was selected by the magazine for his leadership in the CIO community and for contributions to the advancement of the profession.

According to Abbie Lundberg, editor-in-chief of CIO magazine, “As we celebrate 20 years of providing IT executives with the strategies and best practices to perform their jobs effectively, it makes sense to honor the elite CIOs who have been pioneers in breaking new ground in the use of technology in business. Szygenda is certainly among them.” As GM’s CIO, Szygenda has fundamentally transformed how GM utilizes information technology worldwide - setting new standards of excellence for the industry and establishing a dynamic culture of ongoing innovation. Under his leadership, systems and processes have been, and continue to be, standardized on a global basis and greatly simplified. By applying precision information technology, billions of dollars of cost savings have been realized while greatly reducing both product development and vehicle delivery time to customers.

Before joining GM, Szygenda was Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Bell Atlantic Corporation, a position he held since June 1993. His main initiatives involved reengineering Bell Atlantic’s business processes and delivering information systems to meet the new electronic generation. Szygenda also served as a member of the board of directors of Sodalia Corporation, a joint software business venture of Bell Atlantic and Telecom Italia.

Prior to Bell Atlantic, Szygenda spent 21 years with Texas Instruments Incorporated. In 1989, he was appointed Vice President, Information Systems and Services, and Chief Information Officer. In 1991, he also added the responsibility of Vice President and General Manager of Texas Instruments Enterprise Systems Business Unit, an external software systems integration business supplying information products and services to the Fortune 500.

“This induction is a deep honor, particularly as I’m sharing the marquee with highly distinguished CIOs from around the world,” said Szygenda. “This award is also a tribute to my talented colleagues at GM. With our team of the ’best and brightest,’ we’ve placed GM at the forefront of leadership in harnessing all facets of cutting-edge IT to help drive global business -- and help produce great cars and trucks for our customers. Though we’re proud of where we’ve come, we’re confident the best is yet to come.”

Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during CIO magazine’s annual CIO|08: The Year Ahead Conference and Awards Ceremony, Monday, October 29th at the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, CA. More information is available at http://www.cio.com/special/20th_anniversary/.