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Declan Morris

AWS Transformation Advisor | CIO | Investor

Declan Morris is a Private Equity Transformation Advisor at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He has a background as a Global CIO, Cloud Operations Executive, and Technology Advisor. His professional experience includes significant roles in technology and operations, particularly in the cloud sector. He is associated with the University of San Francisco, indicating a strong educational foundation in his field.1

Highlights

Apr 18 · linkedin

Have you ever come across a cryptic Passenger Name Record (PNR) and wondered what it meant? Thanks to Amazon Bedrock, that mainframe mystery may finally be solved. See how #United teamed up with #AWS to decode a 50-year old system.

Mar 11 · linkedin

At Amazon Web Services (AWS), I spend much of my time helping account teams to decode or navigate the C-suite. Thanks to genAI, technology decisions are branching outside the confines of the CTIO/CIO. However, quite often I encounter account teams unable to distinguish the difference in roles and responsibilities between the #cto and #cio . Why is that so important? For example, the span of control, and hence the responsibilities, for a financial services CIO is significantly different to those of an ISV CIO.

The following posts by McKinsey & Company – “What are the responsibilities of a CIO versus a CTO?” – and AWS Senior Principal Evangelist, Gregor Hohpe – “Reverse Engineering the Organization” can help untangle the world of the CTO/CIO.

When engaging account teams, I usually ask the following six basic questions to further clarify roles and responsibilities: 1.   In what sector does the company operate in? CTO/CIO roles can vary significantly by industry. 2.   Who do they report to? Reporting relationship may explain influence and span of control. For example, do one or both report to the CEO? 3.   If there a Chief Product Officer (CPO), what is their relationship to the CTO? May indicate of the two, who is the most influential executive. Are they peers or one more senior than the other? 4.   Does all of engineering fall under the CTO/CIO or split among the business leaders? Operating in a matrixed organization brings its own unique set of challenges for the CTO/CIO. 5.   Who owns the budget? There are instances where the CTO owns the technology decision, but the CIO carries the budget. 6.   Who sets the product roadmap? This greatly influences strategic technology decisions.

Having identified the technology decision-maker, lead the initial conversation with business outcomes rather than the technology. By aligning on business outcomes, account teams are in a better position to support the CTO/CIO who may need to secure incremental funding from the CEO and CFO, and possibly the board.

What additional questions do you like to ask when clarifying CTO/CIO roles and responsibilities?

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Declan Morris
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Location

San Francisco, California, United States