Executive Education

IT Business Strategy

Course Takeaways

• Open/Close The program will address the following questions:

  •    Why some industries are profitable while others are not?
  •    How do you evaluate the attractiveness of an industry?
  •    What is competitive advantage? How can an individual firm build its advantage over rivals? 
  •    What alternative competitive positions can it adopt and what are the tradeoffs associated with each choice?
  •    How is the strategy of the firm reflected in its various activities across the value chain?
  •    What is digital transformation?
  •    How does it change the process of value creation and value appropriation? 
  •    How are platform-based businesses different from product-based businesses?
  •    What are network effects and other market drivers of platform-based businesses?
  •    How does the presence of platform-based businesses change competitive dynamics in an industry?
  •    How does digital transformation change the role that IT business managers play in the firm’s strategic innovation?
  •    How to align IT strategy with business strategy?
  •    How can IT managers lead digital transformation?
  •    What are the key milestones on the roadmap of the IT strategy?
  •    What are the challenges associated with IT Strategy development and implementation?
  •    How to develop and manage relationships with the key stakeholders (such as CEO, COO, CFO and CMO) to gain critical support for the IT Strategy?
   

Program Faculty

• Open/Close Anna Goussevskaia, PhD

  Anna Goussevskaia holds a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies from the University of Warwick, UK. She also has a background in Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences.

  Dr. Goussevskaia focuses her research on understanding how established and entrepreneurial firms create and adopt technological and organizational innovations. She has been especially interested in innovation process in the context of technological platforms and interfirm networks. Her research, teaching and consulting activities have spanned different countries, working in the United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States, and covered a variety of industries, such as biotechnology, IT, telecommunications, services, and construction.

• Open/Close John M. Deane

  John has over 35 years experience in executive management and applied information services leadership. His experience was acquired in the retail, foodservice, healthcare, banking, manufacturing and government industries. John is currently Managing Director at Clipper Advisory Group, a strategic consultancy focused on technology-based business turnarounds, effective digitization strategy, modern technology organization management and the practical, value-based use of advanced analytics concepts. His most recent retail experiences include business process reengineering for supply chain, ecommerce and advanced analytics in a multi-brand, decentralized global economic model. 

  Prior to Clipper, John was Senior Vice President and CIO at Ascena Retail Group, a multi-brand retail enterprise that included iconic names Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, Justice, Maurices, Catherine’s, Dressbarn, Lou & Grey and Cacique. In that role, John was responsible for the recasting IT as a modern, eCommerce/analytics-based resource, utilizing these concepts to design and implement advanced omnichannel approaches to selling and supply chain management. 

  Prior to Ascena, John was CIO at Abercrombie & Fitch, where he was responsible for the global footprint of information and technology services. A large share of his time was spent in pursuit of A&F’s strategy of global expansion, its commitment to ecommerce, global supply chain and creating the practical foundation for omnichannel operations and the support of over 1,100 chain and flagship stores in 19 countries. 

  Before that, John oversaw Wendy’s International, Inc's over 6,500 stores as Executive Vice President, North American Operations. Leading to this, as EVP and CIO, he led the transformation of store technology services, improved IT performance, tapped opportunities through analytics and delivered product management value to store operations. 

  Prior to Wendy’s, John was Executive VP & CIO for Caremark Rx (currently a CVS/Caremark business), a sophisticated healthcare managed care pharmaceutical distribution business. He also held positions at Whirlpool Corporation, Price Waterhouse and First Wisconsin National Bank. 

  Throughout his career, John has utilized his multiple client/industry consulting experience. His roles in major engagements while at Price Waterhouse included data and analytics development at companies like Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corporation (MGIC), large project management for major clients like the State of Indiana Unemployment Insurance Department, GE Aircraft Engines and the E.J. Brach candy company. All these engagements established John’s experience in team management, executive leadership and effective technical solution implementation. 

  John speaks at industry events, is involved in various advisory boards and has chaired the TechTomorrow conference for CIOs in Columbus. He has an MBA from Marquette University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• Open/Close John Hrusovsky

  John Hrusovsky is a Certified IT Business Strategist with 35 plus years of proven business, government, nonprofit and higher education experience in providing leadership, developing relationships, and organizing and implementing organizational, business process and information technology change.  John has helped organizations to become best in class through increased service delivery, the application of business and industry best practices, improved customer satisfaction, and effective utilization of resources.  

  John is a thought leader in the IT, Higher Education, Government, and Non-profit industries through his involvement with many clients and organizations and numerous speaking engagements.

  John is the Founder and President of JJH Consulting, LLC.  JJH Consulting, formed in 2006, (www.jjhconsultingllc.com) provides leadership, assurance, readiness and optimization services for IT and Systems projects and operations. JJH Consulting has worked with numerous organizations within the Higher Education, Non-Profit and Government industries.

  John is the Program Advisor for The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Graduate Certification in IT Business Strategy Program, an idea he brought to the university in 2020 and became operational in 2022.

  In addition to JJH Consulting, John has had several other job experiences including the following:

  • Founder and National CEO of GroundWork group.   GroundWork group is a 501c3 organization that teams with the nonprofit and funding community to help them maximize every charitable dollar donated by leveraging technology in a strategic manner.
  • 20 years with Accenture, the recognized leading global IT consulting organization.  His positions with Accenture included:
  • Managing Partner of the Columbus, Ohio office
  • Managing Partner of the Ohio Public Sector Industry
  • Global Managing Partner of the Education Industry

  John graduated in 1986 from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major of MIS and Accounting.

  John and his spouse, Bobbi formed the Hrusovsky Family Endowed Fund at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business to provide scholarship opportunities for students.  John and Bobbi are the parents of three boys and currently split their time between Columbus, Ohio and Pasadena, California.
   

• Open/Close Michael Fulton

• Open/Close Cancellation and Transfer Policy

  All cancellations and transfers must be received in writing. Submit your request via email to Jennie McAndrew at mcandrew.28@osu.edu with the name of the program, followed by “cancellation” or “transfer” in the subject line.

  • Cancellations must be made at least thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the program in order to be eligible for a full refund.
  • Cancellations must be made at least fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of the program in order to be eligible for a 50% refund.
  • Any cancellations made less than fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of the program will forfeit the registration fee.
  • If you for any reason are unable to attend the program, please consider sending someone in your place. Participants can transfer their registration to someone else within their organization at no charge up to 24 hours before the first day of the program.