Simplot’s CIO, Roger Parks gets national recognition for tech vision

In the three years since Roger Parks became chief information officer of the J.R. Simplot Co., he has been pushing to make information technology a vital part of any company decision.

Ken Dey
The Idaho Statesman

Parks calls this change “moving IT from the back room to the boardroom.”

“CIOs need to be clearly aligned with the CEO of any corporation,” Parks said.

“Business today is all about technology, it doesn´t matter what business you´re in,” he added. “If you don´t have technology, you´re not a serious player.”

Parks´ vision of a successful IT program has earned him a spot on the 2003 list of Computerworld magazine´s Premier 100 IT Leaders.

Parks is included on a list that includes CIOs from many high-profile companies, including Microsoft and Motorola.

This is the second consecutive year that an Idaho CIO has made the top 100. Last year IdaCorp Inc.´s CIO, Bryan Kearney, was named to the list.

Parks, who has more than 30 years´ experience in the IT field, arrived at Simplot in December 1999.

Since then, he´s been working hard at integrating Simplot´s various business units into a single IT system. His goal is to have what he calls a “Single Simplot Worldwide.”

Parks said a single integrated system makes the most sense for any business.

He points to Southwest Airlines as a perfect example.

Parks said Southwest uses only one model of airplane, which cuts down on training costs for mechanics who need to learn how to maintain only one plane, as opposed to the several models that some of Southwest´s competitors use.

Ultimately, Parks envisions Simplot´s IT system as being able to provide real-time data to aid in managing the flow of products.

Parks said Simplot´s system needs to be integrated with suppliers, distributors, vendors, customers and business partners so inventory levels can be viewed in real time.

Parks said that in the current tough business climate, CIOs also must be cautious when the newest technology comes out.

“You don´t want to spend enormous amounts of money and fail,” Parks said. “If what you have is working and meeting your business needs, there´s no compelling reason to upgrade.”

Before joining Simplot, Parks worked at several large retail companies in Texas and the Southeast.

Parks said that when he graduated from the University of Houston in 1972 with a degree in computer science, he never imagined how quickly technology would develop.

“The mainframes we had then were based in buildings. Today they´re on your desktop or laptop,” Parks said.

“What we have today, we viewed back then as kind of ´Star Wars´ stuff that we didn´t think would happen in our lifetime.”

To offer story ideas or comments, contact Ken Dey
[email protected] or 377-6428

http://www.idahostatesman.com/Business/story.asp?ID=33581