Mike McGil
Name: Mike McGill
Current Job: Chief Information Office at Medical Service Company
Favorite restaurant in town? We are blessed to have so many great restaurants in Cleveland, but my go to is Sasa on Shaker Square. Their sushi is awesome and the Sasa fries might be the single most delicious food in Cleveland.
Favorite thing about Cleveland? There is just so much to do here, and something to do for every interest. I can take my family to a Tribe game on Saturday and to the art museum on Sunday. From the museums, to Playhouse Square, to the local sports teams, there is something for everybody.
Q: Mike, you started your career at BP and then ended up moving to Medical Service Company. For those looking to start their careers, what advice do you have for considering the benefits of joining a large company versus a smaller company? Of the two, I have enjoyed my time at Medical Service Company much more. But that is because I prefer to be a little bit of a “jack of all trades”. In my career, I have preferred to get my hands into a lot of different technologies vs. specializing in and spending most of my time in a single technology. Also, I prefer the nimbleness of a smaller company. We can come up with a great idea on Monday and have it in place by Tuesday. Our bottlenecks tend to be more resource-driven and not caused by bureaucracy and red tape. So, if you prefer to specialize in a specific technology, a larger organization may be for you. If you like variety and working on several different technologies, a smaller or middle-market organization might be right for you.
Q: Since 2000, you've spent the majority of your career at Medical Service Company, can you tell the readers about what you do? Yes, I have been with Medical Service Company since 2000. That is quite a while, but it is such a great company. As I stated earlier, a smaller, family-owned business just “fits” me. It is a great organization, with great people, and a great mission of caring for our patients. As I stated earlier, I have the pleasure of working in the several areas within the organization. My title is CIO, and in that role, I lead our digital transformation objectives. From infrastructure, to development, to integration my job is to make sure our technology strategy supports our overall organizational strategy. I also lead our e-commerce/digital marketing initiatives, which is a great ying to the IT yang. I love the diversity of going from a technical discussion with the IT team to a creative discussion with the digital marketing team. I also oversee our integration activities. Medical Service Company has largely grown by acquisition over the years. One of my jobs is to oversee the integration activities to make sure the newly acquired company and team members successfully integrate and feel “at home” at Medical Service Company.
Q: A common question I ask technical mangers on the newsletter is handling their transition from developer to management. How did you adjust to the transition and what advice do you have for developers hesitant about making the transition to management? Great question! So many people in Information technology get promoted to leadership opportunities because of the fact that they are great technologists. They may not get the support and training they need to successfully make the transition and it may end up turning into a “trial by fire” situation. A few pieces of advice I would give to any aspiring Information technology Leader. One, learn about Emotional Intelligence. Having the ability to recognize the emotional states of others and empathize is powerful. Second, learn about and practice Servant Leadership. The best leaders truly care about the people they manage. Being a leader is a great opportunity to serve others. Lastly, find a mentor (or mentors) who can help you learn the ropes. Either through a formal business coach arrangement, or informally through other leaders, you work with and admire. A good mentor can help you find your blind spots and continue to improve.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges of being a CIO in Cleveland? I would say that until recently my biggest challenge was feeling like I was kind of on an island. I just didn’t feel like there were good opportunities to network and idea share with my CIO peers and other technology leaders in Northeast Ohio. That was probably my own fault for not looking hard enough. A few years back I joined the Cleveland chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM). More recently I became a member of the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Northeast Ohio CIO Forum. Both have proven to be great networking opportunities. I would definitely encourage any technology leader who is looking to “get out there” more and strengthen their professional network to consider joining the Society for Information Management (https://chapter.simnet.org/cleveland/home). It really has helped me to strengthen my network and I have met so many great technology leaders to idea share with.
Q: You are involved in a few charitable organizations such as SIM. How has volunteering helped play a role in your life? In the end, it just feels good to give back a little. As a member of SIM, I have been given the opportunity to support our education outreach initiatives. We support local IT talent development by sponsoring coding camps and providing scholarships to students with information technology-related majors at local universities. There are so many great technology career opportunities in Northeast Ohio. Having an opportunity to play even a small role in supporting local IT talent development has been very rewarding. In this role, I have also had the opportunity to meet so many great people doing great work developing our IT talent pipeline. I also recently became a mentor in the College Now program. This has been a wonderful opportunity to work one on one with a college student and just “be there” to answer questions and provide support and encouragement. Again, it just feels good to share some of my time and experience to support causes that resonate with me.
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