UB Tech 2019

Ken Russell
Former CIO
Pfeiffer University


Dr. Ken Russell is a respected organization and technology leader/coach and turnaround specialist. He is an organization builder (North Carolina, Silicon Valley, Kansas) and has more than 25 years of experience developing and implementing comprehensive organization change and transformation efforts, bespoke programs, and innovation initiatives. He is known for successfully leading and stabilizing turbulent environments. A technology pioneer, he developed early Intranet systems for large banks which led to his participation in developing one of the first successful Internet-based training platforms. He continues to be a leader in digital transformation and organization change serving as Pfeiffer University’s Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Digital Transformation. In this role he leads Pfeiffer’s technology and academic computing initiatives and provides counsel for the President. An alum and former Trustee for the University, Dr. Russell leads with a unique combination of pragmatic experience and innovative vision. He understands the necessary balance that exists between what is espoused - and what is real. He is a founder and President Emeritus of both the Charlotte and Wichita Chapters for the Society for Information Management (SIM). He was a Director and Strategist at Cisco, where he led the Intellectual Capital Transformation group. He served as CIO for the David H. Murdock Research Institute (DHMRI) and spent several years in the Office of the CIO with Duke Energy. He was also SVP and head of Enterprise Architecture for Bank of America. Lead author of Social Knowledge: Organizational Currencies in the New Knowledge Economy, an industry-defining guide to Social Knowledge Management. Co-author of Make It New: Conversations with a Master Teacher.

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