5 years ago... Carayol calls for IT staff to brush up on business skills

11.02.1999: IT professionals who want to reach the board of directors need to start taking commercial responsibility for their work. This was the message from René Carayol, IT director at IPC Magazines, who gave a rallying speech at silicon.com's IT on Board event in London this morning.

Attacking the mentality of sulky IT staff who complain that the business doesn't understand or appreciate them, Carayol said: "That's our fault. Call me old-fashioned but a little bit of ownership goes a long way. If we're really proud of what we do and what we can achieve then let's talk it up. Let's not be shy about it.

"We've got to be linguists, we've got to speak their language, we've got to wear their clothes" h said. "We've got to make them feel comfortable in dealing with us. Then we have the real key power relationships. If we can get IT and the business working in unison, then we've cracked it."

Carayol, who heads up an IT unit of around 150 people at IPC, said he chose staff for their business drive, not their technical skills. "I don't want to build an environment where the best technologists can further their careers," he said. "IT has reached a sound level of maturity now. If I want technology experts, then I can buy them in."

11.02.2004: Carayol's outspoken and informed views about IT and the role of the IT director have made him a popular and in-demand figure within the industry.

For most a regular column on the pages of silicon.com and his own book deal would be reward enough, but Carayol was also recently honoured by the Queen when he received an MBE.