Daniel Blanchard says he was a “typical tech geek” in the beginning of his profession at Boeing, the place he was supervisor of techniques administration. There he labored on applications for the Military, Navy, Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise, and the Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company.
Today he’s chief know-how officer at IHG Inns & Resorts, the place he leads the imaginative and prescient and technique for areas of the product and know-how enterprise in a corporation with greater than 6,600 motels globally. They embrace InterContinental Inns & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Vacation Inn, and Kimpton Inns and Eating places. As CTO, he ensures that know-how runs nicely with service-level agreements and monitoring different metrics. Previous to IHG, he spent greater than 25 years in IT enterprise administration, technique, transformation, structure governance, and program administration.
“As you’ll anticipate, there are similarities and variations between operating know-how for an airline and a hospitality firm,” Blanchard says. “On one hand, each organizations leverage options for reservation techniques, loyalty techniques, operational techniques, and so forth. And each organizations’ know-how methods give attention to offering techniques and help for vacationers and for colleagues to assist them preserve the enterprise up and operating.”
In an e mail interview, Blanchard talks about his profession as a tech chief and his methods on every thing from cloud migration to sustaining agility and a development mindset.
From Transportation to Hospitality
Blanchard has labored in a number of industries, from airways to manufacturing to authorities and hospitality.
Earlier than IHG, Blanchard labored at Delta Air Strains as vice chairman for IT infrastructure and reliability. He led IT reliability transformation throughout Delta worldwide. Earlier than that, he labored for greater than 20 years at Marriott Worldwide.
“At Delta, I at all times took very significantly the function I performed in serving to individuals journey for giant life occasions like an interview for a brand new job, a enterprise alternative, a relative’s commencement, or a long-saved journey of a lifetime,” Blanchard says. “The belief individuals put in us to get them the place they wanted to be impressed me to do my greatest to supply excessive reliability and constant IT companies to get them there.”
All through his profession, Blanchard has taken an curiosity in planning and management techniques, from protection contracting to mission-critical IT administration in airways and now the connection administration and strategic deployment of the superior know-how in hospitality.
“All are nice industries and challenges crammed with alternatives to study and be a greater chief,” Blanchard says. “I actually wouldn’t change my expertise working in a wide range of industries for something.”
Overseeing the Tech of A number of Resort Chains
Blanchard helps greater than 100 purposes globally all through IHG. He began on the firm in February 2020 because the COVID-19 pandemic took maintain of the world. He helped oversee the tech technique for the corporate’s resort chains through the well being disaster.
Lately Blanchard oversaw IHG’s cloud migration, transferring the group’s total atmosphere to the cloud. He was aware to finish the work at a tempo that retains company and house owners pleased. Now he’s labored on rolling out IHG’s Visitor Reservation System and Income Administration System to the group’s motels globally.
Dan Blanchard
“I can’t inform you how proud it makes me when a possible proprietor truly desires emigrate to our know-how as a result of they’ll see the worth to their enterprise,” Blanchard says. “That may be a nice feeling.”
Today, Blanchard is busy overseeing management metrics that preserve IHG operating easily. A number of the metrics are business commonplace, and others he and his staff have developed through the years.
“Whereas these metrics are vital, a very powerful factor I’ve discovered is to have a single particular person liable for every of them — whether or not they’re management metrics (the place a extra junior member of the employees could also be accountable) or outcomes metrics (the place considered one of my direct stories will lead),” Blanchard explains. “Generally there are inputs and dependencies which are out of a person staff member’s management. However in a dynamic and fast-paced atmosphere just like the hospitality business, a transparent and single accountability mannequin is vital to growing leaders who perceive how you can navigate these troublesome conditions whereas nonetheless reaching the general goal.”
At IHG, Blanchard helps the corporate’s “asset-light mannequin,” by which IHG groups don’t management day-to-day operations, insurance policies, or procedures of the franchised motels. Nevertheless, they nonetheless work intently collectively to ship a “constant model expertise for company.”
Blanchard cites 4 key areas which are integral to his function: working with the chief data safety officer to maintain techniques dependable and safe, speaking a viewpoint all through the group on structure and innovation, constructing a technical atmosphere to ship merchandise quickly all through the corporate, and specializing in organizational and enterprise administration.
In hospitality, Blanchard sees the function of IT in serving to resort employees tackle clients’ preferences. IHG just lately signed a take care of Genesys, which presents an AI-powered, cloud-based expertise orchestration platform, to spice up the visitor expertise. IHG’s largest-ever buyer expertise middle transformation consisted of migrating 1000’s of visitor companies brokers in addition to 1000’s of toll-free numbers throughout eight world websites.
“Some company need a touch-free transaction the place they’ll move the desk and go straight to their room with out speaking to anybody,” Blanchard says. “Others need a high-touch strategy the place their each want is taken care of by employees that has the knowledge and techniques obtainable to ship superior customer support.”
Agility and a Stable Digital Expertise
Key expertise and challenges as an IT chief embrace sustaining a excessive degree of agility and efficient communication.
“The larger problem is to take care of a excessive degree of agility — and never simply within the sense of adopting an agile improvement methodology however quite being mild in your ft and nimble to supply options to evolving enterprise wants,” Blanchard says.
For Blanchard, he bases his IT choices on how resort house owners can drive income and supply a stable digital expertise for company. As well as, he plans to construct on his deployment of cloud-based property administration techniques and enhance the group’s One Rewards loyalty program, for which the group makes use of information and analytics to grasp ever-changing visitor wants.
“There’s actual potential to capitalize on our enhanced give attention to information and analytics, and to higher perceive and leverage altering visitor behaviors to enhance visitor experiences,” Blanchard says.
The Subsequent Technology of IT Leaders
Blanchard advises that future IT leaders keep a “development mindset” and give attention to having enjoyable of their roles as they supply worth to the group.
He cites the late Colin Powell, former secretary of state, who mentioned, “Optimism is a drive multiplier.” He explains, “This is applicable to you, and it applies to the individuals you encompass your self with. You’ll merely be simpler in the event you embrace this.”
He stresses that understanding the angle of colleagues is essential.
“The angle you carry, and your experience, is vital, however individuals, notably new leaders, are inclined to give attention to their very own views an excessive amount of,” Blanchard says. “Spend time attempting to grasp the motivations and wishes of the individuals round you. You’ll probably uncover that they see very legitimate challenges and views you may not see out of your vantage level. As soon as you’re each on the identical web page, you can begin working collectively to resolve issues for them and for you.”
For leaders, enterprise objectives are extra vital than know-how, in line with Blanchard.
“My recommendation: Don’t get too enamored with the shiny, new tech and neglect the mission,” he advises. “I definitely discovered that lesson alongside the way in which, however I nonetheless stay a proud tech geek at coronary heart.”
