Welcome to the SIM National ReThink Everything! (RTE) Shared Interest Group (SIG)
Mission: To assist our members as they guide the design and adoption of rapidly advancing technologies into their organization's changing business model. RTE will focus on the nexus of business needs, technology advancement, leadership, and public policy.
About ReThink Everything!
“We hold that we are in a more rapidly changing environment than ever, which is an exciting place for the CIO and IT Leader. But if we don't interpret and respond to the trends effectively, it can significantly impact business survival. Think Uber and the taxi industry, or Air BnB and hotels,” McGrath said. “CIO and IT leaders need to understand the megatrends and be able to respond to them in their new business models. We hope to provide insight through the RTE SIG.”
“AI, augmented reality, blockchain, NFTs, DAOs, and quantum computing will fundamentally transform many businesses in just a few years,” said Geoff Scott, SIM NY Metro Board Member. “As technology leaders, we have both the opportunity and the obligation to lead our organizations to strategically leverage emerging technologies like these to reinvent existing business models and invent new ones.”
McGrath and William Waas, RTE SIG Steering Committee Member and SIM Tampa Bay Programs Chair, conceptualized the program in late 2021 with a goal to launch in March 2022.
“We started with recognizing that AI doesn't just have a technological impact, but a business impact. It drove us to conceptualize a SIG that would be a place for our SIM members to re-think all aspects of Technology leadership, thus ReThink Everything,” McGrath said.
Along with fulfilling SIM’s three staple pillars– philanthropy, networking, and leadership development– ReThink Everything! intends to accomplish the following:
- Educate members – inform SIM members about the nexus of megatrends, leadership, public policy, emerging technologies, and their potential impact on the industry.
- Introduce Industry Thought Leaders – position SIM National as the go-to place for people developing stories on breakthrough technologies and megatrends.
- Coordinate Activity – act as a bridge between academia (native research), research/consulting firms (Info-Tech, Gartner, Deloitte, PwC, etc.), Start-Up Community (VCs), Established AI vendors (like Microsoft, Dell, IBM, etc.) and Government (DARPA, NASA, etc.).
RTE intends to dedicate 70 percent of its focus on technologies that can be broadly applied today. Another 20 percent will look at a 5-year horizon where certain advanced technologies are currently available and being adopted on a limited basis; 10 percent will explore a 10-year horizon.
“Our vision is to form a community of leaders who are deep thinkers on these topics. Experts who will help us guide and inspire the SIM community as it grapples with the rapidly changing and volatile environment we operate in today,” McGrath said. “RTE is looking for those who may be a few steps ahead in their journey. We want to partner with them and help other SIM members move forward with their organizations.”
Meet the Chair - Quintin McGrath
We would like to introduce you to the Chair for ReThink Everything! Shared Interest group (SIG). Quintin McGrath is a passionate leader, a global team builder, and an energetic champion for change. After 24 years at Deloitte, Quintin retired, having served as their first South Africa CIO, and then relocating to the US as a key member of the Global CIO’s leadership team. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in AI and Ethics at the University of South Florida's Muma College of Business. Quintin is also an advisory board member for an early-stage VC organization.
Quintin retired from Deloitte, where for 20+ years, he served on Deloitte’s Global CIO Council and its most senior Global Technology Executive team, leading and guiding the organization’s worldwide Technology strategy creation and execution. He was an orchestrator of transformation and change in Deloitte’s technology organization and other business units. He established the global Application Development group, led the conceptualization and transformation of IT into a shared services organization, drove the modernization of IT through catalyzing innovation, reinventing architecture, and driving agile delivery. Most recently, he was one of the IT Leaders who drove Deloitte’s technology globalization effort which resulted in the formation of a unified worldwide Technology group.
Over his career, Quintin has held CIO, business consulting and global program leadership roles in South Africa and the USA. He was the first CIO of the South African Post Office, where he established a new technology organization and implemented all back-office related technology solutions (HR, Finance) as well as front office (Point of Sale and Banking) capabilities. He was also a business consultant and the founder of Q-Data Internet, an Internet Solutions Provider around the time of the internet boom.
An Electronic Engineer and Business Leader by profession, he holds an MS Degree in Engineering from the University of Cape Town, as well as a Business Leadership MBA from the University of South Africa and an MA from Wheaton College in Chicago. As a proponent of life-long learning, he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of South Florida.
Along with his determination for personal growth, he is dedicated to developing others around him, and especially the next generation of leaders. He is passionate about photography, spending time with his family, including his four delightful grandchildren who affectionately call him GQ (for Grandad Quintin), and is an environmental sustainability enthusiast. Quintin currently resides in the Tampa Bay area with his wife Megan. LinkedIn profile