Ashu Ketkar

CIO at Christian Brothers Services

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

I lead the IT division, as the CIO at Christian Brothers Services. We are based in the Greater Chicago area, where I live with my wife and children.

Christian Brothers Services is a nonprofit organization that administers cooperative programs in the areas of health, retirement, property/casualty, technology, school management and consulting services to Church organizations. In my role,

I get to lead an amazing IT team, partner with business leaders and serve our members, developing innovative technology solutions that help our members and clients.

What path have you taken to your current position? 

My journey started with a parallel processing project in ‘C’ programming langage as a developer, right out of college, in the early 1990s. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to witness an information revolution with the world of computing transformed from mainframes to client-server to distributed computing and now to cloud, AI & machine learning.

Along the way, I’ve been in strategy and managment consulting roles that have brought a different dimension and depth of understanding of business-IT process alignment. I have been fortunate to work with high performing teams, in diverse environments with many people from across the globe.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my journey from a developer to CIO, but I always like to go to my grassroots - application development for grounding.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

In my opinion, one’s position or title is less important than the active role one plays at an organization.

Business, IT transformation, cybersecurity and ability to partner with business has always been at the heart of what I do and this vision has helped me drive stability and innovation in organizations.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

Early on in my career, I had a mentor who taught me the importance of having a strategic vision, but at the same time, being able to be hands-on when needed.

My mentor always emphasized practical ways of creating simple, smart and elegant solutions to real world business problems by applying innovative thinking and having a problem-solving mindset.

This mindset has stuck with me and hopefully I am bringing that mindset to solve business-IT problems  and create smart technology solutions.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

In order to thrive in today’s modern world, leaders must be adaptable and be willing to listen to their team. Guidance is not a one-way street. Leaders must be willing to take input from their teams as well. Driving change and innovation requires aligning your goals and team goals. As the great Hellen Keller said -  “Alone, we can do little, together we can do so much.”

Today’s leaders must also be willing to try new approaches and be able to take calculated risks.  ‘One is either winning or learning’ mindset will help pave the way for innovative solutions.

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

I like to keep current with skills, technology and personal development primarily by - Interacting with people & learning from them and listening to podcasts whenever I can. For example - when I am driving, instead of simply turning on the radio, I will instead, select a topic that I am interested in and listen to a podcast on that topic on the way.

I also like to keep current by continuous learning. At the start of each year, I decide on two or three topics, that I am interested in and either pursue certifications or enroll in self-learning on those topic areas.

What advice would you give to aspiring technology leaders who are just starting their careers?

The next leap in technology will be through solutions in AI and analytics. We are on the cusp of an AI revolution and I foresee a huge positive impact on business in healthcare, insurance and finance. 

An example of this in healthcare is - being able to accurately detect a potential health condition, long before it becomes a disease by the application of AI technology to symptomatic patient data.

Similarly, in property insurance - one may be able to do underwriting accurately by detecting potential hazards by applying AI to images of property locations.

The applications of AI are limitless and it is for our generation to use AI responsibly for betterment of our society, for fostering education,  and improving health outcomes.

"Have a strategic vision, apply a problem-solving mindset, create practical solutions that are innovative and be prepared to be hands-on when needed."

What has been the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far, and how did you overcome it?

It is the same advice I would give, that I received from my mentor - “Have a strategic vision, apply a problem-solving mindset, create practical solutions that are innovative and be prepared to be hands-on when needed”

This is as relevant to future leaders, as it was 30 years ago.

What role do you see emerging technologies (e.g., AI, machine learning, blockchain) playing in your industry, and how are you preparing for them?

I would love to create a baseline environment in my career where repetitive tasks are fully automated, conversational and generative AI is accurately established and is used in a productive and effective manner.

How do you measure and communicate the value and impact of technology initiatives to other business leaders and stakeholders?

A big thank you to Ashu Ketkar from Christian Brothers Services for sharing his journey to date.

If you would like to gain more perspective from Tech Leaders and CIOs you can read some of our other interviews here.