Rebecca gasser
CIO at Omnicom Health Group
Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself
Based out of Philadelphia, Rebecca serves as Chief Information Officer of Omnicom Health Group where she brings over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry—collaborating with business leaders to transform their information technology strategies and provide cost-effective solutions that meet every objective and goal. Prior to Omnicom Health Group, Rebecca was the VP of Information Technology at Ferrandino and Son, a facility services company. Rebecca has also served as Head of Product for the Platforms Organization at GlaxoSmithKline, where she worked to embed agile ways of working while creating a digital platform to accelerate the digital transformation capabilities for business units.
What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?
I've been in tech my entire career. I started my career at GSK and spent over 20 years taking on a number of progressive leadership positions that both developed and pushed me to be the best I could be. I consider myself lucky to have worked for such a large enterprise with an amazing culture that grew my career in a meaningful way.
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?
Yes, as soon as I started my career in technology, I knew I was in the right field. I have always been very driven and always intended to grow and be seen as a leader. Being a Chief Information Officer was my ultimate goal.
Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?
I have had many many role models and mentors along the way, both men and women. You really cannot get to a role like this without the help and support of others.
How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?
Technology leaders continue to shift from the group that delivers and supports the technology to those that partner and support the business in acquiring the technology that provides a competitive advantage to them. There will always be the foundational infrastructure delivery and the strong need to keep the company safe from cyber security threats required for a company to do business in today's digital age, but I see technology leaders being seen more as business leaders and partners focused on the overall outcomes of the company they serve.
What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?
Business acumen, financial acumen, broad technology skillset, cyber security and risk management, future thinking/sustainability.
How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?
To keep my skills and knowledge fresh, I read a lot a lot of blogs and follow thought leaders. I belong to a number of professional communities that discuss current and future technologies, as well as professional development & networking communities such as Chief.
What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?
Certain Web3 is going to continue to evolve how we interact and, for my industry, how we market to consumers, specifically through the use of metaverses and NFTs.
"Take time to recognize and watch the leaders of today and learn from them."
If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?
To be humble. Take time to recognize and watch the leaders of today and learn from them. This is your opportunity to identify how you want to be perceived, how you want to show up and emulate the greats while avoiding the behaviors that you do not identify with.
Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?
My next step on the journey is to do board service for a public company. I have a lot to offer a board with my technical and business background and would love to share that with the right company.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
The massive divisiveness we have today, especially in politics making it difficult for the leaders of today and tomorrow, from either side, to evolve our society for the better.
A big thank you to Rebecca Gasser from Omnicom Health Group for sharing her 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.
