Ep. 78: William Velez, Four Time CIO & ORBIE Award Winning Tech Leader on Business First Leadership

William Velez, four-time Chief Information Officer and ORBIE Award-winning technology leader, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share his journey from studying electrical engineering in Puerto Rico to consulting at Accenture, earning his MBA at Wharton, and leading technology through a startup carve-out, a fintech IPO, and a global aerospace and defense organization. William reflects on how consulting taught him to think differently, why his first CIO role was a baptism by fire, and why today's technology leaders must look at everything through a business lens rather than a technology lens.

They discuss treating the service desk as the face of IT, building high-performing teams through a disciplined hiring playbook, and empowering innovation across the company while safeguarding data security as AI reshapes software, careers, and the role of today's CIO. William also shares his commitment to paying it forward — supporting STEM scholarships through the CIO Council of South Florida and mentoring the next generation of technology leaders.