Why Jackson CIO Mike Hicks had to flip the script on his proven 100-day plan

As a company, Jackson is a hybrid of financial services and insurance focused on the retirement income market. We recognize that in five years, our industry is going to look different than it does today. With digital disruption, our customer experience is no longer being compared to other insurance companies, but to our customer’s last experience on Amazon or TikTok. This means customer experience is now a critical part of our product, so our strategy is centered around amplifying digital and data to power our transformation.

From a digital perspective, we’re making CRM an enterprise capability and reimagining our website as part of our larger omnichannel strategy. Additionally, from a data perspective, we’re mobilizing our advanced analytics teams to leverage the latest AI capabilities. However, it’s the convergence of these digital and data capabilities that’s truly transformative.

What advice do you have for CIOs driving digital transformation?

First, get out of the tug-of-war between technical debt and modernization. CIOs will say they have technical debt and modernization programs, but all of that is just short-term noise. CIOs need to embrace technology lifecycle management as a long-term approach to ensure all technology is current, resilient, and secure. That’s a fundamental shift in thinking. Technology lifecycle management should be a core capability.

Second, recognize the role of the CIO has changed significantly. For example, with cloud, our infrastructure has been demystified and we can no longer hide behind acronyms and request tens of millions of dollars for infrastructure renewal and then use that capital to fund CIO side projects. The technology knowledge playing field has been leveled with everyone from internal stakeholders to new customers who are digitally savvy, so you better be on your toes.

Finally, recognize that the CIO role is no longer just about technology leadership. It’s about value creation. If you’re not creating value in today’s world — and you’re relying on your old playbook — you won’t be in the seat for very long.