My CIO Career: Dan Inbar on the Value of Clear Communication and ‘Managing in All Directions’

Dan Inbar is passionate about technology and engaging with people to deliver results.

He has been at the forefront of technology innovation for years, having held multiple IT leadership roles within some of New England’s most groundbreaking technology companies. He has led IT, cybersecurity and digital transformation teams. He has worked at decades-old global companies and he has co-founded a startup. He secured a patent for predictive analytics and machine learning to help manage IT operations.

Among Inbar’s high-profile roles: CIO of consumer robot maker iRobot; vice president of cloud and technology solutions at BJ’s Wholesale Club; vice president of business operations and cloud security at Pegasystems; and various tech roles at EMC (now part of Dell). Inbar was also co-founder and CTO of OnPage, where he developed encrypted messaging applications for smartphones.

In August 2024, as he considered his next position, Inbar spoke for the “My CIO Career” series to share what he has learned, including the importance of seeking out challenging roles, building high-performing teams and having great listening skills.

Mark K. Pratt: What attracts you to the positions you have had and those you might take in the future?

Dan Inbar: As an engineer with strong technology foundation, and an executive tuned to business challenges, for me it is really about harnessing technology to achieve business impact.

I was attracted to the CIO role at iRobot because of the exciting and innovative technology work being done there – iRobot invented robotic floorcare and has developed cutting-edge consumer robots – I enjoyed the challenge of delivering technology for a leading technology innovator.

I found the same opportunities to impact business outcomes at BJ’s Wholesale Club, where technology made it possible for customers to shop safely and remotely during the pandemic.

And at EMC (now part of Dell) we were early innovators on products that allowed customers to leverage their data.

How do you evaluate a job opportunity to determine if it will offer what you want?

I am motivated by challenges and excel in collaborative environments where we tackle business problems and use technology to drive results. A company’s culture is crucial, and its mission must align with my values and aspirations.

What is the biggest challenge for you as a new executive taking on such a role, and how do you overcome that challenge?

The main challenge is creating an environment that enables us to successfully meet our objectives. This involves focusing on details, setting clear goals, aligning the team, securing stakeholder buy-in and celebrating successes.

It also requires rationalizing where I spend my time. Years ago, my previous boss shared with me the “kite diagram” and I find it very helpful.

For this kite analogy, envision the lines forming its structure: the downward arrow represents the team, the upward line signifies your boss, the right line points to your customers, and the left line represents your peers. This illustrates the ecosystem in which you operate.

As a leader, you must understand that ecosystem and make sure that the ecosystem is ready to support you in achieving the business goals. Start with your boss, for example. If you have a goal and the boss does not support it, what chance do you have that you will be successful? The same thing goes for your team: If you do not have the right team, if they do not believe in the goals, you will have challenges reaching them.

So you have to work to set the environment necessary to achieve your goals. Understanding this helps you decide where to spend your time. For example, if there is an issue with customer satisfaction, you can spend more time on that vertical. Or you may need to spend extra time creating high-performing teams or aligning everyone around goals. But understand it is temporary. Once you fix it, then you move back to the center.

How do you build high-performing teams?

High-performing teams are made from motivated high performers with the right attitude who are aligned around a common goal.

So to build a high-performing team I identify high performers, provide them with clear direction and a common goal and move out of the way.

However, as the team performs, I need to understand and remove any obstacles they may have. The obstacles may be budgetary or technical obstacles, but they may also be a person or an attitude.

How do you manage along the other lines of the kite, particularly your boss and your peers?

My key approach here is transparency and communication. That applies across the board and is my approach for customers, peers, executives and the IT team.

I joke that I do not like surprises. For the most part nobody likes surprises. So I try to be as predictable as possible. That means openly sharing what I am doing and where I would like us to be, and then working with the team and finding opportunities where I can add value or gaining insights into challenges and obstacles.

It is important to say what you mean and mean what you say, without forgetting to listen to others (keeping in mind they may know more than you do). These values go a long way in building a collaborative, accomplished team.

Listening is a skill many do not do well. How do you make sure you are an active listener?

The key to having engaged employees is to make sure that they are listened to and that they are being heard. Employees who do not think their opinion counts do not share them, and in my opinion, you are missing input from perhaps some of the more knowledgeable employees.

So I make a point to engage with my direct and extended team members. I am conducting skip levels, which are meetings with people at different levels of the organization. I have one-on-ones not only with managers but also individual contributors. I enjoy roundtable discussions with cross functional teams. I believe this helps to bridge gaps and develop transparency and trust.

I have had one-on-ones with employees who told me they had worked for years with other CIOs and never spoke with them one-on-one. Spending quality time with an employee provides a huge boost to productivity and motivation – and I enjoy these interactions as well.

You once described your previous roles as “cool.” What makes a job “cool” for you?

A cool job for me is a job that has the right amount of technology blended with people interaction, and where technology delivers a significant value not only for the company but for its customers, too. So it is really the ability to not only work hard and have fun with people but also to see the outcomes that came from our efforts.

It’s equally important that my team and I connect with the company’s mission and values - something we believe in and are excited to support and promote.

Although you see tech work as being cool, data show the profession does not attract enough workers. Do you think IT has an image problem, where others do not see what’s great about the field?

Had we spoken last year, I would agree with your assertion that the IT brand may have an image problem. Having said that. I believe that artificial intelligence, machine learning and more recently, generative AI proliferation are driving significantly more opportunities for IT to shine and placing the CIO, the IT leadership team, inclusive of cyber and privacy, front and center in the business roadmap and strategies.

We need to work hard to build and sustain the IT brand. I have done it through celebrating IT success, advocating for the team and the individuals, helping high performers grow and get more recognition for their achievements. 

What is something about tech leadership you do not like, and how do you deal with it?

I strive to foster a collaborative and productive work environment. Therefore, turf wars between tech teams are not appreciated. For example, teams may play the blame game, not owning to their mistakes or not looking out for the company’s best interests.

In my organization, I expect everyone to be mature. I encourage transparency and frequent communication. And I work to grow leaders who work well together, are transparent, communicative and collaborative. These leaders who show by example and help set the organization on the right path. 

You list AI as a top skill in your biography and on LinkedIn. What do you see is the promise of AI?

The ultimate goal for CIOs is to drive business impact, primarily by increasing top-line revenue through digital transformation and e-commerce initiatives, while also optimizing bottom-line costs through operational efficiency.

Generative AI is emerging as a great way for CIOs to harness technology to really impact the business in more than just those two ways by opening opportunities for the employees to drive value.

At iRobot I implemented a generative AI framework that empowers both the engineering team and employees across various business units to use AI in different processes, enhancing efficiency, expanding capabilities and benefiting our customers.

Generative AI is revolutionizing various business processes by automating tasks, enhancing creativity, and providing valuable insights. For example, AI helps provide an unmatched customer service experience. AI-powered chatbots handle routine customer inquiries, freeing up human agents for more complex issues and helping to address customers issues with no delays.

Think about the opportunities for content creation and marketing. Generative AI can create tailored content for different audience segments based on their preferences and behaviors, assess social media posts, and assist in email campaigns, creating personalized email and improving open and click-through rates.

I strongly believe that generative AI introduces new opportunities for employees to make an impact by lowering the barrier for those outside of IT to harness AI’s potential and capabilities.

Are you still involved in the startup community?

Yes. In my heart and soul, I am an engineer. I love building things. I have been mentoring startups as part of my volunteer work at MassChallenge, one of the world’s biggest incubators for startups.

I advise startup founders because I believe I have valuable insights to offer, particularly in understanding real-world technology implementation. I enjoy meeting founders and supporting their innovative efforts. This work also gives me a preview of emerging technologies and the chance to help shape their development.

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