Cecilia Li on role of CIO
From Cecilia Li | Chief Innovation Officer | Urban Edge | Describe innovation at Urban Edge · · James Dearsley
“It is my responsibility as the CIO to find ways to enable innovation in our organization, but to do this we have to be very clear on who we are as a company — we're not a tech firm but we are a technology‑forward company who's not afraid to implement new tools.”
On , Cecilia Li, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer at URBAN EDGE PROPERTIES, spoke about role of CIO during Cecilia Li | Chief Innovation Officer | Urban Edge | Describe innovation at Urban Edge on James Dearsley.
About Cecilia Li
Cecilia Li, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Urban Edge Properties, has described innovation as the implementation of new ideas and a new way of thinking, stating that it is part of the company's culture. She has characterized Urban Edge as a "technology-forward" company that is not afraid to implement new tools, provided they solve problems and help drive net operating income. Li has said that on average over the last three years the company has undertaken about 90 technology initiatives annually. She has identified cost, time, and buy-in as the biggest challenges in innovation, noting that in the current economy it is difficult to justify spending on solutions with uncertain returns and that people are busy with daily operations, making time for side projects a challenge. Li has emphasized the importance of communication, stating it is the key to success, and has described her leadership philosophy as requiring a strong work ethic, building a "village" of collaborators, and taking care of that village. Li has discussed her personal journey, noting she began her career as a help desk intern at a real estate brokerage company and later led a business transformation that included an e-commerce launch that generated in one hour what had previously taken an entire day. She has said that many leadership roles like hers are generated for the person and did not exist beforehand. Li has also discussed the importance of including the business in decision-making and design, citing a mistake where a business intelligence dashboard was built without sufficient input and was rejected by the leasing team and CFO. She has stated that people will embrace change if their problems are truly solved and that the goal is to change behavior, not just technology. Li has noted that Urban Edge has an ESG committee chaired by the head of Asset Management and that the company outsources its development, infrastructure, and cybersecurity teams.