Leng-jin Chan on IT strategy
From Leaning Into The C-Suite With HMG Max Chan SVP & CIO, Avnet — HMG Global Viewpoint Shorts · · HMG Strategy
“When I took on the CIO position, I was very clear to my team that we need to exist for the business, not just IT for IT's sake. We transformed the IT organization from operation support to strategic delivery, thought leadership, and innovation to truly support business goals.”
On , Leng-jin Chan, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer at AVNET INC, spoke about IT strategy during Leaning Into The C-Suite With HMG Max Chan SVP & CIO, Avnet — HMG Global Viewpoint Shorts on HMG Strategy.
About Leng-jin Chan
Leng-jin Chan, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Avnet, discussed his expanded responsibilities and leadership approach in a September 2024 interview with HMG Strategy. Chan said he took on oversight of the company's digital organization, bringing it under IT to drive digital products and initiatives aligned with business pillars and strategic initiatives. He also stated he assumed P&L responsibility for Avnet's digital systems integrator business, reshaping it to provide extended services to customers and partners. Chan described adopting a distributed delivery model where IT builds and maintains foundational platforms while the digital team focuses on innovation, inviting business units to build additional capabilities on a secure, compliant platform. Chan emphasized that he does not want to create a separate IT strategy, but rather to serve as a strategy enabler for the business. He noted that Avnet has been applying AI and machine learning for six to seven years, and that generative AI has made it possible for customers to generate design recommendations based on criteria such as availability, physical size, and price point. Chan also highlighted the importance of global acumen for leaders, stating that being a leader without it is "almost impossible to navigate, especially in the technology industry."