Simon Rollinson

About me

As a woman in STEM, my mission is to create and nurture team(s) of talented professionals interested in working for visionary businesses with a globally oriented mission.

I am an accomplished executive with over 20 years leading change and driving technology innovation.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

  • One Million Degrees –  One Million Degrees is the only organization in Illinois providing wrap-around supports to highly motivated community college students to help them succeed in school, in work, and in life. From tutors and coaches to financial assistance and professional development, OMD offers the support that empowers scholars to transform their lives and those around them for generations. 
  • I.c.stars –  i.c.stars provides a rigorous technology-based workforce development and leadership training program for underserved adults in inner city, connecting them with career opportunities through our social enterprise and partner organizations
Ico

Leader of leaders

I am an exporter of talent. The more rewarding experience
is to create future leaders – to be a leader of leaders;
of decision-makers and innovators.

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Eyes on the future

I am very autonomous and tend to care more about
the future than yesterday.

I am currently mentoring a 19-year-old Latina student at Harper College who is a One Million Degrees Scholar. One million Degrees works to help low-income students succeed by addressing their doubts and misconceptions and fears through mentoring. To solve the problem of college completion, you first need to get inside the mind of a college student. I’m also part of a number women IT executive networking groups. I was recently honored to be the keynote speaker at the ACT-W (Advancing the Careers of Technical Women) conference in Chicago. I make a point to accept requests to meet with other women in technology informally to offer advice and mentoring. I also work closely with other area female technology leaders, such as Rosa Akhtarkhavari, CIO of City of Orlando, to discuss ways to advance our goals of increasing the ranks of women in STEM fields. And I tap into my network, for instance Lisa Dykstra CIO of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. I feel very passionately about issues of education and women in technology fields. I also work to advance these interests as a member of the Society for Information Management and as a participant in the National Association of Counties CIO Forum.

I’m very excited at the possibility of increasing inclusion to foster a positive transformation in such areas as jobs, education, health care, and infrastructure.

BIO

Simon Rollinson

Simona Rollinson is ISACA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), leading ISACA’s technology team, driving the organization’s continuing digital transformation, and exploring new opportunities for harnessing technology to elevate the educational and professional development experiences for ISACA’s members and enterprise customers. She plays a key role in transforming ISACA’s learning technology platform to support the professional community at all levels and stages, from individual development to enterprise solutions.

Simona brings a wealth of technology leadership and strategy experience to ISACA, from her earlier roles as software engineer and developer, to president of Follett Software Company and later as CIO for Cook County Government in Chicago, Illinois—a role for which she was named CIO of the Year. 

Most recently, she served as CIO for Clayco, a real estate development, architecture, engineering and construction firm. Throughout her executive career, Simona has led successful complex digital transformational change and evolution. The hallmarks of her recent tenure are establishing an enterprise architecture capability, modernizing many foundational systems and legacy platforms and a focus on improved vendor and project management. She holds ISACA’s CISM, CDPSE and CRISC certifications.

 

Prior to joining Clayco, Simona Rollinson served Cook County Government as the Chief Information Officer for over 4 years.  At the County, she oversaw a team of more than 160 technologists and a capital and operating budget of over $100 million annually for investment in the County’s IT infrastructure and applications. 

 

Prior to joining the County, she spent 17 years in the private sector.  Simona Rollinson was named President of Follett Software Company in 2011. As a key member of Follett’s management team, Simona led change and drove technology innovation and new product development in the highly competitive education-focused software market.  Under her tenure and direct oversight, Follett dramatically expanded its software and service offerings, while at the same time significantly improving operating efficiency.

 

Prior to joining Follett, Simona worked for EDS in Charlotte, N.C. and as a Software Development Consultant at BASF in her native country of Bulgaria. Simona holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology from Technical University-Sofia in Bulgaria; a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL (SIU); a Master of Science in Computer Science, also from SIU; and has pursued her Ph.D. in Engineering from SIU.  She is a graduate of the Chicago Management Institute at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Simona lives in Barrington, Illinois with her husband and two children. During her free time, she enjoys reading, going to the theater, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

certificates

CISM
CDPSE
CRISC

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT

Simon Rollinson

Bringing forward the Integrated Justice System (Enterprise Service Bus) is what I believe to be my greatest accomplishment at Cook County so far. Via service-oriented architecture, the Integrated Justice system allows automated communication for all of the County’s justice agencies: Chief Judge, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Public Defender, Sheriff and State’s Attorney. It translates and routs data between all the various systems used by these agencies.

This system creates major improvements in communication. It insures quality, accuracy, accessibility and timeliness of criminal history information. This has real world consequences for those caught up in the Cook County justice system, many of whom are not yet convicted of any crime. Data now passes quickly and securely from one agency to another. This also helps solve the old problem of communication errors causing detainees to be released too soon or past the date when they were due to be released.

My second greatest accomplishment is running IT like a business. I brought in Vendor Managers to negotiate better contracts and get more out of current contracts. I’ve innovated around looking at return on investment and total cost of ownership for technologies to both save the taxpayers  money and improve our operations. We must both procure IT solutions and services to maintain our current operational environment and also support new ventures evaluate and operationalize the latest breakthroughs in technology with agility and speed.

PROUD MEMBER

simnet-grey-logo
Society for Information Management
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ISACA – Serving high-performing professionals and aiding enterprise transformation
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InspireCIO  – Peer leadership network of CIOs
Society for Information Management
ISACA – Serving high-performing professionals and aiding enterprise transformation
InspireCIO  – Peer leadership network of CIOs

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

I focus on hiring boundary-spanners: individuals whose skills cross over multiple categories. For instance, I hired a legislative coordinator who is a lawyer but also a software developer. 

An educated and aware workforce is wildly important — whether it is about the basics like weak password management, bad online surfing habits or using public wi-fi, or about data privacy, cybersecurity or ethical standards for artificial intelligence ethics. Just like we foster diversity and inclusion programs, we need to use our collective power to protect the most vulnerable to cyber and privacy threats — citizens, residents and small businesses. Invest in training, certifications, awareness and professional communities.

HONORS & AWARDS

Oct 2019
Women of Influence Honoree

Chicago Business Journal & Bizwomen

From the leader of the team physician for the Chicago White Sox to the woman who oversees the evolution of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 25 Chicagoans have been named Women of Influence by the Chicago Business Journal and Bizwomen. The honorees were selected from approximately 200 women nominated for the awards.

Announcing Women of Influence honorees for 2019 - Chicago Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Mar 2018
StateScoop's Top Women in Technology 2018

StateScoop's second annual list of the Top Women in Technology for 2018 awards 50 of the most inspirational women in technology, from leaders of state to project team leaders.


Read more

Mar 2018
Winner CIO of the Year ORBiE Awards - 2018

ChicagoCIO Leadership Association

honor descriptionThe Chicago CIO of the Year Awards is the premier technology executive recognition program in Chicagoland. The Award recognizes chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership. Finalists and winners are selected through an independent peer review process, led by prior Award recipients. Finalist in 2017. Winner in 2018.

Chicago CIO of the Year Awards winners announced - Chicago Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Explore | CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards

Jul 2017
Top 10 Digital Counties - 5th place Winner

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo)

The Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) conducts an annual survey to identify the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline delivery of government services, encourage collaboration and shared services, enhance cybersecurity and even reduce carbon emissions. Cook County was a 10th Place Winner in 2016 and 5th Place Winner in 2017.

Digital Counties Survey 2017 – Winners Announced (govtech.com)

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