Dr. Gibson is an independent consultant and university teacher in information systems strategy and management. His work in these fields has spanned over twenty years in academia and consulting.
He consults with executive clients in establishing and implementing long-range strategies for the use of information technology in organizations, the organization and management of the information systems function, facilitation of executive group meeting on I/S matters, and education and continuous learning programs in the strategic use of information technology and management of information technology and management of information systems.
In addition to his consulting work, Dr. Gibson teaches information systems management and information technology and business strategy in MBA and executive programs at the Sloan School, M.I.T., where he holds a position as a Senior Lecturer, and at the Olin School, Babson College.
He is active in environmental conservation with government and private institutions in Concord, Massachusetts, and Squam Lake, New Hampshire, serving on the Board of Directors of the Squam Lake Association and on the Loon Preservation Policy Committee.
Prior to establishing his firm of Gibson and Associates in 1996, Dr. Gibson was a senior vice president at CSC Index, a management consulting firm in reengineering and information systems management, where he had been since 1978. Prior to that Dr. Gibson was an associate professor at the Harvard Business School, where he taught in MBA and executive programs and conducted research on organizational and behavioral change in relation to the implementation of information systems.
Dr. Gibson's publications include the books, The Information Imperative (with Barbara Jackson), 1987, and Managing Organizational Behavior, 1980, and over twenty articles, including the milestone piece, "Managing the Four Stages of EDP Growth", (with Richard Nolan), Harvard Business Review, which set a pattern for subsequent research and management practice in the field of I/S management.
He holds a PhD in organizational behavior from the Sloan School, MIT, a MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a BE in mechanical engineering from Yale.
Dr. Gibson and his wife Joanne have three grown children and live in Concord, Massachusetts. He enjoys reading, birding, canoeing, fly fishing. and golf.
Detailed Employment History
1996 - present: Independent management consultant and adjunct faculty member.
Through his company Gibson and Associates, he consults and teaches on information technology in business strategy, management of the IS function, and customized education and continuous learning programs for senior management and IS professionals. He also serves in part-time faculty appointments at the Sloan School, MIT, and the Olin School, Babson College.
1978 - 1996: Management consultant with CSC Index.
Dr. Gibson's work focused on business change, strategic use of information technology, and management of the IS function. He consulted on IS strategy setting, IS organization, the role of IS in reengineering, and customized education programs about information technology for senior management and IS professionals.
He created and ran an executive education practice of $1 million annually for client-tailored programs on information technology and I/S management. He also designed and taught in CSC Index internal training programs.
1969 - 1978: Faculty member, Harvard Business School, Assistant and Associate Professor.
He taught Organizational Behavior in the first year MBA program, the Program for Management Development (the fourteen-week middle management program), and doctoral seminars in organizational behavior and statistical analysis.
He helped develop and teach the summer executive program, "Managing the Information Systems Resource."
He conducted research and case writing on the organization of IS and human and organizational impact of organizational change and the implementation of information systems.
1965 - 1967: Ford Foundation, Mexico. Worked with Mexican and Central American universities on developing Foundation grant proposals and managing existing grants for graduate business schools and undergraduate liberal arts programs.
1961 - 1963: Government of Ghana.
He taught English, math and science in a secondary boarding school. This work was arranged through African-American Institute, Washington.
1960 - 1961: Standard Oil Company of California. Design engineer.
Education
Publications - Books
The Information Imperative: Managing the Impact of Information Technology on Businesses and People, with Barbara B. Jackson. Lexington Books, D.C. Heath, 1987.
Managing Organizational Behavior: Achieving Results Through Understanding and Action. R ichard D. Irwin, 1980.
A Casebook for Management Information Systems, with Henry C. Lucas. McGraw-Hill, 1981 & 1976.
Publications - Articles (partial list)
"Managing for Success with Information Technology: Much is "Broke" and Needs Fixing", with Richard D. Koeller. Working Paper Series, Center for Information Management Studies, Babson College; May, 1994.
"Executive Mindscapes and information Technology", with Leslie D. Ball. Indications, Index Group Inc., November - December 1989.
"Systems Change: Managing Organizational and Behavioral Impact", with Thomas H. Davenport. Information Strategy: the Executive's Journal, Auerbach Publications, Fall 1985.
"Meeting the Need for Information Technology Literacy", with Patricia T. Kosinar. Management Review, American Management Association, September 1985. "Now That the Dust Has Settled, A clear View of the Terrain", with Michael Hammer. Indications, Index Systems, Inc., July 1985. (On the "benefit-beneficiary matrix" of I/T evolution and applications categorization.)
"Can Leopards Change Their Spots?" ("Can companies change their information systems? Yes, provided they also change old work patterns to fit the new systems."). Information Processing, IBM corp., Spring 1985.
"Strategies for Making an Information System Fit Your Organization", with C.J. Singer, A.A. Schnidman, and T.H. Davenport. Management Review, American Management Association, January 1984.
"New Risks for MIS Managers", with Charles J. Singer. Computerworld "In Depth" section, April, 1982.
"Managing the Four Stages of EDP Growth", with Richard L. Nolan. Harvard Business Review, January - February 1974.
(In addition, over twenty five teaching cases, working papers and other published public or CSC Index articles.)
Presentations and Teaching
Several hundred presentations and classes at conferences, conventions, and customized
client-company seminars.