October 2018 - The Feld Group Institute

Learn Today! Online Class - Leading Digital Transformation

Back to the Future – “Modern” Software Development

In my decades-long career in the industry, I’ve seen a lot of things come and go. I was excited to witness and be a part of some, while I couldn’t wait for others to fade away. Many of the recent trends excite and encourage me as they center around developing solid, well-engineered business solutions in […]

The CIO as the Chief Integration Officer

Over the last 100 years, business models have evolved. Much of this evolution has been driven by innovations in technology, including the automobile, airplane, television, mainframe computers and smartphones. These have enabled commerce to expand from local, to regional, to national and, more recently, to global. However, it’s not that one replaces the other, rather, […]

Structuring a World-Class IT Organization

Creating a world-class Information Technology department requires more than scrum masters, servers, tablets, software, IoT, artificial intelligence and the technology lingo of the day – Cloud, Bi-Modal, Containers, DevOps, Agile. All of these are useful and have a place. However, we often lean on these new technologies and technology fads so much that we tend […]

The 30 Game Changers in Your Organization

I previously posted that great leaders focus on setting the agenda, building a great team and delivering with consistency. However, that is only part of the challenge for a leader, because none of that matters if you can’t “sell it” and if the business won’t consume it. That’s where “Street Smarts” are required, but I […]

Connect with Russell Villemez

Russell Villemez

Affiliate, The Feld Group Institute

Head of Technology Strategy, Dialexa – a Feld Group Institute partner

Highly regarded CTO and change agent with IT strategy and enterprise architecture expertise.

Russell Villemez is an Affiliate with the Feld Group Institute and the head of Technology Strategy at Dialexa, a Technology Research, Design and Creation firm that works with organizations on initiatives such as Operational Transformation, Business Growth, and New Venture Creation.

During 17 years in operational roles and 15 years in consulting roles, Russell has worked across a variety of industries in both executive leadership positions and as a subject matter expert. Russell thrives on the scale and complexity of leading major change agendas in large corporate environments.

Recent consulting clients include AmerisourceBergen, the American Automobile Association, Brinker International, Cubic, Equifax, and Cox Automotive. A common thread is the client’s need for strong leadership during a period of change—whether motivated by acquisitions, spin-offs, competitive pressures, or other factors. Clients also benefit from Russell’s expertise in enterprise architecture, agile development, application portfolio rationalization, technology and architecture strategy, as well as business strategy and commercial software product development.

Recognized as a versatile IT executive, adept at solving complex problems with innovative solutions, Russell’s capabilities and achievements span a continuum from business-strategy formation to hands-on IT solution development. His extensive career achievements include pioneering the first use of relational databases in high-volume transaction systems in the ‘80s, applying voice recognition DSPs in public intelligent network services for consumer markets in the ‘90s, and leading large-scale adoptions of open systems, object technology, and middleware frameworks in complex business environments, often in advance of commercially available software products.

Prior to joining Dialexa, Russell served at HP as Enterprise Services Chief Technology Officer for the Americas, leading a global capability for embedded Account CTOs in large enterprises. Russell began his career at Accenture, where he first crafted his consultative problem-solving approach, later honed at A.T. Kearny and the Feld Group. Russell’s deep telecom experience is built upon numerous director and enterprise architect positions at AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Telstra, US West, Pacific Bell, and Sprint, and as V.P. and CIO for WebLink Wireless.

Russell has a BS in Business Administration from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. In his spare time, Russell participates in amateur auto racing, and is a driving instructor with the Porsche Club of America.