Learn Today! Online Class - Leading Digital Transformation

Charlie Feld

Founder and CEO, The Feld Group Institute

Influential, insightful IT leader with broad perspective on information technology, leadership, and transformation.

About Charlie

Charlie Feld is the founder of The Feld Group Institute, a unique leadership development firm that works with global corporations to develop next-generation business and IT leaders. TFGI’s curriculum and management development activities draw heavily upon its founder’s leadership insights, operational experience, and time-tested strategic framework for enterprise success.

During his extraordinary 50-year career, Charlie has been committed to helping organizations and executives achieve IT-driven transformation. He has been frequently featured in the media, and has received numerous awards and accolades in recognition of his profound influence upon the IT industry, including the Smithsonian Award for Technology Excellence and the Carnegie Mellon Award for Innovative Technology.

As founder and CEO of The Feld Group, Charlie built a team of information technology executives that enabled dramatic results in Fortune 500 companies. The Feld Group specialized in transforming large, complex IT organizations with a two-year turnaround model that evolved into TFGI’s strategic framework.

The Feld Group served major corporate clients from its founding in 1992 until it was acquired by EDS in 2004. During this period, CIO Magazine named Charlie “One of the 12 Most Influential IT Executives of the Past Decade.” While directing The Feld Group, he served in numerous IT leadership and senior advisory roles, including as Interim CIO at Delta Air Lines, Burlington Northern Railroad, and First Data Resources; adviser to EDS’s CEO and board of directors; and mentor to the CIOs of WellPoint and FedEx. From 2004-2008, Charlie was a SEVP and Member of EDS’s Executive Committee.

Charlie’s perspectives on IT, leadership, transformation, and enterprise excellence were strongly impacted by formative career experiences at two world-class organizations, PepsiCo and IBM. At PepsiCo, he served from 1981-1992 as Frito-Lay Co.’s VP & Chief Information Officer; from 1981-83, he was Director, Management Services. Prior to this, Charlie held a number of Systems Engineering and Account Management roles at IBM from 1966-81.

Charlie holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the City University of New York, Hunter College. He is the author of two books on Leadership—The Blind Spot: A Leader’s Guide to IT-Enabled Business Transformation and The Calloway Way: Results & Integrity. In addition to extensive coverage in the media, The Feld Group’s work has been profiled in case studies by the Harvard Business School, MIT, and McKinsey & Co.

Insights from The Feld Group Institute

Digital Transformation: The Challenge of Company-Wide Alignment

The Value of Business Architecture

post-it-notes for information technology project names. Learn to achieve real business value by aligning strategy with capabilities.

Aligning Business Value: We Need A Common Language

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.