16 - 20 October 2011 | Orlando, FL

“You have to be a masochist to be an IT person,” according to FedEx’s CIO Robert Carter. Though delivered tongue-in-cheek, that was one of many observations this transformational IT leader offered up in Wednesday’s keynote interview conducted by Gartner analysts Chris Howard and Graham Waller.

Carter, who manages more than $1 billion in spending each year, has harnessed the power of IT to such a degree that it is one of FedEx’s key competitive advantages. But the going hasn’t always been easy in his nearly 20-year tenure with the company. Organizational inertia, partnership problems, resistance to innovation, run-for-the-hills complexity are some of the challenges he has had to overcome.

In a frank conversation touching upon a range of topics — from his design philosophy to why he’s a big fan of ugly pictures as a persuasive tool — Carter emphasized that “enterprise IT as a profession is only about 35-years-old.” Since it’s a relatively new science, people are still learning how to create infrastructure and manage technology.

What challenge is next for Carter? To continue to stay on the forefront of mobility. Carter displayed to the audience FedEx’s SenseAware device, which, when dropped into a package, can relay back key information like location, temperature and humidity.