MOHAMED MUHSIN, VICE PRESIDENT AND the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the World Bank, has the privilege of demonstrating how a decentralized institution can build a centralized information system to teach and encourage the sharing of information.

“When we wanted to offshore to India during a major systems implementation, some of our partners discouraged us, saying that they could not take the risk. However, being a development institution, we said, “If economic development and working with developing countries are risks not worth taking, then we would be out of business!” exclaims Muhsin.

As the CIO of a global bank, Muhsin frames IT strategies in keeping with the bank’s mission to reduce poverty in the world. He oversees the bank’s information and technology management, including global telecommunications, videoconferencing, information management, and enterprise business systems. His team is comprised of 450 professionals and a number of contractors, consultants, and partners.

When Jim Wolfensohn became the President of the World Bank in 1995, he envisioned the World Bank as an effective knowledge bank. To achieve this, Wolfensohn knew that technology, in particular information technology, should become a key enabler in the business strategy of the bank. He recognized the need for a CIO to manage the bank’s IT strategy and, hence in 1996, he roped in Muhsin who was the director of the Bank’s information technology services. Muhsin had implemented a wide range of information management initiatives to align services with the needs of bank operations around the world.

Several organizational efforts taken by the bank in the 1980s led to a decentralized system, which hindered the access to, and sharing of, information within the bank. By the early 90’s the organization’s values had shifted, calling for greater collaboration among all bank sectors. The creation and implementation of a standardized, user-friendly information technology was needed.