5 YEARS!!! January 20 marks an exciting milestone for ourCIO as we celebrate our 5th anniversary.

A business doesn't survive those difficult early years without support.

To our 100+ amazing clients, the companies we strategically support with trusted business-technology guidance, many of whom have been with us for this entire journey - we value your relationship like no other. We are proud of what we have accomplished together. You have invested strategically in your business and grown as a result. You have helped us pay the bills, invest in ourselves, and have allowed us to grow our company too, delivering more value and expertise to better serve you and your peers. And it feels like we are just getting started!

To our super-talented advisors with hearts of gold. How freakin' awesome you are! You give your decades of experience and capabilities to the companies we serve never for a second losing sight that you want to see them thrive. To hear you say this is the most rewarding work you have done in your careers puts the biggest stupidest smile on my face. I'm forever thankful for what you do.

To our partnerships - wait - we purposely have none making sure we remain impartial in our views for our client companies! However, there is a massive ecosystem of skilled technology providers we count on for implementations and support. Thank you for stepping up to the plate and delivering!

To Paul Beaudry. My sounding board for the past 5 years and several more before that too. If ourCIO was going to make an impact, it needed the talents of Paul right from day one. From helping establish our new firm to delighting our first clients, you delivered!

And to those rooting us on. Our spouses, families, friends, and the business community, thank you for liking and sharing the odd post, for the words of encouragement, the referrals, the connections, and your input.

What will the next 5 years bring? It's difficult to gauge what exactly it will bring, but it's easier to understand what it will mean. It will mean growing businesses can access the strategic technology talents they need to grow in a digital world so they don't get left behind. It will mean existing IT leaders and teams are well supported to achieve greater results when their role has expanded and become more complex than ever before. It means businesses no longer have to pay inflated consulting rates from the big firms when they can access those who have real life experience working in business (instead of only ON business as consultants) for less. It means businesses will thrive.

I couldn't be more excited for the next 5!

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Yours,

Kent Smith, Managing Partner

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