The road less traveled...

Unless the "bull in the china shop" has a corporate benefactor, the best way to deal with him is to fully cooperate with his plans.

If he truly is as you say, at some point he will have enough rope to hang himself.

I worked for a firm where a VP's only real skill was providing his rivals with the rope to hang themselves.

The trick in this tactic, is keeping your own head out of the noose.

Clear documentation, and the support of the other US based managers is a good start.

Chas

If the office is ran by "back room" politics then you might have to do like the Romans did. I choose to preserve my professional integrity.

Interesting new positions are available with the right skill set in Europe. The market, however is not filled with the type of positions I am looking for. So, I am still unemployed.

When you have spent a few years bring the infrastructure a long way and a newcomer comes to prove himself, well from my experience it is not a pleasant encounter.

Teamwork flies out of the window and the true objectives become blurred to team members.

You need to assess, and take the opportunity to raise awareness of your situation. I feel that if you do not, you will drive yourself down. Is it worth it? I did not and still do not think so.

After FIVE years of good service, I think that you can exercise that "anciennet?" and take it to senior management, if it is not possible to achieve clear distinctions of job responsibilities by direct and open discussions with your CIO. He might be the CIO, but that is it. "IT" is two channeled and it is disappointing to know that there are still CIOs out there that are so self-centered.

You have your professional integrity and that, in my opinion, must worth more.

Having been a consultant and employee before and after, "do consider moving on". Nevertheless, do focus on remaining professional in your present job and put up a good fight.

Andrew

Wow. I could never say I have not been in that position, but what I would do is make him take some network and work co-op. Or, put all your cards on the table and see how far you get. USe scare tactics, it could work...

I agree with Chas on this. Is his game plan for the new network working? Is it cost effective? If his plan has flaws it will fail making him look bad. On the same note he will try to shift blame to you claiming sabotage so cooperate and when the youknow what hits the fan point out these flaws. Logic always prevails during finger pointing, if his stance is only accusations he will need proof. Without proof will only make him look as incompetant as you claim. You can make this a game to improve your spirits by beting on his failure so you can plan a party, this alone gives you something to look forward to while dealing with his crap on a daily basis. After all you gone thru you should at least stick around for the satisfaction of witnessingthe train wreck first hand.

Politics are always a part of corporate america.

The way we handled it here with an exec that was meddling into our affairs. Was that we first approached HR and asked for meating time with *just* the CEO.

This also has to be face to face and closed door.
The CIO or any other execs can not be in there.
Hopefully your years of service, should count to get an ear with the CEO. Especially if you are high on the totem pole that I gather you are.

Don't blast the CIO. I would approach like "I've been loyal to the company for the past 5 years and have always done what I thought was best for the company. My track record speaks for it self. And while I am up to the task for changes and upgrades to our infrastructure. I do have serious concerns about the plans that, , has come up with. I strongly reccomend that we sit back down and think these plans thru."

When he asks what concerns you have, (And this is where having a nice document with your concerns written down) come in handy.

Do not let it become a pissing match, and do not personally attack the CIO. It is considered bad form. Also let the CEO know that you are not pursuing the CIO's job, but you just have concerns over the direction that he is taking the IT dept.

I agree with these points and would say that in most cases this would work just fine. However, in the new IT world the CIO is in the power seat and can really cause you some ire.
I agree with chas, cooperate fully and document any doubts you have,these will cover you later on. I would say document them in a way that is verifiable that the doubts you are having are at the time you are having them. ie timestamped in some way, they will want proof because hindsight is always 20/20. I agree with areets, maintain your profesionalism at all costs, it could be the only leg you have to stand on when the chips are down. Jkaras and lordinfedel are right too j and I both love a good train wreck =) And trying to get the CEO's ear is a good idea.

Now with all that said let me add my $.02 for what it is worth.

YOu need to remember something here, the CIO has the power of the board on his side. In a global organization you have to answer to the board and only the board. To be an officer in a company, CEO CIO CTO CFO yadda yadda yadda you have to know the right people. Eventhough you have built this network, it is your baby, and you have proven you are worth your salt, the CIO plays golf with someone you do not. If you do persue this matter do it from a tech aspect, show where you can trim the fat and save the money. I would be willing to bet this is the first time this guy has ever had this kind of power before, hand his hat to him and he will hand you your pink slip.
The fact that there is a battle at all speaks volumes in your support, if it were easy to live without you they would already be doing it. That is your chance, to prove your worth, and his shortcommings, the fact that he cannot summarily dismiss you.

-duck

I have read your posting several times, and there is an underlying message that tells me your best option is to resign. The situation is not regarding vision, not about structure, and not about technology. It has become a purely personal issue at this point. Nothing less than the removal of the new CIO will satisfy your personal needs, and apparently success for the CIO will be measured by your departure.

In this type of a situation, the winner is not the individual who gets his needs met. The winner is the individual who first recognizes that the problem has become personal and selects to leave - for the good of the organization.

Write a clear letter of resignation, accepting that the situation is your fault and that your leaving will be the best for all involved. Don't throw any rocks at your nemesis. Deliver it in person, and feel free to request references and perhaps a severance package.

You will face three possible results. The first is that senior management will review the situation, fire your nemesis, and promote you to CIO. The second is that your resignation will be regretfully accepted, you will have excellent references, and possibly a severance package. In a month or two, when the CIO self destructs, you will be called back. The third is that you will leave with the references and find a better position. This will become a story to share over beers.

Stay and fight over a personal issue, and you will never again have the degree of respectyou currently have with your peers and management at the company. Even with a win, you will have capped your advancement there. Resign and you walk away with all the respect, all the integrity, and all the prestige.

At least, this is how I see the options playing out. Good luck to you.

Good IT jobs are hard to find right now and I would ride it out if I were you. Get another position before you resign.

I would document everything, providing constructive advice to the CIO in memos or emails you keep for CYA. Do you have a personel relationship with the head of NA operations? If not cull one. s/he could be your champion. Pointing out the CIO faults will only bring you down in the eyes of the Europa gang. Best of luck, Ive been on the train wreck myself.

I have found out that it is always better going to the source -- no matter the outcome.
You don't know how people feel inside
You don't know who's been talking to the new guy
You don't know if someone is trying to get you out of the way by badmouthing you.

You have your documentation that supports what you have been doing, and I am sure the CEO has written knowledge of that.

I suggest talking to the CIO Directly (being thoroughly professional) with the stance that you needed clarification on several issues and you wanted to share with him some observations/reservations on other items so you two would be on the same accord. In your discussions, make sure you emphasize that this is not personal, and you two can agree to disagree since you are on the same team.

Talk to your boss first -- If that does not work, then talk to the CEO (with so much in the air, you may want to jot a note to let your HR Person and/or the CEO know you are going to meet before).

One think Ido know, once you do this, you will surely know where you stand.

Good Luck and whatever you do, take your time and be honest.

I have read the replys posted here and would like to thank you all for your opinions. This is just a little update to keep you up on the situation and my thinking on this.

Over a week ago the CIO snet an email to my boss, the Pres of North America and copied the CEO and chairman (but not me). The content said that appoximately 2 weeks earlier he (CIO) had hired an outside firm to analyze and test the North America lan for security. He included a single page of their report, which was 46 pages, that showed our security camera web page as an example of security breach, yata, yata, yata. He also poninted out that there were 6 IP addresses that were visible to the public. In the end he stated that the North American IT dept (no direct ref to my name) obviously did not have, as he put it "competences" to manage the subnet and requested the passwords to our firewall and router. His last point stated that my boss make some "suggestions" on what to do with my dept.

The funny part is that the webcam site in question is in the DMZ and the IP addresses are all port controlled and NATed. 11 months ago I got budget approval to hire a cnsultant in North America to do the very same testing to which they concluded that our network "was well above the bar in security, stability and use of latest technology including biometric security"

Our corporate offices are in Italy and they are on vacation at the moment and have not heard from them since.

Any guesses as to waht will be coming next?