2016 Premier 100 Tech Leader: Anthony Bolton

Anthony Bolton started as CIO of global telecommunications at General Motors in 2012, and soon thereafter he and other IT leaders were tasked with in-sourcing and transforming IT.

At the time, 90% of GM's telecommunications and collaboration resources were outsourced and there was no global strategy for integrating those systems and capabilities. That changed under Bolton's direction.

Within one year, his team delivered 110 integrated video rooms and other advanced collaboration technologies. The fast pace of activity continued the following year, with the team delivering multiple new capabilities, including more than 250 full-feature video rooms across 18 countries.

Bolton credits his team for the success. He assembled a global group of about 450 people who, he says, "are focused on nothing but General Motors."

He says he brought together both veteran automotive industry professionals and people from outside the industry, and he hired world-class telecommunications talent as well as "emerging talent" — recent college graduates who didn't have deep experience but were enthusiastic and willing to learn.

Moving forward, Bolton says he sees the need for workers "to broaden their skills and obtain an understanding in multiple disciplines" so they can deliver the increasingly complex systems needed to support the business today and in the future.