Ron Ponder

The Ponder Group was formed shortly after leaving WellPoint. Ponder and his team which includes Tom Frazee spent the next year and a half transforming the IT organization of the NYC Department of Public Education. Partnering with IBM, The Ponder Group assisted with the planning and implementation of the systems required to support the massive education reform programs put in place for the New York City public schools. Following that effort, for the last 4 years, The Ponder Group has provided senior-level consulting services to the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of the Census. This work has primarily focused on large-scale IT program management for the planning and implementation of the information required for the 2010 Census. This was an ongoing project through 2011.

In 2006 he founded and currently leads an information technology consulting firm, formed by Ponder and several of his former business associates. The group specializes in managing large-scale business and government technology program implementations, information technology group transformations and providing leadership on troubled projects.

In 1996 AT&T had been so thoroughly altered by combinations of court decree, market and political forces that Ponder was wooed away by a new set of challenges. He acquired a position as president and CEO of BDSI, a full-service consulting and systems development firm in New Jersey Under Ponder and his new team, the company thrived and grew at an astounding rate of 30 percent per annum. In 1999 the ownership, including Ponder, agreed to a very generous acquisition by The Cap Gemini Group. Ponder stayed on with the Cap Gemini Group to manage its US-based telecommunications, media and networks consulting businesses as president and CEO. In 2000, Cap Gemini acquired Ernst & Young's global consulting business, greatly increasing Ponder's operational responsibilities. Ponder remained with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young until 2002

In 1995, CIO Magazine published a 10th-anniversary issue "Decade of the CIO" and named Ponder as one of the 12 most influential technology executives of the past decade.

In 1993 he was offered the position of senior vice president and worldwide CIO of AT&T. While AT&T enjoyed enormous wealth and influence, its information technology and network systems were surprisingly lacking. Shortly after joining AT&T, he became executive vice president of operations and Service Management responsible for a good portion of its customer operations, including customer service, AT&T's voice and data networks as well as the company's information technology and development organizations While at AT&T Ponder transformed the entire information systems organization, consolidating data centres, implementing a corporate network worldwide, standardizing technology and changing the culture of the organization to be customer focused. During this period he assisted in planning the divestiture and spin out of AT&T Computer Systems back into NCR Corporation and AT&T Network Systems which became Lucent Technologies.

From 1991 to 1993 Ponder worked at Sprint Communications Company as executive vice president and CIO and led the team that created the first network based on optical technology. He was also responsible for information technology and reengineering for Sprint's local and long-distance business, leading several company-wide efforts that improved Sprint's technology and network infrastructure, cost position, and time to market.

While in this position, he also led a major expansion of the company's package sorting facility in Memphis. In 1982, Ponder was promoted to the position of senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO), a position he held for the next decade. Ponder was also part of the senior team instrumental in initiating and implementing the company's quality programs. These programs culminated with the company being awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1990

In 1979, Ponder was promoted to the position of vice president, operations planning. In addition to his staff responsibilities in this role, he also had the opportunity to work closely with Smith and COO, James L. Barksdale. As a result, he became a lead member of the senior team that conceived, designed and deployed FedEx's electronic package tracking and tracing system. This was a technological breakthrough and key strategic differentiator for the company. The system became the benchmark for FedEx's competitors; won numerous technical and business awards; and was described in business articles and Harvard Business School case studies as a model for the strategic application of technology to create market and competitive differentiation.

In 1975 Ponder and accepted a full-time position with Helena Chemical Company, a multi-billion-dollar agricultural chemical distributor headquartered in Memphis. As director of data processing for the company, Ponder began to build experience in information technology.

During this time, at the University of Memphis, he was consulting part-time with companies in the area when he met his new neighbor, a young pilot for a fledgling new cargo airline named Federal Express. After some discussion, the pilot suggested that Ponder should meet Charles Brandon and Frederick W. Smith, the founder and CEO. Their association led Ponder to two years of consulting for Brandon and Smith at Federal Express in the early 1970s, performing operations research for the company. As the funds ran out, Ponder and one of his graduate student assistants completed their last project pro bono.

Ron J. Ponder (born February 21, 1943) is a senior information technology executive. He has held senior leadership positions at Federal Express, Sprint, AT&T, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and WellPoint.