Virginia Farm Bureau is renowned for resiliency, collaboration, commitment to a greater cause, diversity and service to its members. For outgoing CIO Patrick (Pat) Caine leadership at Virginia Farm Bureau has never been about technology for technology’s sake. After 18 years as CIO, his role evolved into what he describes as that of an “enterprise technology leader”. He has been responsible for supporting a uniquely complex organisation whose mission stretches far beyond insurance or IT.
“I’m responsible for all aspects of enterprise IT,” he explains. “Founded in 1926, Virginia Farm Bureau is a diverse membership organisation with four major business entities. And multiple companies that provide agricultural advocacy and related agricultural business support services, healthcare insurance sales and administration and P&C Insurance. Alongside a large entertainment property that hosts the State Fair of Virginia.”
Balancing Regulation, Autonomy and Shared Infrastructure
At the heart of the challenge is the need to balance independence with integration. Virginia Farm Bureau’s P&C insurance operations function in a “highly regulated industry,” requiring a degree of autonomy, while still sitting under the wider organisational umbrella. “We have to exist independently, but yet our missions tie together,” Pat explains. “That makes it tricky.”
This complexity is compounded by the Farm Bureau’s investments in healthcare administration companies, which operate on very different business systems. “On paper, we have three or four healthcare administration companies,” he says. “Those business systems are unique. They don’t necessarily share business systems, although in some cases we share data.”
Cybersecurity Moves to the Forefront
Over Pat’s tenure, few things have changed as dramatically as the role of cybersecurity. “The organisation has grown, and my role grew with it…When I first started in the role, cybersecurity was something you did after you got everything else done,” he recalls. “Today, cybersecurity is embedded in everything we do.”
That shift has reshaped leadership responsibilities. “On paper, I’m the CIO, the CTO, and the CISO,” Pat says. While he relies on specialist directors, accountability ultimately sits with him. “We’ve not only had to become business experts but also understand the various back-office functions within our infrastructure. Cyber and regulatory oversight go together these days, and that has certainly changed the role of CIO and made it more challenging.”
A CIO Driving Digital Transformation
When Pat arrived at Virginia Farm Bureau in 2007, it was clear change was needed. “It was apparent the organisation’s growth could no longer rely on unstructured processes and outdated technology,” he recalls. Change management practices were immature, and major systems needed modernisation with larger business applications in need of replacing or modernisation and a shift in some business processes was in order.
Pat is candid about the Farm Bureau’s technology philosophy. “I’ve always said we in enterprise IT are not only agents of technology change but in many ways facilitators of organisational change. It takes a highly collaborative and communicative approach to facilitate change throughout an organisation so change management principles and communication are key.”
