Vallerie Parrish-Porter is an industry veteran with years of experience in finance and information technology.

When she won the 2003 Technologist of the Year Award, she was responsible for the strategic direction of Hewlett-Packard's information technology (IT) resources.

During her career, she has held major positions as chief information officer (CIO) and comptroller in Fortune 500 companies. Before the merger of HP and Compaq Computers, she was vice president of IT Worldwide Sales and Services for Compaq, where she led global strategic development focused on delivering innovative technology and business solutions.

Currently, she is managing principal of Magellan Associates, a consulting services company that enables the building of capabilities that can move organizations that operate in silos to a strategic business partner. Most recently her organization was recognized as one of the top 50 IT organizations in the country by Information Week.

Parrish-Porter earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Southern University in 1974, and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Miami in 1977.