Senior vice president of IT strategy, Marriott International Predicting the future of technology has always been part of the CTO job description. Barry Shuler, senior vice president of information technology strategy at Marriott International, takes that mandate seriously. In 2002, Shuler — who has 33 years of IT experience, including stints at Bell Labs and Western Electric — was asked to step away from day-to-day IT in order to concentrate on emerging technologies. The fruit of his foresight arrived in March 2004 on a massive scale, when Marriott began installing high-definition, flat-panel displays in the 480,000 rooms of the Marriott chain. Guests can plug in a computer, hook up their iPod, and watch a movie in one window while they surf over high-speed broadband in another. When it comes to new technology, says Shuler, “as soon as it is available, our guests will want it and expect the same functionality in room.”Back to 2005 CTO 25 Award winners Technology Industry