Chris Nielsen
CIO
Troon Golf
Chris Nielsen serves as the Chief Information Officer for Troon, the world’s largest management company of golf clubs and other amenities such as racquet sports, aquatics, fitness, food & beverage, lodging and more to 900+ locations around the globe. Despite his unimpressive golf handicap, Chris joined Troon in early 2024 after over twenty years of leading a wide variety of technology disciplines and functions at renowned companies such as Dell, CVS Health, Tenet Healthcare and Axon.
In addition to his role at Troon, he also serves and advises on several other boards in software and academia. Chris holds a BBA from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Duke University.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
My fascination with computing technology began in my early teens when my parents brought home our first family PC. I still have the original processor—a first-generation Intel Pentium chip—that I saved as a keepsake after dismantling the rest of it for parts to build my first custom PC.
After earning my undergraduate degree, I spent the next 15 years in healthcare information technology, gaining deep exposure to the complex technology stacks that power large Electronic Health Record systems for hospital networks. Early in my career, I was unexpectedly thrust into leadership and people management roles that, candidly, I wasn’t fully prepared for. Imposter syndrome hit me hard, but it also became a driving force, motivating me to grow, adapt, and quickly develop my skills as a leader.
To round out my understanding of how organizations and their functions operate, I pursued an MBA, which significantly boosted my confidence and broadened my curiosity beyond the health IT space. This curiosity eventually led to an incredibly rewarding six years at Axon and, most recently, my transition to Troon.
Even though I’m now long removed from any sysadmin-level access to anything of significance, I’m still that curious teenage computer geek at heart.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Surround yourself with exceptional talent. No one has ever achieved greatness entirely on their own. Recognize your weaknesses and complement them with others’ strengths. Great people act as force-multipliers for driving productivity and shaping the right culture. These individuals possess high levels of grit, wit and curiosity. While finding and attracting such talent can be time-consuming and challenging, I believe there’s no better investment of time for a people leader.
What is the greatest challenge security leaders face today, and how are you addressing it?
Maintaining an optimal balance of prioritization and adaptability. As technology becomes increasingly integral to our organizations, the demand for it continues to grow and evolve alongside the rapid pace of technological advancements. New ideas, requirements, and problems constantly emerge, filling our inboxes and chats daily.
No technology leader has the luxury of enough resources to say yes to everything. Thoughtful prioritization is essential, but it’s far easier said than done in dynamic and imperfect organizations. Often, it’s necessary to bend and adapt to changing realities without straying too far from previously prioritized commitments.
To address this, I focus on boiling down technical requests into first principles to evaluate true urgency and identify alternative paths. Rationalize around a common set of work management tools and methodologies. And then, you can begin to effectively communicate and align around trade-offs.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?
The CIO is uniquely positioned to have a comprehensive, balcony-level view of the business. Take the time to truly understand the organization, its people, and its strategic competitive differentiators—both current and aspirational. Identify potential barriers hindering the execution of that strategy as well as opportunities to accelerate it. And of course, establish a foundation of credibility by listening and demonstrating a bias for action.
How do you measure success as a leader?
Outcome sustainment. To me, true leadership success extends beyond achieving short-term results. It’s about investing in people, addressing problems holistically and committing to continuous re-evaluation. Am I gradually making myself obsolete by developing emerging leaders and established culture? Are we designing and implementing solutions with minimal technical or process debt? Are key performance indicators improving or, at the very least, sustaining over time? Am I consistently gathering 360-degree feedback to ensure alignment and growth?
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