IT Alliance New Member: Chad Harter '96 CIS

This spring the IT Alliance board welcomed Mr. Chad Harter '96, Computer Information Systems, as a new member. He is currently the CIO at Jasper Group, a manufacturer of office, hospitality, education and healthcare furniture under the brands of JSI and Klem Hospitality. The married father of three resides in Huntingburg, Indiana, and he enjoys traveling, fishing in the ocean and officiating high school football.

Take a moment to get to know this USI business alumnus.

What is your connection to USI?

I'm a proud graduate!

Tell us about your career path.

Somewhat traditional but not completely. My wife and I married when I was still in college. I was recruited to start work full time by Kimball International before finishing my degree. It took a little longer as I had to drop to part-time status (finished at the end of 1996). I started out in application development and then switched over to Infrastructure. I had a brief stint with Keller Schroeder, a local IT firm before going back to work for Kimball and getting into leadership. I had the opportunity to become the CIO at Jasper Group a few years ago, which has been great. My long-term career goal was always deep technical and then move into leadership. My leadership point of view is simply based on making a difference.

What are you most looking forward to as a member of the USI IT Alliance?

I just attended my first meeting. I was really impressed hearing from some of the senior project teams and their creative approach. I'm really looking forward to interacting with the USI faculty to help ensure students are prepared for the challenges of the future, which are getting more and more interesting by the day.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Listen more than you speak.

The new school year starts in August - what advice would you give USI students who are incoming freshmen and those in their senior year? What do you wish someone had told you?

For freshman, I would tell them to focus on where their passion might be. College is a time for learning and exploring yourself. Take that class on Paleontology or Criminology if it interests you. For seniors, I would tell them to Network, Network, Network. Take advantage of all the things that your university offers you in terms of job placement. The goal of college is to not just simply get a degree, but to get a degree and become employed.

How would you finish this sentence: If I were back in college, I would have taken more classes in:

Communication.

What factors do you consider most when planning for the future?

People, the economy and disruptive technologies.

What attributes or skills make a person successful in your industry?

Above all others, be a problem solver.

Who do you think are the most important/influential people in your industry today?

Too many to name and they change often!

What are some of the biggest challenges you see in your industry, either in the short term or long term?

Cybersecurity, understanding what the future of IT looks like in an AI enabled world and AI governance.

What is one of the biggest misconceptions about IT/technology as a career?

It's not as difficult as you might think if you're a problem solver, can learn, and exhibit some tenacity.

What topic could you spend hours talking about?

I'm not sure I could spend hours talking about anything. I'm more of a listener than a talker. I love listening to forward-thinking podcasts like Moonshots by Peter Diamandis.

What are three things on your bucket list?

All travel related. Alaskan cruise, travel to Europe, and see all of the national parks.

What is one goal you still want to accomplish?

Learn to fly an airplane.

Published July 16, 2025