Innovation imperative: successful chief information officers stay on top of their craft and stay connected electronically to leverage their time and resources.Stay connected. That's a motto Dennis Callahan Dennis Callahan is an American politician from Annapolis, Maryland, and the former director of the Recreation and Parks Department of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. As a Democrat he has announced he is running for Anne Arundel County Executive in the 2006 election. embraces. "The degree of electronic connectedness we have in this day and age is wonderful. It is remarkable to have such portable access to real-time information," said Callahan, executive vice president and chief information officer of New York-based Guardian Life Insurance Company of America The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (GLICOA) is a Fortune 1000 company founded in 1860 in New York, New York. It is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States of America. . Callahan will be the first keynote speaker at E-Fusion 2004. A connectivity tool Callahan favors is the BlackBerry--a wireless handheld device for e-mail, phone, Internet and organizer functions he uses to leverage his time and stay in touch with peers. "You can be in a meeting, a question comes up and with the BlackBerry you can go to the Internet and get the answer in real time," he said. CIOs must be able to gather information efficiently and use it effectively. They are familiar with the operations of each business unit within an insurance company so they are ideally positioned to interject in·ter·ject tr.v. in·ter·ject·ed, in·ter·ject·ing, in·ter·jects To insert between other elements; interpose. See Synonyms at introduce. a companywide perspective into strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. sessions. To parlay An open programming interface (API) to a service provider's network (the network operator), developed by the Parlay Group (www.parlay.org). By enabling the customer's application to talk directly to the network, it allows the end user to have greater access to network information as well that panoramic view into a competitive advantage for the company and a position of greater decision-making authority for themselves, CIOs must "constantly be putting up for consideration what was not attainable before," Callahan said. That means "constantly staying on top of their craft," Callahan said, much in the same way physicians keep themselves informed about the latest medical treatment techniques and regimens. A successful CIO CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. (Chief Information Officer) The executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. melds the role of technology visionary with some down-to-earth business smarts--reaping significant leveraged returns on the company's technology investment while producing predictable results on time. Expediting Compliance Noting "the increasingly robust regulatory environment," Callahan said that when new regulations are promulgated prom·ul·gate tr.v. prom·ul·gat·ed, prom·ul·gat·ing, prom·ul·gates 1. To make known (a decree, for example) by public declaration; announce officially. See Synonyms at announce. 2. , Guardian tries to use technology to expedite compliance and simultaneously achieve other benefits from the use of those resources. For example, it may be possible to simultaneously foster product development and client support. Guardian's internal compliance process begins with collaboration among its legal and corporate security departments as well as the individual business units to understand the new rules and how they are likely to affect the business. "We were one of the earlier firms to complete implementation of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191) Also known as the "Kennedy-Kassebaum Act," this U.S. law protects employees' health insurance coverage when they change or lose their jobs (Title I) and provides standards for patient health, ," Callahan said, referring to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website, Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when , which requires companies to secure confidential patient information among health-care providers, insurance companies and others. Callahan joined Guardian in the fall of 2000, swiftly taking on the task of reorganizing the IT department to align it with the needs of the business. Within two months, he had begun recreating the IT department by introducing strong financial controls and building bonds with the heads of the individual business units. That led to the establishment of a full set of tools and techniques that have been key to improving cost effectiveness and reliability in terms of deliverable results and effective portfolio management. Proof of the success of those measures, Callahan said, is that they are being adopted across the firm. Another indicator of the success of the new way of doing things is the public response to Guardian's new Web site, GuardianLife.com, which was launched earlier this year. Based on the relaunch Relaunch can refer to several things:
v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. consumer site, Dalbar Inc. moved it to 13th place in its ranking of life insurance and annuity company Web sites, up from 26th place. The Boston-based research firm ranks insurer Web sites on ease of use, functionality, content and appearance. For those building their careers as insurance technologists, Callahan offers the following tips: * Establish relationships and credibility with the leadership of the business so you are in a leadership position and not in the role of filling work orders. * Respond effectively in dealing with the serious practical issues around the legacy systems that were developed 30 to 40 years ago. Your success in doing so will have a lot to do with the company's competitive position in the coming years. * Information integration, leverage and flow are key. You can have a profound impact on the timeliness and effectiveness of services by attaining efficiencies in the way information flows throughout the organization. Key Points * Chief information officers can move insurers ahead by capitalizing on new technological advances. * CIOs can realize significant leveraged returns on a company's technology investment while producing predictable results on time. * CIOs can enhance the company's competitive edge if they respond effectively to legacy system issues. Learn More Guardian Life Insurance Company of America A.M. Best # 06508 Distribution: Career agents, independent agents and brokers, group representatives Speaker Spotlight Dennis Callahan Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Guardian Life Insurance Co. First Day Morning Keynote Address keynote address n. An opening address, as at a political convention, that outlines the issues to be considered. Also called keynote speech. Noun 1. : "Innovation Imperative" Hyatt Regency Hotel The Regency Hotel was a hotel in Denver, Colorado. Built in the 1960s to serve as a regional convention center, it was famous locally for its large gold dome and the luxury of the rooms within. , Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The harbor itself is actually the end of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and includes any water west of a line drawn between the National Aquarium in Baltimore Oct. 17-19, 2004 www.efusion2004.com |
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