Terry Walker's philosophy about new technology is the same atwork as it is at home. If it is cost-effective, integrates wellwith other IT-related projects, and most importantly, solves aproblem, he's all for it. Otherwise, Walker would rather focus onmaking the most of the technology currently in use.

"My core tenant about technology is how to use it in the mosteffective, efficient way possible to solve a business issue," hesays. "It's not necessarily about using the latest, greatest,slickest products available. It's about enabling people to takeadvantage of the capability of the technology that's already outthere."

Appointed senior vice president and CIO of Hartford Life, Inc.,in June 2005, Walker applies his philosophy on a daily basis at theSimsbury, Conn.-based company. A subsidiary of The HartfordFinancial Services Group, Inc., Hartford Life is among thecountry's largest life insurance companies based on assets. Walkerjoined the company in 2000 after working at GE Capital as CIO of GEFinancial Assurance E-Business. He previously held positions atPitney Bowes and IBM. Walker earned a bachelor's degree in mathfrom the University of Connecticut and an MBA from ColumbiaUniversity.

Hartford Life is divided into four micro-enterprises–investmentproducts, group benefits, individual life, and internationaloperations in Brazil, Japan, and Europe–that operate autonomously.Under this model, each division has its own IT operation whoseleader reports directly to the business unit leader.

As the former leader of technology in the group benefitsdivision (and previously a director of the investment productsgroup), Walker knows firsthand how the micro- enterprise modeloperates. As CIO, however, he views the company's IT operations inan entirely different way.

"I like to joke with the technology heads in each business nowit's do as I say, not as I used to do," he says. "From an ITstandpoint, it's very easy for the technology head to focus solelyon what's right for his or her division. My challenge is to findways to leverage best practices, common solutions, and capabilitiesacross the enterprise without getting in the way of the flexibilitythe line of business needs to have."

Other challenges associated with managing a multimillion-dollarIT budget and a staff of 1,100 include retaining and attracting thebest IT talent, improving regulatory and compliance capabilities,developing innovative strategies to manage information, andsupporting the company's global expansion.

In addition, Walker plans to focus on integrating systems anddeveloping enterprisewide solutions to create cost and operationalefficiencies. "Every dollar we can free up on operational items isanother dollar we can spend on strategic initiatives," he says.

Those initiatives include expanding the company's grid computingsolution. Hartford Life was one of the first life insurers to usegrid computing to perform complex risk calculations and simulatemarket behavior.

"Along with addressing a major business challenge for us, gridcomputing really brought to the forefront what we can do withtechnology to create a competitive advantage," Walker says. "It'sbeen exhilarating to see how far we could push the limits aroundgrid computing's capabilities."

To support additional analytical capabilities and better meetthe company's ever-growing processing-power needs, Walker and hisIT team are in the pilot stages of a project that uses idledesktops to run grid computing cycles throughout the day.

Other IT projects include enhancing Hartford Life's sales andmarketing capabilities, extending its Web-based self-serviceofferings, and developing more robust sales force automationtools.

To keep abreast of Hartford Life's myriad initiatives, Walkerrelies heavily on his laptop and cell phone. "My laptop is verymuch the hub for me," he says. "I leave with it every night, andit's always powered up."

Wireless networks at home and work help Walker stay connected.Hartford's wireless capabilities currently are limited to specificareas in three buildings, but Walker hopes to deploy additionalwireless features in the future.

Although he calls himself an "intense e-mail user," Walker isnot a big BlackBerry fan. "When I first got one, I found I wasn'tpaying attention in a lot of meetings because I was too focused onresponding to new e-mails," he says. "I've consciously moved awayfrom using my BlackBerry in meetings so I can focus on thediscussion at hand."

When he's out of the office, Walker likes to listen to music onhis iPod. A photography buff, he says he has not yet moved into thedigital arena because he's invested so much money into his 35mm SLRequipment.

"My wife likes to say I shop a lot, but the operationalefficiency side of me keeps me from buying something I don't reallyneed," he says.

Now, if that isn't a top requirement to be a CIO, what is?