Michael Mediterraneo Senior VP and CIO, Cambridge Integrated Services

How long at current company: 10 years

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Being a catalyst in the consolidation of 12 companies into a single entity, and building an enterprise information technology infrastructure to support the company from the ground up.

Most important career influencer: Steven Cook, chief financial officer, TIG Insurance. Steven was my manager when I worked in the audit unit at TIG. He recognized my skills and personal drive from day one, pushing me to do my best. Steven mentored me and helped me grow my career, providing me with opportunities to showcase my leadership ability and technological skills.

Decision I wish I could do over: I hired a project manager to lead a major project at Cambridge. I thought that the individual would be able to change the team dynamics in a positive way, based on his experience and personality. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and I needed to smooth over many egos.

Size of IT team: 100 U.S. employees; 24 offshore

Three top initiatives for current year:

• Implementation of a predictive model into the claims process to help improve claims administration and client outcomes
• Implementation of a new business intelligence suite called Cognos 8 that will help attract and maintain clients looking for a claims administration company with a leading-edge tool to help manage their injured workers and costs.
• Design and implement an integrated disability management environment. The market is looking for a company to provide not only workers' compensation administration, but total disability management services.

Key tech partners: Cognos, IBM, Informatica, Oracle

The next big thing for my business will be ... predictive modeling. It will segment claims, creating the potential for higher-margin business and enabling immediate claim assignments to appropriate resources.

Best advice for future CIOs: Stay close to the business, keep up with technology, pick vendors that will endure, and surround yourself with great people.

How I measure IT effectiveness: For new projects, I utilize ROI via cost-benefit analysis prior to and after implementation.

Colleges/degrees: Pace University; bachelor of business administration, accounting

Leisure activity: A pickup game of basketball or volleyball with my family

Last vacation: Cannon Beach, Ore.

Recently read: Game Of Shadows, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams

If I weren't a CIO I would be ... a CEO