Technology's Irresistible CallTechnology's Irresistible Call

It may seem odd that Billy McCarter would give up his job as one of the most prestigious CIOs in the insurance industry to join an IT services firm that's barely emerged from startup stage. But for McCarter, the siren call of technology was too powerful to ignore.

This week, McCarter starts as senior VP and client-engagement executive at ePolicy Solutions Inc., which provides supply-chain services to insurance companies. McCarter knows the company well, having used its hosting services while he was the CIO of Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. But the trend toward IT outsourcing caused McCarter's role to change at Fireman's Fund, and he wanted new challenges. "With ePolicy, the focus will be more on managing, leading, and delivering technologies and less on managing third-party technology providers," McCarter says.

McCarter led Fireman's Fund's IT department through a major transformation during his five-year stint, implementing project-management disciplines that improved on-time delivery of IT projects from 30% to 94%. He also whittled the IT staff down from 1,100 to 600, with much of the work outsourced to offshore workers.

Epolicy started as an online insurance provider several years ago, but lack of success in that area propelled it into IT services. Now it provides hosted services for rate quotes and other policy issues, so insurers can focus on key business goals such as developing the most profitable pricing and underwriting rules. "Our biggest competitors are the IT departments of the insurance companies themselves," says CEO Lou Kwiker. "We have to do it faster, better, and cheaper than they can."

The privately held company has 110 internal employees and relies heavily on offshore workers. McCarter says ePolicy's offerings fall in line with his professional philosophy that companies should "get rid of context and focus on the core."