On the job, he does not believe in adopting every new technology. We dont bring in a new technology just because its the next new thing; rather, we bring it in when we can make a business case for it. For example, Connly says, The St. Paul made a business case for XML a number of years ago, and he calls it a wonderful technologyan incredibly important part of our future. The St. Paul was one of the first insurance companies to implement an ACORD XML data exchange with some key agencies.

Organizational Hygiene

Connly is very focused. Our goal, he says, is to have continual, incremental improvements in our ability to leverage technology throughout the company. Theres no grand plan for revamping everything, he says, but just to make continual improvements. He promotes what he calls good organizational hygienelimiting the number and complexity of technologies the company uses so as to contain costs. He says he reminds his staff frequently they work for a financial services company, not a technology company.

That wasnt true of Connlys first employer. Hes worked for two companies in his career, both of which offered him whathe considers dream opportunities. Theres the one he just took on at The St. Paul Companies (the fifth-largest commercial P&C company in the United States), and theres his former job with Hewlett-Packard, which he landed right out of college.

After Connly graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1983 with a degree in mechanical engineering, he was offered a position at Hewlett-Packard. He went to work for HP but opted for a sales and marketing role. I felt I would learn more, relate better to our customers. One of those customers was The St. Paul.

In 1997, Connlys customer at The St. Paul asked him to join the company, and Connly took the leap from the computer world to the insurance world. He started as an applications development officer and moved through several IT positions before being promoted to CIO in April 2002. Connly is responsible for about 1,200 of The St. Pauls almost 10,000 employees.

The St. Paul consists of a number of very diverse business units, Connly says, so were looking for continual improvements in our internal communications and integration, as well as improved cost savings, of course. Hes not opposed to big projects, but he says, extraordinary expenditures require extraordinary justification.

That mindset drives Connlys approach to technology in general, whether for his personal use or for his company. He makes the point by referring to his collection of antique slide rules. The Boeing 747, a high water mark in airplane engineering, was designed by slide-rule-carrying engineers between 1967 and 1970, before the invention of handheld calculators. Quoting Newtons famous statement, he says honoring the incredible accomplishments made with such primitive technology reminds us of the degree to which we stand on the shoulders of giants.

As for personal business tools, his approach can be summed up in his Blackberry, yet again choosing the equipment to meet his business need: I dont need a portable applications machine, just access to my e-mail, calendar, and address book. The Blackberry does that with a very small footprint and excellent battery life. Ever the pragmatist, Connly adds, It does a limited number of things extremely well.