BY SHARON BAKER

Working as a CIO for an insurance company was not even on Clark Sykes radar screen when he first entered the work force 25 years ago after earning three degrees in anthropology. But studying how humans interact and the cultural issues they face along with learning how to think critically have more than served him well in his second career in technology.

I had to do a lot of analysis when I was an anthropologist and think through things critically, says Sykes, now vice president of IT at Merchants Insurance Group in Buffalo, N.Y. I wouldnt say I use my anthropology background every day, but it has helped me understand what works to motivate people and how people respond to different situations.

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