McClintock Makes Music

It is not unusual to see the metaphor of orchestration applied to a project that was well run, or to see an effective leader likened to an orchestra's conductor. In the case of Scott McClintock, CIO of New York-based P&C carrier Arch Insurance, a subsidiary of Arch Capital Group Ltd. (2005 net income of $256.5 million), the comparison could be used both metaphorically and literally -- McClintock earned an undergraduate degree in music education and conducts a brass band in his spare time.

McClintock says he enjoys the creativity exercised in his musical activities, but he also believes that music contributes something to the way he does his job. For example, in taking his band through the measures in rehearsal, he applies the synthesis-analysis-synthesis methodology. "It's effectively taking a look at the whole, pulling apart the component pieces, fixing them and reassembling them," he explains. "In many ways, I do the same kind of thing in my job: You look at problems at a macro level, sort them into component pieces and put them back together again."

McClintock's lack of a technology background also helped drive his career. "Early on I was able to focus on the business discussion without dwelling on the technical dimension," he says. "When I was the new kid on the block, that helped to distinguish me from others."

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio