Past Elite 8: Where Are They Now?
Candito Joins Towers Perrin
Tony Candito, a 2000 Elite 8 Award winner, recently left his post as chief information officer of New York-based MetLife's Individual Life business unit in order to seek new opportunities with Towers Perrin (New York). "My responsibilities include oversight of all technology matters at Towers Perrin," says Candito, who is now CIO of the consultancy. "I directly manage infrastructure, human resource systems, finance systems and desktop support."
Although the transition to his new role was a bit challenging, his new job is "very exciting and extremely satisfying," says Candito. "I enjoy being responsible for the entire IT function, rather than a very big slice of a huge function at MetLife," according to Candito. "Having oversight for all of IT allows me to be involved in more strategic discussions and decision making."
His role at Towers Perrin also allows him to spend more time with his family. "My role at MetLife required a significant amount of travel and time away from home," explains Candito. "While I still travel at Towers Perrin, the travel requirements are much less." Looking back on the past year, Candito is most proud of "surviving the amount of change my family and I have gone through."
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McCarter Crosses Over
Billy McCarter, who was named one of 2002's Elite 8 CIOs while at Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. (Novato, Calif.), joined ePolicy Solutions (Torrance, Calif.) as head of the company's professional services organization last December. McCarter oversees client relationships and the project development organization.
His insurance technology experience "has been a huge benefit, because ePolicy focuses on the commercial insurance market," McCarter relates. "Having lived inside an insurance carrier for a number of years, I know how to target technology to solve problems related to policy administration and legacy issues."
McCarter's client/vendor relationship with ePolicy began at Fireman's Fund after the vendor was commissioned to solve a policy administration problem. "I was very impressed with ePolicy and one thing led to another, and they asked me to join them," McCarter says. Prior to the arrangement, "I was interested in moving to a technology provider. It was a challenge that I wanted to pursue so that I could see what the other side looks like."
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Ascenzo Takes on Added Responsibility
The past year was one marked by gaining additional responsibility for Carl Ascenzo, a 2002 Elite 8 Award winner. Ascenzo, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' (BCBSMA, Boston) chief information officer, is now charged with heading up an internal consulting practice that focuses on process engineering. In addition to servicing the internal organization, some of the group's efforts include working with physicians and healthcare delivery institutions to implement functions such as e-prescribing.
Since receiving his award last year, Ascenzo is most proud of BCBSMA's on-time and on-budget delivery results, as well as the completion of BCBSMA's next-generation IT strategy to replace the carrier's core systems. The initiative will result in the carrier becoming more "information-rich and member-centric," Ascenzo explains.
The coming year will be a busy one for Ascenzo, who plans to "begin replacing BCBSMA's health management and core administrative systems," he reports. "Also, we will be active in working with other players in the industry to further administrative simplification and collaboration" involved in the use of medical information.
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