Richard J. Redick has a ready answer for those wondering whether his appointment as Barnett Banks Inc.'s chief technology executive signals a change in direction.
"It does not," said Mr. Redick, whose responsibilities include managing the Barnett Technologies Inc. unit.
But the question is asked often because Mr. Redick stepped into big shoes-those of Jonathan Palmer, who left last May to head up an employee benefits servicer, Wellspring Resources-and because of Mr. Redick's nontechnological background.
Previously Barnett's director of finance, Mr. Redick regards himself as neither bean counter nor cost-cutter. And analysts agree, expecting Barnett to remain aggressive in its use of technology.
"I think it's unfair to say that Rich is a numbers guy," said Catherine Corby, a former Barnett executive and now an alternative delivery consultant at Earnings Performance Group, Short Hills, N.J. "He has done a lot of things in his career, and it just happens that he most recently came from a financially focused position.
"He is a strong general manager, and if he thinks the right thing to do is make deeper investment in a particular technology, he'll be a strong advocate of doing so."
Mr. Redick said he is up to the challenge of following Mr. Palmer, who as head of both technology and retail banking presided over technological advances that helped turn Barnett from perennial takeover candidate to potential acquirer.
One of Mr. Redick's immediate concerns is putting the finishing touches on a data warehouse that feeds customer information to what is perhaps the most vital piece of technology Barnett has installed in recent years-its Retail Market Management System.
This system delivers to branch and customer service employees the account profitability data that can help them make sales and service decisions. At many institutions, such systems are still in the planning stages.
"Today all of our branch managers know all of their individual customers' profitabilities," said Mr. Redick. "This is technology, but it's also a little bit of finance and a little bit of business management. They're all increasingly intertwined."
A December report from Salomon Brothers Inc. said the Retail Market Management System should play a significant role in helping Barnett improve its profitability.
After noting Barnett's dominant position in Florida-where the population is growing explosively - the report stated: "If they couple this with good expense control and a low risk profile, we see no reason to believe that management could not hit their target of becoming a top-quartile performer among the 100 largest banks."
In addition to customer service applications, the data warehouse also is used for marketing. Customer information is grouped into segments for which the bank can design products.
"That's the only way: to have a customer-centric view that allows you to deal with your customers in a way they can afford and in a way you can afford," said Mr. Redick. "What really matters is gaining a level of customer intimacy that differentiates us. The end-games are customer- centricity and maximizing return on investment."
Not all of Mr. Redick's time is devoted to data warehouse issues. Indeed, Barnett technology under Mr. Redick is as focused as ever on alternative delivery mechanisms.
The banking company is one of the few in the United States experimenting with interactive television.
As part of a Time Warner Cable effort involving 4,000 Floridians, Barnett had some trouble getting the home banking part of the project off the ground. But as of last month, about 14% of eligible consumers had signed up for the banking channel, and more growth is anticipated.
The company also offers a variety of services via personal computer and is part of the Integrion home banking consortium, in which International Business Machines Corp. plays a leading role.
Mr. Redick said customers would vote, through their behavior, for the channels they prefer. By tracking transactions with the data warehouse, the company can decide where customers want it to deploy its resources.
"Our distribution system has to marry to our customer analytics and our customer relationship viewpoint: How do our customers want to deal with us?" said Mr. Redick.
"The automated teller machine has been raised in its profile because of our customer research in the last 18 months," he said. "We are rapidly adding that device and the functionality of the device."
Because of the importance of tracking customer transaction data, Mr. Redick said, he expects the bank's use of mainframe computers to continue to grow-even as the trends toward client-server and distributed computing accelerate.
In addition, the technology chief is focused on improving the operations behind lending and retirement management services, and he emphasizes the importance of the technology unit's working with business-line managers.
Even as he settles into the technologist role, Mr. Redick can draw on experience to speak the language of financial analysts: "The cost of technology is not as important as the return it can bring. If our technology budget is up-and it is-it's because the potential for return is up."
