From an office near that of First Union Corp.'s chairman, Austin A. Adams "sets what we call BHAGs-big, hairy audacious goals," said Richard C. Penland, senior vice president of service center operations.
"And he is serious," Mr. Penland said.
Mr. Adams "pushes you to get the best single system, with the longevity to see us through massive growth," Mr. Penland said. "He wants me to have the lowest per-unit item cost in my peer group" while maintaining the highest quality.
Motivating employees is just one facet of Mr. Adam's job as overseer of a technology budget of more than $600 million and a staff of more than 12,000.
The executive vice president is guided by the philosophy that technology staff must work hand in hand with business managers.
"The strongest professional belief I have is that there is competitive advantage when technology is developed and maintained in a cooperative way throughout the enterprise," he said.
He acts on the conviction. Bonuses for his departmental and divisional officers, for example, are based upon joint evaluations by technology and business-line superiors.
"There is a focus here that is pretty unique," said Thomas J. Fogarty, corporate technology officer responsible for day-to-day computing operations.
Mr. Adams, 55, said he was influenced by a decade of technology and operations experience at Northwestern Financial Corp., a North Carolina- based banking company that First Union acquired in 1985.
Mr. Adams handled human resources, trust, finance, and marketing at Northwestern, which he said helped him understand how technology contributes to the overall business.
A native of Boone, N.C., Mr. Adams earned bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from Appalachian State University.
"There is an incredible amount of talent at First Union and an extraordinary will to win," said Mr. Adams. "That is what energizes me about the company."
But like his counterpart at NationsBank Corp., James Dixon, Mr. Adams also contributes expertise and energy to his industry as an active participant in the Bankers Roundtable's Banking Industry Technology Secretariat.
