Vercie Lark CIO, Embarq

How long at current company: Two years, nine months

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: Leading Internet operations teams at Compaq in the mid-1990s that built one of the top-performing e-commerce Web sites. We received industry recognition for our high-performing site when Compaq was intensely focused on increasing Web-based revenue and competing head to head with Dell's direct-selling business model.

Most important career influencer: Larry Ketchersid, who hired me in 1989 at Compaq. His influence enabled me to secure my first leadership role as a network operations supervisor, and he paved the way for me to land my first executive role at Compaq.

Decision I wish I could do over: Secure an MBA or an advanced degree in finance. Investing more time developing my business or financial skills would have enabled me to communicate more effectively with senior executives early in my career.

The next big thing for my business will be ... the adoption of Web 2.0. Communication companies that embrace Web 2.0 now and spend the next few years developing solutions that can be monetized will become the new leaders in our industry.

Best advice for future CIOs: Stay abreast of technology trends and take the time to acquire skills in business administration, economics, or finance so you can communicate how technology will advance your company's strategy in a way your top executives can understand and embrace.

IT budget: $250 million

Size of IT team: 875 employees; 400 contractors

Top three initiatives:

• Embarq successfully migrated more than 500 applications and their related infrastructure out of Sprint Nextel's data centers as part of separating from Sprint Nextel.
• Transforming our application portfolio by replacing custom solutions with commercially available applications for business process modeling, business intelligence, IT operations automation, network operations, call center operations, CRM, and ERP.
• Increasing Embarq's profitability by standardizing and consolidating our computing platforms, data networks, management tools, and desktops.

Colleges/degrees: Wright State University, BS, electrical systems engineering

Last vacation: My family visited Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Leisure activity: Golf

Best book read recently: 3rd Degree, by James Patterson

If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... an entrepreneur leading a real-estate or financial investment firm.