CIO Profile: Michael Capone Of Automatic Data ProcessingCIO Profile: Michael Capone Of Automatic Data Processing

Career Track

Career accomplishment I'm most proud of: I successfully made the transition from IT into operations and managed a global business operation for ADP. The global role provided me a wealth of knowledge and experience that has helped me transition into my current role of CIO.

Most important career influencer: My father, who was one of the first executives to ever carry the title of CIO (at J.C. Penney). He worked his way up to that position from a programming job. My father was raised by a single mother and largely grew up on welfare. After military service, he worked and went to school at night to get an accounting degree. He got involved in IT when the company he worked for, Standard Oil, bought a mainframe and administered an aptitude test to their employees to see who might make a good programmer. His example taught me that I can be whatever I wanted to be in this world and that it would be up to me to make it happen.

Decision I wish I could do over: In 1999, when I was young and single, I passed on a dot-com job that would have made me financially independent at an early age. There are certain times in your career when you're in a position to take risks. I've also seen this lesson play out in large organizations such as ADP. If you're confident in your abilities, don't be afraid to take a chance.

On The Job IT budget: $1.1 billion

Size of IT team: 5,000

Top initiatives: