The Specific: Janis Emplit

Dear Janis:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.  

Prior to our meeting, my plan was to write four thumbnail portraits of women CIOs.  These portraits would cover the basics such as educational background, career moves and professional honors, but after we met, I realized that facts are better with a context.  Given space limitations, I have now decided to focus on you and your career.  I have a story in it too.  

I didn’t know that you, too, graduated from the University of South Carolina, with a degree in business in 1978.  There is every possibility that we passed each other in the hallways of the business school, but didn’t know it.  Aside from my floppy red hair, there is nothing remarkable about my appearance—you wouldn’t have looked twice.  But I would have noticed you.  Women were as rare as computer terminals.  And that was the business school.  I bet the ratios were even worse in computer science.  
           
I was surprised when you said your father was your most important mentor.  Having lived in South Carolina for over 25 years, I know, at least in the rural areas, how women and young girls are stereotyped.  In that era, for your father to raise you with the same expectations as your two brothers is remarkable.  And the sacrifices your parents made.  Today, two-income households bend under the weight of one kid in college.  Yet your parents made a college education available for your two brothers.  By the way, many women have told me, like you did, that growing up with brothers helped them understand the male mind, and helped prepare them for the business world.  Most go on to tell me that it didn’t take them very long to figure out the male mind.  That’s kind of a mean-spirited remark if you ask me.  
     
When I graduated, I moved to Charleston and went to work as a salesman for AT&T.  I didn’t make too much of it when we met, but from your corner office I could almost see the Spartan Foods building.  I made my very first sales call to Spartan Foods.  It was a strange place.     

There was not a single woman or black in management.  The women that worked there held either secretarial or clerical positions, and—get this—they were not allowed to call me by my first name.  I could say “Good morning, Joan,” to a woman that was old enough to be my grandmother.  But she could not respond with, “Good morning, Bill.”  It had to be “Good morning, Mr. Fitzpatrick.”  All the women wore uniforms, too.  It was a good-old boys club.  I just knew that company could never change. 

Change comes from the top, and with that management team in place, well, it was no place for a career-minded woman.  I know you have found, as I have, that companies have distinct personalities. 

As an example, some of the most recognized names in American industry have put an inclusive corporate philosophy to good work.  Avon addresses their IS staffing needs by developing work-at-home programs which are specifically designed to attract women.  Many IS functions are suited to this approach.  Mom can get the work done and still be at home to greet her children.   
           
It seems to me that you didn’t really find your niche for some time after you left Carolina.  You knew you liked business, and in the early 1980s, you were attracted to the very first tremors of the technology revolution.  Those early jobs you held—first, as a bank examiner and later, in the audit department for the First National Bank of Atlanta—allowed you to define your interests and career path.  The next step you took, taking time to work on a master’s in business systems from Georgia State University, set you up for your future success.

Neither of us made this connection while we were chatting, but doesn’t your early situation—defining your interests and then your area of focus—speak to the challenges of attracting high school girls to the IS area?  You were in your mid-20s when you choose your path.  How would you have reacted in high school if someone had made you aware of opportunities in IS?  Do you think you would have listened?  
    
I was amused when you told me that after obtaining your degree from Georgia State, you went to Miami and accepted a position as a programmer trainee.  You told me that you were attracted to IS because of the constant change.  Maybe it’s my own perspective, but when I think of a programmer, constant change is not what comes to mind. I almost went into programming, but when I found out that the same program, using the same data, should always yield the same results, I lost interest.  By the way, it is Frank’s contention, and other researchers, that IS is doing a poor job of managing the exponential rate of change.  I might take that one on in my next column.    

About the time you got your first big break, I got mine as well.  But yours was far more glamorous.  As senior systems manager with Bank of America, you traveled and worked in South America and Latin America.  You even lived in London for a year or two.  During your traveling years, you were mugged, tear-gassed, witnessed a coup and survived a bomb threat.  Sounds like my last experience at LaGuardia.  After your stint with Bank of America, you accepted an IS leadership position with Burger King. 

My break came in 1987 when I sold several million dollars worth of AT&T Unix computers to TW Services.  I never quit believing that my solution—a multi-user, multi-tasking, back-office restaurant computer—was the best solution.  TW Services was the renamed corporate entity of Spartan Foods.  Great progress had been made since my first sales call in 1978 (ha, ha), one woman was now in management.  She left the company right after I met her.  I just knew that company could never change.  

After 10 years with Burger King, you came to Advantica as vice president of information systems.  In June of 1998, you were promoted to senior vice president and CIO.  As you pointed out, your strong business background has served you well.  I didn’t have time to share this with you when we met, but take at look Frank’s findings:
 

When we were discussing the shortfall of women in the IS profession, you made the interesting observation that boys in high school engage in activities where there are winners and losers.  Girls, on the other hand, tend to be more social creatures.  I agree with you that getting the word out to young women that IS careers are engaging is a good idea. 

Anyway, I am toying with several titles for this article.  One of my early favorites is “The Corner Office.”  Here’s why.  In 1996, your CEO, Jim Adamson, received “CEO of the Year” from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  In that same year, in Annapolis, Denny’s was named “Corporation of the Year.”  Annapolis is where the Denny’s class-action suit originated.  Jim received the national “Humanitarian of the Year” award from the American Jewish Committee in February of 1997 for his work in the diversity arena.  Advantica received the 1997 Fair Share Corporate Award for Minority Business Development from the (NAACP) in June of 1997.  Advantica ranked first on Fortune magazine’s 2000 list of “America’s 50 Best Companies for Minorities.”  Asian Enterprise magazine selected Advantica as one of the “Top 10 Best Companies for Asian-Americans” in 1999 and 2000.  And finally, Working Woman magazine ranked Advantica eighth in its 2000 survey of the “Top 25 Companies for Women Executives.”

I was not surprised, given the above, when you told me how Jim has helped you with your career.  I prefer to think that supportive organizations, ultimately, and as a by-product of enlightened management, achieve better (financial) results.  I’m rooting for you!
        
By now, you know the reason for my story within a story.  For 22 years, I have witnessed the changes at Advantica.  The company that was Spartan Foods became a division of TW Services.  TW Services eventually became Flagstar, and finally was renamed Advantica.  Those who doubt that change can be made and that the change starts from the top are wrong.  

Let’s be more specific. I was wrong.  The company that could never change did change.

I very much enjoyed our meeting in your corner office where a traveler in time, just like me, has witnessed incredible change.

I hope you have a good weekend.  This weekend, Molly and I will be planning our annual father-daughter ski trip to Big Sky, Montana.  She likes to compete with the boys in her ski class.  I encourage her to blast them with powder when she gets a chance.  

Bill

Bill Fitzpatrick is the National Sales Manager for Spartan Computer Services and can be reached at bill_Fitzpatrick@spartancomputer.com or at (800) 866-3352.