William Wallace

Top management wanted WingspanBank.com – the Internet-only banking division of Wilmington, Del.-based First USA Bank NA – up and running in 60 to 90 days.

CIO William S. Wallace had the unenviable task of telling his bosses no.

The rollout of WingspanBank.com required integrating technologies from 30 vendors at 16 sites. Wallace and his team of 1,000 believed a deadline closer to 120 days was far more realistic – and they wouldn’t let the site launch without thorough stress testing.

So Wallace had to push back.

He met face-to-face with senior management and presented a concrete plan that spelled out what had to happen in order to have a successful launch.

Selling senior management on his plan required diplomacy and business skills, including knowledge of the banking marketplace, familiarity with the various product-line budgets and expenses and an understanding of the ramifications and costs of the delayed launch.

Fortunately, Wallace’s business credibility was good with the chairman of the board and and the business units. “Bill has a lot of business acumen. He doesn’t rely solely on business units to tell him what to build,” says Chip Weldon, a senior vice president at WingspanBank.com.

Wallace focuses on business solutions first and then makes sure WingspanBank.com’s IT staff is aligned closely with business functions. He relies on goal-based management for his IT staff and ties goals and rewards to the business unit objectives.

About 60 IT employees are dedicated to specific business functions and work closely with the individual business units. Wallace says smaller groups are more effective than larger groups, so he assigns eight- to 10-person teams to work on components of larger projects.

“The power of our organization is in our cross-functional teams, where everyone feels a sense of ownership for what we’ve created,” Weldon says.

Wallace says he considers himself a “walk-around manager.” He spends time at all 16 sites, meeting with members of his staff as often as possible. This contact helps him understand day-to-day issues and get a sense of his team’s morale.

As Weldon puts it, “He’s in the trenches, with his hands on the wires and plumbing.”

WingspanBank.com was launched successfully in 123 days and has soared ever since.

“Any IT leader has to be in touch with the business units the IT staff serves,” Wallace says. “You must know and understand all of the ‘moving parts’ of a project and understand the impact of your actions on the customers, employees and shareholders.”