In an interesting trend, many of today's IT leaders lack the traditional technical from the ground up background of the past and instead benefit from a well-rounded business and technical resume. John Reale, CIO of USG, had a background in accounting, sales and customer service before he entered his company's technology division. The final move was something that he never really planned for himself.

In the past, USG had looked outside to fill the CIO position. However, based on the endeavors that the company was undertaking and the need to more closely align the business objectives to IT, it was the right time to look internally. Of his appointment, Reale said , "It was the right thing to do at the time and it's been a tremendous learning experience, but it was never a goal of mine to be a CIO."

However, it was his experience in other areas that led him to a successful career as a CIO.

Reale said that the time he spent on the business side, was crucial to building the relationships he utilizes today his current role. His sales experience, along with his corporate office background, allowed him to learn "how the company ran" and what was expected from a customer point of view.. We started looking at where the sales force could be more effective. That's when I started with IT. This initial experience was with a major Sales Force Automation (SFA) implementation project.

After his stint in sales, Reale ran USG's consolidated Customer Service Center in Schiller Park, IL. This is where he learned the value of information. "Information is critical to providing good service to our customers as well as creating efficiencies internally for the company." He started to realize the power that technology and information systems could bring to the business. "We are only as good as the information we provide. So it better be right and it better be fast." This was the beginning of the company evaluating and eventually implementing its first enterprise wide ERP.