Bruce Livesay, EVP and CIO, Enterprise Technology, First Horizon National
Opportunity From Turmoil
At First Tennessee, a subsidiary of Memphis, Tenn.-based First Horizon National, information technology is viewed as a strategic business enabler. And, says First Horizon executive vice president and CIO Bruce Livesay, a 2010 BS&T Elite 8 honoree, the regulatory and economic challenges facing the banking industry have merely intensified First Tennessee's emphasis on using technology to differentiate service and operate efficiently.
In the coming year, First Tennessee will focus on staying flexible and nimble, and "controlling what we can control," Livesay says. "In 2012, we'll emphasize operating effectively and leveraging technology to deliver the best service to our customers. Our employees understand our customers' needs and build long-term relationships."
According to Livesay, every banker is looking at the business landscape ahead as somewhat uncharted territory. "We're literally seeing history made with a combination of unprecedented new regulation and the explosion of consumer-oriented technologies," he notes. "We expect increasing regulatory burdens, low rates and a period of extended slow economic growth."
However, Livesay reports, First Tennessee's IT budget is somewhat of an anomaly. "We have invested heavily over the past three years to renew our entire software and hardware infrastructure," he explains. "The period of economic turmoil has really provided an opportunity to focus inwardly toward building a strong foundation for future growth.
"We will complete the majority of our massive IT transformation work in 2011, so 2012 will naturally see a return to a more normalized pace of investment."
