If Becky Blalock was not the senior vice president and CIO of Southern Co., she'd be a writer. But it's a good thing for the CIO world that she picked IT instead. As the CIO, she is responsible a $330 million budget and 1,110 employees. She has developed and deployed enterprise-wide software for work management, financial computing and inventory. "If I could do my career over, I would take more risk early on. Throughout my 29-year career with the company, I've held 12 jobs in five functional areas. Most of that movement happened in the last 15 years. Before then, I rarely went out on a limb for a job or developmental opportunity."

For more on Becky Blalock:
- See this InformationWeek article