Tom Gainer spent three years in the Marines after high school and then took on a variety of positions, including vacuum salesman, before beginning a gradual ascent in the operations side of the banking industry. Today, he is CIO of FirstBank Southwest.

In a post at TechRepublic, Gainer tells the story of his circuitous path to the position of CIO. He got into the banking industry on the bottom rung of the ladder, learning the ropes in the collections, payments and repossessions divisions. He worked his way up through the loans department and eventually was given a job as an assistant branch manager. He went to night school, and ended up finding a niche in operations and technology, working in banking and other industries.

"I have found that my initial grounding in business laid the foundation for me to smoothly enter technology and operations and to blend all of these skills together to meet the challenges of today's business world," he writes.

Gainer credits a wide variety of factors for his success, including "teaching and mentoring; asking questions; doing research; recognition; listening; supporting; running interference; financial and other rewards; planning; and delivering." Most importantly, though, he writes that it is imperative to develop a good partnership with business units: "I know how to write a business plan, prepare a budget, work with vendors, build a spread sheet, control cost, write a report, figure ROI, and know how to convey technology issues into simple and easy to understand language for the board and other C-level staff, as well as line staff."

For more:
- read more about Tom Gainer at TechRepublic

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