CIO to CEO: 56 Moving Up The Ladder - ' Lloyd Devaux, COO, BankAtlantic ' (
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LLOYD DEVAUX
COO, BankAtlantic
Formerly: CIO, BankAtlantic
How He's Done: DeVaux, 54, has planned
his career with care. He
took his bachelor’s in
electrical engineering to
the oil business, where
he worked in computer
exploration of oil fields.
Next was IBM, where he
scoped custom applications
for clients for six
years. Along the way, he got an M.B.A.,
thinking the finance skills would enhance
his value.
During his seven-year stint as CIO of
Union Planters, a Memphis, Tenn.-based
bank, DeVaux fashioned himself as a
consultant, talking with loan managers,
retail bankers and other operating groups
about their plans and how he could help
with technology. When he moved to
BankAtlantic in 2001, he says, he came
with the understanding, though no guarantee,
that the COO position would be
his to earn.
“After you move from a pure technology
CIO to a tech-business bridge, the next
logical step is to move over to the business
side,” he says. Now, with more than
two years in as COO, CEO is his next goal.
But he’s cautious, saying he needs several
more years leading operations before he
can feel ready to make the leap.
To other tech executives who want to
climb, he advises picking up profit-and-loss
responsibilities at some point, to demonstrate
that you can be accountable for
results. Also, cultivate a successor for your
current job, so when upper management
looks at you for a promotion, DeVaux says,“They can say, ‘He’s ready and now’s the
time.’”
Next page: Maynard Webb, CEO, LiveOps
Projects: Management 
