All it took for Michael Whitmer to know that IT was the place he wanted to be was a visit to IBM (IBM) in eighth grade. Surrounded by green-screen terminals and row upon row of tapes, he was hooked. Being fortunate enough in 1978 to attend the only high school in his county to offer computer classes solidified the calling. "It's the immediate satisfaction that you get from technology," he says. "You know when you write a program whether it works or not, and that's a fundamental driving force." Through high school, he pushed and prodded to find opportunities, then majored in computer science in college and found a co-op opportunity with AT&T that enabled him to work in the field while still in school. But having that passion for technology didn't fully prepare him for being a CIO.