"Whatever is required to get the job done," he says.

Popolano prefers the detailed view from the 100-foot level to the vast landscape he'd see from 20,000 feet. He says he likes granularity. He calls it "management by walking around."

"You have to know the details because you may have to do modifications of your strategy very quickly," Popolano explains.

He says he has seven to 13 meetings every day. Mondays are generally reserved for strategy sessions and quality time with the CTO and divisional CIOs. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are set aside for AIG's various divisions and external business partners. Thursdays and Fridays are devoted to the data center group and an infrastructure consolidation initiative. "Even though it may seem like a lot of meetings, it's just simply the pace of work," he says. "There is actually time where we shut down and go off-site and do strategies and things of that nature."

1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.