Jim Lester

Senior vice president, global technology strategy

Aflac Inc., Columbus, Ga.

Business: Insurance provider

Four years ago, Lester was called on to rescue a multimillion-dollar core business application project that was floundering. He performed a technological reassessment, redefined the project's goals and brought in new managers. He also had to make the difficult decision to replace a large, high-profile vendor. These moves helped Lester get the project back on track about eight months later. But in the interim, the pressure never subsided. "The stakes were very high. It was an expensive, complicated, international project," he says.