|
Swift technology changes in the banking industry are exciting to Karen Motley. Motley is division manager for administrative systems and outsourcing services at KeyBank (Cleveland, OH).
She’s been in her current job three-plus years, and worked in IT for more than twenty-five. She’s seen firsthand the magnitude of change that computers bring, and now she’s enjoying her work at a bank that’s a leader in new ideas.
KeyBank’s parent, KeyCorp, is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial service companies with assets of about $94 billion. KeyCorp is also a leader in technology. It is, for example, the first nationwide bank to link branch, ATM, telephone and PC/Internet transactions for instant account information. The bank averages some 14.5 million electronic transactions a month.
Back-office ops and more
Motley is responsible for all IT back-office ops, mainly administrative functions like payroll, financial exporting, reporting to the SEC, e-mails to customers and check statements. She’s also in charge of outsourcing commodity apps to the bank’s partners in India. This, she notes, frees up stateside staff to work on apps that increase KeyBank’s competitive advantage.
“Products are introduced all the time. You never know what to expect!” she says.
She oversees nearly sixty people in New York and Cleveland, as well as the sites in India. Her team includes techies of all ages; even those with years of experience keep learning new things because of the pace of change, Motley says.
A group of five sub-set managers reports directly to her. She expects to travel to India soon to meet KeyBank partners there and observe working conditions.
Progressive approach
With so many folks to manage, “Part of my day is coaching to make sure everyone can handle the workload. I also work with our business partners,” Motley says, “and I’m out at user conferences to see what has been introduced to the market. We bring that information back to the clients to make them aware of how technology is changing and the benefits it has for them.”
KeyBank has a progressive approach to diversity, Motley notes, including active networking groups and mentoring programs. “The bank is not afraid to ask the tough questions, and if an issue arises they’re willing to recognize the problem and fix it.”
Moving to the electronic age
Motley’s career has been defined by her desire to push herself to a higher standard. Raised in Columbus, OH, she’s the second child of four. Her parents, elementary school teachers, promoted public-service jobs, and she’s the only one of the four who didn’t take that advice.
When Motley started college in the late 1970s, “Society was moving from a paper process to the electronic age. I got into computers at the beginning, when people were being heavily recruited,” she says. “I said to myself, ‘I need to do that!’”
She got a BS in math from Benedict College (Columbia, SC) in 1980, and her MS in accounting and financial IS, with a concentration on computer knowledge, came from Cleveland State University (Cleveland, OH) in 1985.
Programming to start
While in grad school she worked as a programmer at Technicare (now a division of Johnson & Johnson). “We had Wang computers back then, and they had their own special language,” Motley recalls.
In 1982 she moved to Ernst & Young as a programmer. PCs had just hit the market, and the company was creating an accounting computer program for retirement communities.
On to the Plain Dealer
In 1985 Motley moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. She started as a program coordinator on financial accounting systems, then went to work in advertising, taking the paper system to electronic.
Her biggest achievement was converting the entire publishing and layout process to an electronic system. As publishing system department manager she was responsible for day-to-day mechanics of the entire newspaper. Seventeen people worked in her IT operation.
Motley became a mom while working at the paper, and if she had to work a late night she brought the baby right along. “It wasn’t easy, but I got lucky because I have a really good kid,” Motley says.
Making the change
Heady times, but Motley could see that the newspaper industry was undergoing severe consolidations and more changes were coming. “I thought to myself, ‘I need to get myself stable.’”
When she started at KeyBank she bought into a steep learning curve, but the gain was worth the pain. “I like being able to lead change,” Motley says. She also likes her team members to offer new ideas: “You want people to feel empowered to communicate.”
Motley has not forgotten the educational values her parents instilled. Every Saturday she teaches math to fifteen troubled children. “They need to graduate to the next level, and they really want to pass the test. It’s great to be a part of their success,” Motley says.
All in all she enjoys teamwork, whether it’s with the children or at the bank. “You can’t do it alone,” Motley concludes. “I rely heavily on my team to get the job done.”
D/C |
