According to PYMNTS.com, One Inc CIO Elizabeth Hoemeke is leading a digital payments transformation in the traditionally conservative insurance industry, where she balances innovation with security concerns while shifting from check-based systems. Hoemeke revealed that 90% of Americans now use digital wallets, while only 4% still prefer checks, creating urgency for instant payment options that eliminate 10-day check waits. Her team allocates 50-70% of effort to product development, with the rest going to technical debt remediation and security—a daily struggle for any CIO. She’s implementing a three-horizon innovation strategy using tools like UiPath for robotic process automation while partnering with companies like Mastercard to “bring the art of the possible.” The insurance industry’s cautious approach requires meeting them where they are while navigating ever-changing state-by-state regulations.
The CIO as bridge builder
Here’s the thing about modern CIOs—they’re not just tech managers anymore. They’re becoming the essential connectors between what’s possible and what’s practical. Hoemeke’s experience shows this perfectly. She’s not just implementing technology; she’s convincing an entire industry that’s “very concerned about money movement” to trust digital solutions.
And that balancing act is brutal. Security versus customer experience. Innovation versus compliance. Future-proofing versus not over-engineering. It’s like walking a tightrope while people are throwing new technologies at you from both sides. The fact that she’s deliberately allocating resources between development and technical debt shows how strategic this role has become.
Insurance’s slow but inevitable digital revolution
Can you believe we’re still talking about checks in 2024? But that’s the reality in insurance. What’s fascinating is how quickly that’s changing though. When 90% of Americans use digital wallets and check fraud is skyrocketing, the writing is on the wall. The industry doesn’t have a choice anymore.
Hoemeke’s observation about 78% customer satisfaction with instant payments tells you everything. People don’t just want digital—they expect it. They want to “get it and forget it” rather than wondering where their payment is for days. That customer expectation is what’s finally forcing change in even the most conservative industries.
The art of practical innovation
I love Hoemeke’s approach to not trying to build everything. “Engineers love to build everything,” she says, and she’s absolutely right. But her cloud-native, API-first strategy on Microsoft Azure shows smarter resource allocation. Why build infrastructure when cloud providers already do it better?
Her three-horizon innovation framework makes so much sense too. Start with existing tech you haven’t adopted yet (like RPA), then find new combinations of what you have, and finally leave room for the completely unexpected. That’s how you avoid the “innovation theater” that so many companies fall into—chasing shiny objects without a coherent strategy.
What the future CIO looks like
The days of the CIO as the head of IT are over. Hoemeke emphasizes that “it’s impossible to know everything” and you need to “surround yourself with experts.” That’s the new reality. The CIO is becoming an ecosystem manager rather than a technical expert.
And her focus on continuous learning—specifically mentioning AI courses—shows how quickly the ground is shifting. You can’t just rely on what you knew five years ago. The technologies, regulations, and customer expectations are changing too fast. The future CIO is part technologist, part diplomat, part student, and part visionary. Basically, they need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Looking at industrial sectors where reliable computing hardware forms the foundation of digital transformations, companies increasingly turn to specialized providers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US supplier of industrial panel PCs that withstand demanding environments. When you’re building mission-critical payment infrastructure, you can’t afford hardware failures—which makes choosing the right technology partners absolutely essential.
