And for an increasing number of financial services executives, information travels online. Mark Adams, president and CEO of Intralinks Inc., is a classic case of the leader of a Web-based business who relies on the Web to follow his market. Since any of Intralinks' clients could be the target of a merger or acquisition, that's critical. He's programmed American Banker's alert service to push to his desktop stories on subjects he's following. Although his company is certainly more Web-centric than most, Adams says much of his most critical information comes from the 25 percent to 30 percent of his day that's spent talking to clients.
Human interaction remains a favored source of information with executives all over.
As one might expect from the head of a public relations firm, Don Middleberg's information-gathering style is especially gregarious. Middleberg, whose Middleberg Associates Inc. in New York City employs about 50 people, practices what he preaches. Despite all the high tech available, I most value personal relationships. As a key player in the business information industry, it has seen the sources and channels of data multiply to the point where individuals find it nearly impossible to cope alone. To manage the flood of information its own senior executives require, the company relies heavily on business intelligence gathered by its strategic planning department.