Jennifer Biry has been at the right place for a long time. The36-year-old joined SBC in 1999 after graduating from Texas LutheranUniversity and jumped to some big jobs before and since thetelecommunications company merged with AT&T. As executivedirector for executive operations at SBC, she was responsible forthe planning and integration of its 2005 acquisition of AT&T,and she took on the same responsibility when SBC, by then renamedAT&T, acquired BellSouth in 2006. She was also involved in thecompany's initial implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley.

Biry is now responsible for financial management, planning andreporting for the $21 billion consumer wireline business of $123billion AT&T.

How did you come to working in finance?
I've always had a knack for numbers. I was going for a bachelor'sdegree in business administration and a professor of mine suggestedI sit for the CPA exam. Understanding the financials, he felt, wasa great way to get your foot in the door of any company and build acareer. So I took his advice. I came to AT&T and started off inthe accounting department and didn't stay there for very long.

What's been your biggest challenge or learningexperience?
The biggest challenge was implementingthe Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It was so different from anything that we'ddone and there were no real defined guidelines. But at the sametime, it was a great learning opportunity. I learned a lot aboutthe company and the processes that impact the financials.

What's been your most rewarding project sofar?
I really found the merger integration work tobe very rewarding for me personally because we spent time lookingnot just at the integration of the financials but at the impact ofour decisions on the customers and the employees.

What surprised you about the mergerintegration?
I was surprised at how complex aprocess it is. There were so many different places that we had totouch and so many different things to consider. So I guess I wassurprised by the enormity of it. And I probably would've been a lotmore scared going into it had I realized that!

Those were some of the largest mergers in corporatehistory.
In the AT&T-SBC merger, I was planningthe integration of all the finance function. Then after the dealclosed, I was responsible for ensuring we acted on those pre-mergerplans. And because I was sitting in that chair a year later when weacquired BellSouth, I was put in charge of the project managementfor all the pre-merger planning.

That must have offered a good learning curve. What didyou learn between the first merger and the second?
That it's always easier the second time around. The first one, wehad a few more pickups, because obviously you can't think ofeverything. With the second merger, we were able to apply thelessons of that first experience.

What do you like best about your job?
Being at AT&T, there are always a variety of projects to workon. In my current role, I'm the CFO for the consumer wireline unit.What I like about this role is that I'm able to use my financialskills to partner with other business units to drive change.

Is this your first operating experience?
I've been a CFO for smaller business units, but never for anythingthis large. This is a $21 billion revenue unit. It's a big leap,but a lot of fun.

Did you have a mentor? If so, how important wasthat?
I've had mentors. AT&T supportsmentorship. And it encourages mentor and mentee, because atdifferent times in your career, you are in different places. It'scritical to have someone to go to who can offer some guidance andbe a sounding board.

What advice would you give newbies starting out intreasury and finance now?
Two things: First, findthe opportunities that are right for you as an individual. It'sgreat for people lay out different paths and to have guidance, butyou really have to find something that fits your needs and matchesyour strengths. I haven't followed the traditional accountingcareer path, but it's paid off for me.

Second: Focus on being the very best that you can be in yourcurrent assignment. When you do that, people will seek you out forpromotion because they want you to be part of theirorganization.

What finance area now offers the mostopportunity?
I think there's a lot of opportunity inthe business units or corporate finance.

What skills at the most sought after now?
Good financial and analytical skills are foundational. But to betruly successful in corporate finance, the skills that are reallyneeded are good communications, leadership qualities, and anunderstanding of operations.

What skills of your own would you like toimprove?
Communications. As finance people, the wayto impact business is by improving our communications skills. Sothat rather than just reporting the numbers, we apply them tocommunicate solutions.

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