Project Excellence is a significant corporate initiative aimed at dramatically improving CarrAmerica’s internal operating systems. Says CarrAmerica CFO Dick Katchuk, who oversees the project: “Over the past several years, the company has grown substantially in size, geographic reach and complexity. It’s time to move internal operating service to a level that will allow best-in-class service to the company.” Project Excellence began in 1999 with finance and accounting and will ultimately touch every area of the company. A demanding process, it means not only technology upgrades, but evaluating every job and how it’s performed. Says Katchuk, who directed a similar project—albeit on a larger scale—when he was CFO of Crestar Bank: “We’re becoming a learning organization with a genuine dedication to excellence and that’s an attitude that will take our operating systems to the next level.”