CIO — Ford Motor Senior Vice President and CIO Marv Adams has been named the automaker’s chief strategist. As such, Adams reports to Ford’s chairman and CEO, William Clay Ford Jr. But when it comes to IT matters, Adams continues to report to Ford’s president and COO.

Mark Bunger, an analyst with Forrester Research who covers the automotive industry, says Ford’s choice of Adams as its top strategist reflects IT’s importance to the company." Every core function at an automaker today is strongly affected by its IT capabilities. [As CIO] Marv sees all of that stuff pretty close up so he probably knows the business as well as anybody," he says.

Insurers Tap Premium IT Execs

Vic Lumby, the CIO of Old Mutual South Africa, moved into the COO post at Old Mutual’s American life insurance group, Old Mutual Financial Network. Lumby will continue to coordinate global IT across all of Old Mutual in his new role.

Aetna claimed Margaret McCarthy as its new senior vice president and CIO. She was most recently vice president of Aetna’s Business Solutions Delivery group. She replaces Wei-Tih Cheng, who retired in June.

Terry Walker secured the senior vice president and CIO post at Hartford Life. He reports to Hartford Life’s CFO. His agenda includes consolidating the company’s IT infrastructure and deploying risk-management technology.

Prudential Financial invested in the IT expertise of Emily Susskind, who will serve as CIO of its international division. She works with the Newark, N.J.-based company’s international businesses, developing systems that support new product and distribution channels.

Another Promotion

First American’s CIO, Roger S. Hull, was made an executive vice president of the data provider. Hull’s promotion recognizes his role in developing and integrating the company’s business and IT strategies.