Troubled G4S makes UK and Ireland CIO appointment

G4S has appointed former Tesco IT director Nick Folkes as its new Regional CIO for the UK and Ireland.

The move follows the appointment of Martin Taylor as Global CIO of the security services outsourcer at the end of February, the former EMI Music and Cable & Wireless CIO brought in to “develop a global IT strategy to deliver cost leadership”.

Folkes moves from MSCI, a provider of risk management and portfolio analysis tools for those in wealth management and financial services, where he was IT director for four years.

Previously, Folkes was director for IT operations and infrastructure at Tesco, where he was responsible for IT across the supermarket’s retail, distribution, commercial and head office systems, with an annual budget of £70 million.

G4S had a torrid period ever since its bungled London 2012 Olympics contract when it was unable to supply venues with security guards because of a glitch in its rostering software, and this morning G4S set aside £386 million to cover restructuring costs after what the company called “an extremely challenging year” – a figure which includes a £136 million hit related to the electronic tagging scandal which is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office.