PwC’s first chief digital officer absorbs CIO duties

PwC Australia’s first chief digital officer Vishy Narayanan is absorbing the duties of the chief information officer role.

Hilda Clune, who has beenCIO atPricewaterhouseCoopers since 2009 will join a global technology and change leadership team to focus on business and technology transformation across the network, PwC said.

Vishy Narayanan

Narayanan was appointed to the inaugural CDO role in February, joining the professional services giant from hearing aid-makers Cochlear where he was global head of digital technology. He reports to chief operating officer Sean Gregory.

Amalgamating the CDO and CIO roles “makes sense” Gregory said.

“Bringing together the chief digital and chief information officer roles makes sense as we integrate downstream technology into a compelling digital experience for our people and our clients,” Gregory told CIO Australia.

“We want to strengthen the digital mindset across our whole business and maximise the value of the technology investmentsPwChas made for our people and our clients.Vishy will lead this next evolution for our firm, together with the Digital Technology Services Leadership Team.”

Clune oversaw a team of more than 200 IT professionals and led the company’s strategy on five key areas: cloud, mobility, digital, automation and knowledge. She also led the firm’s workplace transformation program focused on embedding innovative technology within the physical office environments.

“Over the past several years atPwCAustralia, I’ve been very focused on the role of digital transformation, particularly at a time when technology has significantly changed. In addition to investing in the right technology, we have focused on changing mindsets in order to lift digital competency and accelerate digital culture,” Clune, a highly placed CIO50 award winner said.

Hilda Clune

“As a natural extension of my work within a local context, I’m thrilled to be able to build on this and apply new learnings at a global level,” she added.

Clune has spent a number of years as a member ofPwC’s global CIO board, focused on a global IT transformation program, with a particular focus on opportunities to streamline IT infrastructure.

Narayanan said his focus was now on digitising the core of the firm.

“We’ve been streamlining our core technology atPwCAustralia over the past few years with the introduction of Google’s suite of business tools, the consolidation of our data servers and through increased collaboration across our network of firms,” he said.

“My primary focus is on truly digitising the core of our firm and delivering best-of-breed technology to enhance the experience of our people and clients,” he added.