Heinz hires new CIO

announced yesterday that it hired Karen L. Alber (pictured at left) as its new vice president and CIO.  This is Alber’s first CIO position.  She comes to the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based food company from Pepsico where she most recently served as vice president of change readiness for enterprise systems.  Prior to Pepsico, she was vice president of business solutions with Quaker Oats.  When Quaker merged with Pepsico, she presided over that event as vice president of the integration office.  Alber has also previously worked for SAP America as manager for its consumer products, food and beverage segment.  An active member of the CPG industry, she recently served as international conference chair for APICS and is a member of the editorial board for Consumer Goods Technology magazine.  She has a total of 19 years experience in supply chain management, systems implementation, operations, process improvement and change management.