Dream Come TrueRon Aderhold’s goal of becoming a chief information officer began to crystallize about 10 years ago. He was then at National City, where he helped create a business consulting group designed to unite business and technology folks. He recalls, “I just saw that marrying business and technology was a critical component to a business. And I think that I’m fairly unusual in that I ride the fence between being a business and IT person.”Aderhold’s IT know-how and keen business sense recently earned him the CIO title at Richfield, Ohio-based OEConnection, the new online parts and service venture by DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors and Bell & Howell. A former director of e-business for Bell & Howell, Aderhold had helped launch OEConnection’s first product, CollisionLink, which automates parts and parts information ordering processes between the franchise auto dealers and wholesale parts customers.“My biggest accomplishment [at Bell & Howell] was helping to make this a reality and taking it from a research and development state to a company,” he says. Aderhold and his team are now working to develop the company’s second product, a parts locator, which customers can use to search for hard-to-find parts. While he helped transform a concept into a company, he admits there’s still plenty of work to be done in building the startup. That, he says, is his personal challenge. “There are so many things that have to get done to start a business. I’m involved in product development, infrastructure, Web-hosting agreements, hiring staff, business relationships, contractual issues and legal issues,” says Aderhold. After 10 years of dreaming, it’s a safe bet that not much will be stopping him. Player’s GuideJohn Keast AseraFormerly CIO at Pacific Gas and Electric, Keast joins Silicon Valley-based Asera as executive vice president of operations and customer service. Keast will head Asera’s worldwide operations and customer service departments. Rita Khayat-Toubia Western MultiplexKhayat-Toubia comes to Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Western Multiplex as CIO. Formerly director of global information systems controlling for Hoechst Marion Roussell, Khayat-Toubia is responsible for project management, application development, infrastructure management, organizational development and process engineering. Vincent T. Taylor L-3 CommunicationsTaylor has been named first-ever CIO of the New York City-based supplier of communications systems. Formerly director of information resource management at L-3 Communications, Taylor will oversee the company’s strategic IT efforts, including business and technical systems, e-commerce and telecommunications.Lac Van Tran Methodist Health Care SystemFormerly CIO at Children’s Hospital Boston, Tran joins Houston-based Methodist Health Care System as its new senior vice president and CIO. He will be responsible for expanding e-health development, soliciting and establishing business partnerships, and promoting standardization and common practices. Carl Underhill Pioneer InvestmentsUnderhill joins Boston-based Pioneer Investment Management USA as CIO. Formerly CIO at First Financial in Wellesley, Mass., Underhill is responsible for enterprisewide technology. Related content BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to power a sustainable enterprise on Microsoft Cloud In this eBook, we’ll follow the journey of Amal Skye, a fictitious woman who is committed to living in a way that preserves the planet for the future —and how businesses like Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft are making that possi By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe