Starwood Hotels hired a former JetBlue executive as its new CIO. Todd Thompson joined the White Plains, NY-based hospitality company yesterday. Thompson reports to Vasant Prabhu, Starwood’s executive vice president and CFO, and is a member of the company’s senior leadership team. Thompson left JetBlue over the summer, having joined the company in 2003. Also yesterday, JetBlue announced it named its CTO, Charles “Duffy” Mees, VP and CIO. The low-cost airline hired Mees in August 2006 to design and implement specific technology projects intended to make the company more efficient. In his new role, Mees is responsible for all IT projects and operations. Mees reports to JetBlue founder and CEO, David Neeleman. Notably, Thompson did not report to the CEO when he worked for JetBlue: He reported to the CFO, John Owen. Last May, Owen was put in charge of IT—over Thompson—as the company’s EVP of supply chain and information technology. Thompson left Jetblue sometime after Owen was named EVP of supply chain and IT. I can’t help but wonder if JetBlue realizes it made a mistake with the Owen-Thompson reporting structure and is trying to correct it by having Mees report to Neeleman. Anyone want to hazard a guess? Related content feature We’re all becoming software CIOs — a role Red Hat CIO Jim Palermo knows well As products become more based in software, CIO roles will increasingly align with CIOs who’ve been selling software for decades, like Jim Palermo, CIO of open source solution provider Red Hat. By Martha Heller Nov 15, 2023 7 mins CIO Software Deployment Marketing feature New US CIO appointments, November 2023 Congratulations to these 'movers and shakers' recently hired or promoted into a new chief information officer role. By Martha Heller Nov 08, 2023 9 mins CIO Careers IT Leadership interview How Huber spurs innovation in a historically decentralized business With IT/OT convergence, digital technologies, and the growing importance of data, Huber CIO Dwain Wilcox leads the creation of a cross-functional, cross-business innovation engine. By Martha Heller Aug 23, 2023 6 mins CIO Enterprise Cloud Management interview CIO Ryan Snyder on the benefits of interpreting data as a layer cake Thermo Fisher Scientific CIO Ryan Snyder discusses a tiered model used to turn data into value at the $40 billion laboratory equipment and instrument maker. By Martha Heller Aug 02, 2023 8 mins CIO Data Architecture Data Governance 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