News about former CIOs who’ve moved into business operations, and more

Today I have some news about former CIOs who’ve moved out of IT and into “THE BUSINESS” and a lot of promotions to report.  I’d say it’s a good news day.

Jacob Schorr, one of the few CIOs who’s become CEO, retired as CEO of Spirit Airlines after six years in the position. He remains chairman of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based low-cost airline. Spirit’s president, Ben Baldanza, succeeds Schorr as CEO.  Schorr joined Spirit in 1997 as its CIO.  Three years later he was named CEO. Scott Allard serves as Spirit’s VP and CIO.

Asiff Hirji (pictured at left), the former CIO of Ameritrade (now TD Ameritrade) who was named COO last year, was elected to Citrix’s board of directors. (At the risk of sounding like I buried my head in the sand, I will admit that I didn’t even know Citrix still existed.) Interestingly, Hirji is replacing another former CIO, John White (pictured at right), who is stepping down after serving on Citrix’s board for eight years. Hirji will have his work cut out for him: He sits on the audit, finance, and the nominating and corporate governance committees.

From the Department of Food & Drink come promotions at Tyson and Southern Wine & Spirits:

Tyson announced yesterday that its CIO, Donnie Smith, is assuming responsibility for warehousing, distribution and corporate purchasing. His new title is group vice president of information systems, purchasing and distribution. Most of these functions were previously managed by James Lochner. Smith takes on these new functions from James V. Lochner, who was named senior group vice president of fresh meats and margin optimization.

Southern Wine & Spirits of America promoted two executives yesterday. Bobby Burg, the Miami-based liquor distributor’s CIO, was named senior vice president of operations and supply chain strategy. Barry Goldberg, Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois’ vice president of operations moved in Burg’s position and now serves as SVP, CIO and managing director of its business solutions group. Both men report to Lee Hager, the Miami-based company’s chief administrative officer. The promotions go into effect on June 1.

Lastly, United Airlines continues to make changes to its executive ranks.  Yesterday it promoted its development chief Monique Hines to vice president of its information services division.  She reports to Garry Kelly, the airline’s CIO and SVP of continuous improvement and strategic sourcing. In her new role, Hines is responsible for leading development, implementation and maintenance of the company’s systems.  She joined United in 2004 from Pactiv where she was the packaging manufacturer’s VP and CIO.  Prior to Pactiv, Hines held executive positions with Whirlpool and GE Capital.