Trump Entertainment Resorts hires a new CIO

The Donald (Trump, that is, pictured below) hired a CIO.  His company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, announced yesterday that it named Virginia McDowell EVP and CIO. As you might have expected, she’s not your average CIO.  McDowell most recently worked for Argosy Gaming Company (which was acquired by Penn National Gaming earlier this month) as its senior vice president of operations, having been appointed to that position after serving as its VP of marketing and sales. (Talk about a business-oriented CIO.) Prior to Argosy, she was VP of business development at Tropicana Casino and Resort, having joined that organization in 1984.  She graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications.  I don’t know if she has any IT background but I do hope to find out. 

Joe Wong joined Harcourt Assessment, a developer and publisher of standardized tests, as its VP of information services.  His appointment comes amidst a restructuring of the company’s IT department aimed at better aligning IT with corporate objectives.  As VP of information services, which is a new position inside the company, Wong reports to Harcourt Assessment’s SVP and CTO, Everett Plante, and oversees the company’s core business strategies, the IT resource center, telecom, IT security and all existing core systems.  

Wong comes to the San Antonio, Texas-based company from RWE Trading Americas, which is a subsidiary of a European energy company.  There, Wong established the IT infrastructure, data center and IT staff for the new energy trading company.  Prior to RWE Trading Americas, he worked for Enron, Chemconnect.com, Koch Industries and ExxonMobil in IT positions.  He holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Houston.

Attention all interested readers: Harcourt Assessment is recruiting for a vice president of software engineering.  This person will focus on delivering new technology, such as the Harcourt Spectrum customer portal and the Harcourt Unison platform for delivering tests via the web.  You may want to hurry: The company expects to appoint someone soon.  

Advance Auto Parts announced yesterday that it had hired Ricardo S. Coro as its new SVP of IT and CIO. (Thanks to the reader who sent the press release to me.) Coro reports to Elwyn Murray, the aftermarket auto parts retailer’s EVP of administration.  He joined the Roanoke, Va.-based company from Office Depot where he most recently worked as VP of North American IT.  Prior to O.D., Coro held IT positions with Eckerd and J.C. Penney.  He holds an MBA from Texas Christian University and received his bachelor’s and masters degrees in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech.  Smart guy.

Stephen J. King (pictured at left) joined EBI Consulting as its first CTO.  He is responsible for overseeing the Burlington, Mass.-based firm’s newly formed Systems and Technology Group and will work with the firm’s principals to enhance the delivery of classroom and online training programs for clients.  King comes to the environmental health and safety consultancy with over 30 years of management and technology experience.  He’s worked with professional services firms Nolan Norton and Tatum Partners.

Thomas J. Kearns (pictured at right) has left his post as vice president of information systems and technology at Reebok International and joined ground transportation provider BostonCoach as its CIO.  At Reebok, which is based outside of Boston, Mass., Kearns was responsible for worldwide data center operations, voice and data networking, information security, and retail, finance and HR applications.  He joined Reebok in 1994 as manager of customer service, distribution and retail systems.  Prior to Reebok, Kearns served as manager of corporate application development at The Foxboro Co.

Jeremy Bates wrote from Australia to let us know that he’s ensconced with Linfox Armaguard, which operates a fleet of armored cars, as its CIO.  He’s been with the company, based in Melbourne, Australia, since April.  He previously worked for the Dennis Family Corp., a real estate developer, for 18 months as its IT manager. 

If you’ve recently received a promotion or joined a new company, take a cue from Mr. Bates and let me know.