A good time to wear more hats

If you have ever thought of taking on some non-IT operational responsibility like finance, marketing, or board service, now is the time.  As companies are relying more than ever on their best executives to lead them forward, CIOs are reaching beyond IT to respond to the call.

Michael Kuhn, CIO Deutsche Borse AG, is a prime example. The International Securities Exchange (ISE) just announced that Kuhn will join the ISE Board as non-industry director. Kuhn joined Deutsche Terminbörse in 1989 and has held various IT management positions within Deutsche Börse AG.

Likewise, i2Telecom International, a developer of mobile applications and services, just appointed a CIO to its Board of Directors. Frederick Mapp has been in IT for more than 40 years and CIO positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Honeywell.

And finally, International Speedway Corporation promoted Craig A. Neeb from managing director, CIO, a position he has held since 2000, to VP Multi-Channel Marketing and CIO. Neeb will continue to oversee ISC’s information and telecommunications services with specific emphasis on positioning technology to maximize its impact on business strategies as well as the company’s strategic planning process. 

In CIO promotions and appointments, I have seen some decent activity in June.

SAP has announced the appointment of Oliver Bussmannas its new CIO effective September 1. Bussmann will report to SAP executive board member Erwin Gunst, and will be responsible for its cross-departmental IT function and strategic objectives. Prior to his new role he was regional CIO of Allianz for North America and Mexico

Progress Software Corporation recently hired David Benson to the newly-created position of CIO. David brings over 25 years of business and IT experience, most recently serving as global CIO for News Corporation, a multi-billion dollar diversified media and entertainment company.  Prior to News Corp, David held multiple CIO positions at GE.

Mark Nelson has joined Remy Cointreau USA as its new CIO.  Prior to joining Remy Cointreau, Nelson was President of consulting firm MinMar & Associates and North American CIO of Groupe Danone.

Virgin America, the California-based airline, announced the appointment of Ravi Simhambhatla as the company’s new CIO. Simhambhatla joined Virgin America in early 2006 and served as Acting CIO from November 2008 to present. Prior to joining Virgin America, Simhambhatla served as the Director, Global Applications at Aspect Communications in Silicon Valley from 2004 to 2006, where his portfolio included systems architecture, application engineering and sustenance in the enterprise financial systems and customer relationship management areas. Prior to Aspect, Simhambhatla served as the Senior Manager of ERP and CRM systems at Legato Systems in Silicon Valley from 1998 to 2008.

Sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports promoted Terry Mayfield, formerly the company’s Director of Information Systems, to VP and CIO. Mayfield joined Hibbett as project manager July 2005 and was promoted in Director of Information Systems  in August 2006. 

MedQuist Inc., a provider of medical transcription services, has announced that Kevin Piltz is its new CIO. Piltz brings with him more than 29 years of experience, having held many different senior level technology positions across a variety of different industries. He was most recently the CIO for Geller and Company, a provider of accounting and financial services.

Thanks, as always, for sending me news.

Martha Heller

Managing Director, IT Leadership Practice

ZRG Partners

mheller@zrgpartners.com