No Summer Slow Down for New CIO Appointments

Retail saw a significant number of CIO moves this month.  Trying to draw real industry trends from new CIO appointments is a bit like trying to read the future at the bottom of a tea cup, but we can try.  Why all the CIO moves in retail?  It could be merely coincidence, of course, but it could also signal a trend that retail is a new hotbed of technology innovation.  With supermarket customers waving devices at bar codes and holiday shoppers putting their wishlists on their phones, technology is a critical innovator in most retail companies. These new CIOs have a chance to have a major impact on the customer experience!

CVS appointed Stephen Gold as their new CIO.  Gold will help bring new and differentiating technology solutions to the company’s retail and pharmacy benefit management businesses. He joins CVS from Avaya Inc., a business communications solution provider, and GSI, an eCommerce solution provider.

Lowe’s selected Kevin Summers as CIO. Summers brings over 20 years of experience in IT having served most recently as SVP and Global CIO for Whirlpool.

Brent Cryder was named CTO of fashion apparel and home furnishings retailer, Dillard’s. Prior, his most recent position was as Principal at Thoughtworks, a custom software development service provider.

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. announced that Don Reeve, SVP and CIO, retired after 42 years of service.  Dave DeLaus who previously was SVP and division manager of Wegmans’ New Jersey stores will succeed Reeve as CIO.  

Fossil Inc. appointed Ed Robben to SVP & CIO. Before Fossil, Robben served as CIO and board member for J.C. Penney Co.

In other industry news…

John Q. McGowan was appointed to the role of CIO, Global Tax, at KPMG. McGowan is a 19-year veteran at KPMG and previously served as a leader of the Tax Technology practice.

John K. Hart joined Ventas, a healthcare real estate investment trust, as CIO. Hart brings to the company an extensive background in creating and managing complex financial IT systems. Hart comes from CME Group where he worked most recently as a managing director of technology.

Sue Bergamo informed us she started an exciting new position as CIO of Net Atlantic, a growing email service provider that provides SaaS. Bergamo has held previous CIO positions for companies like BTE Consulting and Aramark Galls & Wearguard.

AutoZone hired former Hewlett-Packard executive Ron Griffin as CIO, Customer Satisfaction. In his role at HP, he was the CIO of the Enterprise Services Division. Ron also spent 12 years with Home Depot, including eight as CIO.

MillerCoors, the second largest beer company in the U.S., appointed Bill Eismont as their new CTO. Eismont joins the company from his five-year role as CTO at Heinz. Prior to Heinz, Eismont worked for Accenture for 19 years where he achieved Partner.

Wilt Hildenbrand was named Interim CIO of Cablevision Systems, as James Blackley has left the post. Wilt came out of retirement after working for over 30 years at Cablevision Systems.

Paul Stewart joined BHP Billiton Petroleum as CIO. Prior, Stewart was CEO of Canopy Cloud, a cloud computing company.

Education Management Systems replaced former CIO Bob Carroll who left the company last month with Mark Miko. Miko has obtained experience in IT working for financial services groups such as PNC and Deloitte Consulting, LLC.

As always, thanks for reading and for sending me Movers & Shakers news!