CIOs wanted for business intelligence

“Data, data everywhere, and not a drop to manage.”  Please don’t let my botched modification of the wonderful Coleridge quote, scare you away from this latest blog post on CIOs and their careers. My point is that in the CIO searches my firm is currently conducting, very high on the list of requirements is the ability to create meaning out of the reams of customer and other business data lying around in today’s corporations. CEOs are uttering phrases like “business intelligence,” “data warehousing,” and “big data” and want to hire a CIO who has experience making data management and mining a core competency for the company. In some cases, the IT organizations in these companies have a whole lot of work ahead of them before getting to the point of real business intelligence, but that goal seems to be on the minds of most senior executives these days.

So, for you CIOs in search of a new opportunity: take a look at your resume and make sure you are highlighting the business value you have created through data strategy.  And be prepared to talk it up during your interviews.

Now, onto the news!

HP announced Craig Flower as its new CIO responsible for the global information technology (IT) strategy and all of the company’s IT assets. This includes architecture, applications, data management, technology, telecommunication networks, and support and operations companywide.

Flower most recently served as interim CIO before taking on the permanent role. Flower has held a wide range of management positions within HP since 1984. Most recently, he was senior vice president for data management and IT services, which included support for sales and marketing, product development and engineering, global business intelligence and other functions.

Jason Birnbaum has been named CIO of SIRVA, responsible for providing vision, direction and leadership for all information technology (IT) applications and operations. Birnbaum joined SIRVA in 2011 from GE Healthcare, where he was CIO/Global Supply Chain for two years, responsible for all IT processes and developing a strong, customer-focused IT team. Prior to GE Healthcare, his career at GE included 14 years working in IT positions for a variety of GE operating units.

Aramark Sports and Entertainment has named Amy Cross vice president and CIO.  Most recently, Cross was the Senior Director of IT for HMS Host Companies.

The Westpac Group announced the appointment of Clive Whincup as CIO.  Whincup joined Westpac in May 2009 as General Manager, Service Delivery Applications and was promoted to Group General Manager, Service Delivery in November 2010 where he was accountable for service delivery in applications, infrastructure, engineering and sustainability across The Westpac Group.

Global Impact recently announced today the appointment of Mark Oliphant as the chief information and operating officer.  Oliphant will report to Renée S. Acosta, president of Global Impact, and oversee technology, operations and business processes. Oliphant joined Global Impact in 2009, as vice president, responsible for cross-functional business process reengineering and technology product development. 

David H. Ramsey has joined Diebold as vice president and CIO.  Ramsey will be responsible for leading and overseeing the operations of Diebold’s global information technology (IT) organization. Ramsey most recently served as managing director, global IT and GBS transformation, at The Hackett Group, a global strategic business advisory operations consulting and finance strategy firm.  Prior to that, he served in CIO roles with Kinetic Concepts Inc. and PSS World Medical Inc.

Brian O’Connellis an example I am seeing lately of CIOs now pursuing a career in the cloud IT services marktet.  Echopass Corporation, the a provider of cloud based contact centers, recently appointed O’Connell as Chief Quality Officer.  Previous to Echopass, O’Connell was CIO for The Hartford.

Chris Gregoire, Governor of Washington, today appointed Bharat Shyam as the state’s Chief Information Officer.  Shyam comes to this new post from Microsoft. He began his career at Microsoft in 1993 as a software design engineer, developing early prototypes of one of the nation’s first smartphones. He later became a lead software engineer for Internet Explorer and Windows 98 and 2000, and was a creator of the billing system for several services in Microsoft – including XBOX Live.

In another CIO turns COO story, Ascena Retail Group, announced that John Sullivan has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this newly created position, Sullivan will be responsible for Information Technology, Distribution, and Human Resources Information Systems across all brands. He will report to David Jaffe, President and Chief Executive Officer.  Prior to joining the Company, Sullivan he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for QVC, and and Chief Information Officer for Liz Claiborne.Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Hard to believe we are at the end of another year…..

Please stay in touch and send me news!

Martha