New CIOs at EMC, NBC Universal, Avaya and More

We have some interesting CIO appointments this month with executives moving from automotive to consumer packaged goods, from a 20 year career at GE to EMC, and from a long career in accounting to a CIO role.   Clearly, these companies are valuing soft skills, like operational and strategic leadership, over an exact experience match.   We’ll see how that strategy plays out!

EMC Corporation announced that Vic Bhagat  joined the company as EVP of Corporate Services and CIO. Bhagat reports to Howard Elias, EMC’s President and COO of Global Enterprise Services, and assumes responsibility for EMC Information Technology, Global Centers of Excellence, Global Business Services and Indirect Procurement organizations. Prior, Bhagat served GE for 20 years and was CIO for multiple GE organizations including GE Aviation Services, GE Global Growth and Operations, CNBC, GE Corporate, and GE India and Southeast Asia.

Steve Lapinski was promoted to CIO, Film & West Coast Television, at NBC Universal (NBCU). Before, Lapinski was SVP of IT for Universal Pictures and Universal Studios Hollywood, a division of NBCU. In that role, Steve provided IT leadership oversight for the Theatrical, Home Entertainment, and Hollywood Theme Parks businesses, including all aspects of IT strategy, application development, and operational support. Immediately prior to joining NBCU, Steve was the CIO of GE Money Personal Finance.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation appointed Jennifer Sepull as CIO and VP of IT Services, reporting to Mark A. Buthman, SVP and CFO. Sepull joined Kimberly-Clark from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. where she served as VP and CIO of the Americas IS Division. Prior to that, she was a principal in the automotive consulting services practice at IBM.

Veteran health insurance IT executive Michael Mathias joined Blue Shield of California as SVP and CIO and will oversee Blue Shield’s technology investments. Previously, Mathias was at Aetna for 16 years. For the last two years, he was CIO and prior was CTO.  During his tenure there, he directed the company’s information delivery, strategy, operations, technology and architecture, and implemented its technology strategy.

Jim McGuire was promoted to CIO at Charles Schwab, following the departure of Bradley Peterson. Previously, Mcguire was SVP of Schwab Enterprise Technology responsible for all aspects of technology innovation, delivery and support of internal business systems, workplace technology and information security, employee support tools and call center technology. Prior to Charles Schwab, Mcguire was CIO at eBay, Inc. and was responsible for the production site operation of eBay’s PayPal business.

Maxim Healthcare Services announced that Kevin Apperson joined the executive team as CIO and will be supporting Maxim’s strategic initiatives. Before joining Maxim, Kevin worked at Allegis Group, Maxim’s sister company. While there, he held a variety of leadership roles over the course of 17 years, including 10 years as CIO.

Simon Bentley was appointed Acting CIO and VP of Global Application Development at Avaya, absorbing the responsibilities of Robert Leach who recently left the company. Prior to joining Avaya in 2010, Simon was VP and head of PMO and Application Development for Nortel Networks, responsible for delivery of projects and rationalizing the overall application architecture.

Jay Stasz, a 15 year veteran at Sports Authority, was named CIO. He replaced Fred Argir who recently left the position. Prior, Stasz was SVP and Controller of Financial Accounting and Director of Accounting and Reporting.

Christopher A. Bayham told me he moved to AssuraMed as CIO.  Based out of Ohio, AssuraMed is a leading mail-order, direct-to-customer provider of disposable medical products to chronic disease patients.  Bayham joined AssuraMed from UnitedHealth Group where he was CIO of the Specialty Benefits division and VP of Applications Development for enterprise specialty claim platforms. 

Daniel Stuart joined D&H Distributing, a technology distributor of IT and electronics, as CIO. Previously, he was the Executive Director, EPMO at Charmer Sunbelt Group in Baltimore and Global CIO at Algeco Scotsman, a modular space and storage solutions provider.

That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading (and for sending me news).

Martha