New US CIO appointments, October 2025

Movers & Shakers is where you can keep up with new CIO appointments and gain valuable insight into the job market and CIO hiring trends. As every company becomes a technology company, CEOs and corporate boards are seeking multi-dimensional CIOs and IT leaders with superior skills in technology, communications, business strategy, and digital innovation. The role is more challenging than ever before — but even more exciting and rewarding! If you have CIO job news to share, please email me!

State Farm names Joe Park as CDIO

State Farm and its affiliates are providers of auto and home insurance in the US, serving over 91 million policies and accounts including auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies, and financial services accounts. Park joins State Farm from Yum! Brands, where he was CDTO and president of Byte by Yum! Prior to Yum!, he held senior tech roles at Walmart, including VP of associate digital experience and enterprise architecture. He holds a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Steve Bronson announced as CIO for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is a worldwide distributor of beverage alcohol. The multi-generational, family-owned company has operations in 47 US markets and Canada, as well as brokerage operations through its Southern Glazer’s Travel Retail Sales & Export Division in the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Most recently, Bronson served as SVP of global technology infrastructure and operations at McDonald’s Corporation, where he spearheaded the company’s global tech transformation. Prior to McDonald’s, he held senior tech leadership roles at CDK Global, Nike, and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Bridge Specialty Group appoints Steve Emmons as CIO

Bridge Specialty Group, the wholesale division of Brown & Brown, specializes in all areas of property, casualty, and professional lines insurance, and Emmons most recently served as head of IT strategy and architecture. He was previously director of corporate services – insurance at BB&T Insurance Holdings among other roles with BB&T. He has a BS from Clarkson University.

Dawn-Marie Hutchinson joins Reynolds American as CIO

Reynolds American Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global BAT Group and the US parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., American Snuff Company, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., and Modoral Brands. Hutchinson was most recently CISO for BAT Group. Prior to BAT, she was CISO of pharmaceuticals, R&D, and supply chain at GSK, and earlier as CISO at Urban Outfitters Group. She has a BA from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Amway welcomes Ryan Talbott as CTO

Amway is an entrepreneur-led health and wellbeing company that empowers people to build their own Amway business, and helps people live better lives across more than 100 countries and territories. Prior to Amway, Talbott was VP and global CIO for BorgWarner, Inc., where he led high-performing tech teams to grow, improve, and sustain global business operations. He’s also held executive roles at Altimetrik, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Accenture. He has a BBA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Michigan State University.

Randy Dougherty promoted to CIO for Trellix

Trellix provides hardware, software, and services to investigate cybersecurity attacks, protect against malicious software, and analyze IT security risks. Dougherty joined Trellix in 2022 and most recently served as VP, global infrastructure operations and strategic sourcing. Before Trellix, Dougherty served as VP of global IT at eXp Realty, and VP of global technology at The Nielsen Company. Dougherty earned a BS and an MBA from the University of Miami. 

Shayne Mehringer joins Redwood Services as CIO

Founded in 2020, Memphis-based Redwood Services is building a family of people-focused essential home service companies, actively investing in the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical trades throughout the US. Mehringer most recently served as CIO for Premium Service Brands. Prior to that, he was CIO at Propelled Brands and Neighborly.

Kratos promotes Brian Shepard to CIO

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a technology, products, systems, and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Shepard was most recently VP of IT where he led the growth and maturation of Kratos’ IT organization. Before, he was director of infrastructure of Haverstick Consulting, which was acquired by Kratos in 2006. Before that, he served four years in the US Marine Corps, and earned a BS from Marymount U.

Ravi Soin named CIO and CISO for Smartsheet

Founded in 2005, Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform that allows organizations of all sizes to plan, capture, manage, automate, and report on work across the business. Soin joins from Edifecs where he was CIO and CISO. Before, Soin held various product roles at Microsoft and holds a BS and MS from USC, and an MBA from UW Foster School of Business.

Infoblox appoints Justin Kappers as CIO

Infoblox helps customers proactively see who and what connects to their network. Kappers joins from NetApp where he was VP of enterprise applications, and led a global team to modernize core business systems, including CRM, CPQ, and supporting subscription management platforms. Before NetApp, he held leadership positions at Broadcom, where he established the Enterprise Program Management Office and was IT chief of staff. He has a BS from Miami U.

Manu Narayan named CIO for GitLab

GitLab is a DevSecOps platform for software innovation that enables organizations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. Before joining GitLab, Narayan served as VP of business technology at Confluent, driving the organization’s consumption-based transformation, internal AI initiatives, and many critical systems and process programs focused on long-term efficiency and scalability. Before, he led the internal tech teams at BlackLine, Applied Minds, and CIM.

Boomi appoints Keyur Ajmera as CIO

Software company Boomi specializes in integration platform as a service (iPaaS), API management, master data management, and data preparation. Ajmera was most recently SVP of technology operations and innovation at Towne Park, and previously as CIO of iCIMS. He’s held senior roles at AppDynamics, PwC, INTTRA, and Deutsche Bank. Ajmera earned a BE from the University of Mumbai and an MS from San Francisco State University.

Eric Skinner promoted to CIO for Citadel Credit Union

Citadel Credit Union is a nonprofit, member-owned financial institution that provides banking, investments, and insurance services to more than 270,000 members. Skinner joined in 2013 and was most recently VP of IT operations and development, where he oversaw initiatives across business technologies, telecomms, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. He holds a BS from The University of Georgia.

CONA Services appoints Francesco Quinterno as CIO

CONA Services is the central IT provider for North American Coca-Cola bottlers, delivering business processes and digital solutions tailored to manufacturing and customer needs. Quinterno was most recently CTO, where he drove IT transformation, led teams through digital initiatives, and optimized tech infrastructure. He co-founded accessnow USA and held executive IT roles at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Colgate-Palmolive. He has a BSc. Eng from the University of the Witwatersrand.

New CIO appointments, September 2025

Bank of America names Hari Gopalkrishnan CTIO

Vishal Talwar appointed CDIO for FedEx

Highmark Health announces Alistair Erskine as CIDO

Steven Dee joins Kohl’s as CTO

AI Fire welcomes Mike Marchetti as CIO

Ted Doering joins Ball Corporation as CIO

SpartanNash names Ed Rybicki as CIO

Tara Long named CIO for FM

Trimble announces Jim Palermo as CIO

Bradley Lontz named CIO for CSAA Insurance Group

EchoStor Technologies welcomes Cale Anjoorian as CIO

Corey Farrell joins Peloton as CIO

AWP Safety appoints Craig Young as CIO

Georgeo Pulikkathara joins iMerit as CIO and CISO

Pathward appoints Charles Ingram as CIOO

Ardent Mills appoints Ryan Kelley as CIO

New CIO appointments, August 2025

Neal Sample joins Best Buy as CDTO

Southern Company names Hans Brown CITO

Tim Langley-Hawthorne named CTO of Love’s Travel Stops

QXO appoints Eric Nelson as CIO

Gaspare LoDuca named CIO for MIT

University of Wisconsin-Madison welcomes Didier Contis as CIO

Matt Keen joins Old National Bancorp as CIO

CHG Healthcare names Theresa O’Leary as CIO

Bill Poirier named CIO at the University of Central Florida

Avalara announces Shahan Parshad as CIO

Rajeev Khanna named CIO for Trucordia

Cottage Health Welcomes Ganesh Persad as CIO

Tara Cook joins Hinshaw & Culbertson as CIO

New CIO appointments, July 2025

BrandSafway appoints JP Saini as CDIO

Valerie Ashbaugh announced as CIO for McDonald’s

Agam Upadhyay joins Vertex Pharmaceuticals as CIO

Vertiv Appoints Mike Giresi as global CIO

Rafael Sanchez joins Bloomin’ Brands as CIO

Lee Health welcomes Chris Akeroyd as CIO

Kassie Rangel named CIO for Liberty Tax

Neurocrine Biosciences appoints Lewis Choi as CIO

Angel Miranda joins Westgate Resorts as CIO

Genesys announces Trevor Schulze as CIO

Jeff Burke joins Unilever Foods North America as CDIO

Suresh Krishnan joins Memorial Health as CIO

Newrez welcomes Brian Woodring as CIO

New CIO appointments, June 2025

The Home Depot names Angie Brown CIO

Northrop Grumman taps Travis Garriss as CIDO

Debra King joins Stryker as CIO

Sheila Anderson announced as CIDO for Unum Group

Benjamin Heselton joins Lamb Weston as CIO

Culligan International appoints Laura Walsh as Global CIO

David Lampert joins Sheppard Mullin as CIO

Allan Matyger named CIO at WSFS Bank

The American Lung Association announces Keith Tyrka as CITO

Abhijit Bhatwadekar joins Chesapeake Utilities Corporation as CIO

TI Automotive appoints Sheryl Haislet as CIO

Drew Martin joins FAT Brands as CIO

Arcwood Environmental appoints Jeana Thomas as CDIO

Matt Kulangara joins State Compensation Insurance Fund as CIO

New CIO appointments, May 2025

Humana appoints Japan Mehta as CIO

Shekar Pannala named CIO for The Hartford

Genworth announced Morris Taylor as CIO

Prakash Kota joins UKG as CIO

Ahold Delhaize USA welcomes Ann Dozier as CIO

Gerald Charles, Jr., joins Coke Florida as CIO

Arhaus appoints Allison Sutley as CIO

Neil Cowles named CITO for Kaiser Permanente

Ha Hoang joins Commvault as CIO

Precision Medicine Group welcomes Eric Hodgins as CITO

Sprinklr appoints Sanjay Macwan as CIO

Joe Locandro named CIO at Rimini Street