The Heller Report: March Roundup of New C-Suite Tech Appointments

Among this month’s highlights: USAA, the financial services company for U.S. military members, named as its new CIO Dan Griffiths, most recently CIO for Santander Bank’s global IT; Brown & Brown, the insurance brokerage firm, tapped Dorothea “Dori” Henderson, who was senior vice president and chief data information officer at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, to be its new chief information technology officer;  Advantage Solutions, a business solutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, named Bob Hardester, former CIO and chief supply chain officer from Schnuck Markets, as its new CIO; and global law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, named Vince DiMascio, a former digital transformation partner at a large consulting firm, its new chief digital and information officer.

Given the accelerated operating tempo and focus on financial outcomes, there’s no more exciting place to practice IT leadership today than in the private equity space, argues veteran CIO Scott Hicar. But it requires extra effort in terms of strategy, communication, execution, and flexibility. “A clear business-focused strategy is the best way to keep the technology roadmap and priorities front and center,” he writes.

As tech giants explore launching data centers into space to feed energy-hungry AI systems, an offshore wind-power company announced its plan to house data centers in underwater tanks that provide ballast for wind turbines in the North Sea, IEEE Spectrum reports. Aikido Technologies plans a 100-kilowatt prototype at a wind farm off the coast of Norway later this year. Each ballast tank can hold a 3- to 4-megawatt data center, giving one turbine platform up to 12 megawatts of combined computer power. Ocean waters provide some of the required cooling. Challenges include handling the salt-water environment and potential questions about effects on marine wildlife.

Heller was recently retained by Black & Veatch to recruit a Head of Business Alignment. Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting, and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. For this role, we identified Mallory Murray, who most recently served as Senior Director, IT Business Relationship Management and IT M&A Services at Clarivate. Murray holds a B.A. and MA from Pittsburg State University. Congratulations, Mallory!