A host of companies have hired chief innovation officers (CIO) in the past week to help integrate their internal and external development programmes.
Barry Callebaut, a Switzerland-based manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products, has appointed Peter Boone from Anglo-Dutch-listed consumer goods company Unilever as its first CIO.
Persistent Systems, a US-based technology company, said Sridhar Jagannathan had joined as its CIO after being vice-president of of technology strategy and partnerships at software group Intuit.
Arthur Orduña has taken up the newly-created role of CIO for security firm ADT. ADT, which recently spun off from Tyco International, said Orduña would be responsible for the technology vision and strategy for the entire company after he recently served as a consultant in a business development role for online auctioneer Ebay’s PayPal division.
HB Fuller, a New York-listed industrial group, said Hassan Rmaile would join as chief technology and innovation officer on October 29. Rmaile was previously vice-president of research and development at Ashland’s specialty ingredients commercial unit and co-led the integration of the technology groups as part of the ISP acquisition by Ashland.
Separately, Bob Wise, CIO at US-based communications company MTN, is opening a product innovation office in Seattle.
(Pictured is a generic image of a CIO courtesy of IBM.)