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By Mel Duvall
Linda Dillman, the former chief information officer of Wal-Mart and a key executive involved in the retailer's radio frequency identification (RFID) program, has left the company to join technology vendor Hewlett-Packard.
Palo Alto-based HP said today that it has named Dillman a senior vice president of global information technology, effective immediately. She will report to Randy Mott, HP's executive vice president and CIO. In her new role, Dillman will be charged with leading the IT teams responsible for the company's outsourcing services business as well as a newly created group supporting global functions, such as corporate administration, shared services, global real estate and human resources.
"Linda is an exceptional leader who makes a great addition to the global IT team for HP," Mott said in a statement announcing the hire. "She has broad IT and business experiences, from integrations related to acquisitions to aligning global applications development to business priorities, and a passion for serving customers."
Dillman is a well-recognized technology executive and has spoke at many industry conferences, particularly in the early days of Wal-Mart's extensive RFID rollout. The retailer sought to trim inventories and improve its out-of-stock rates on store shelves by deploying RFID chips on pallets and cases throughout its operations. The chips, which have built in antennas, could in turn relay information about the contents of pallets or cases without human assistance.
The RFID rollout continues at Wal-Mart but there has been speculation that the program has not achieved the goals initially set out by the retailer.
Dillman joined Wal-Mart in 1991 when the retailer acquired The Wholesale Club in Indianapolis. But previously she worked for five years at HP as a computer operator. She climbed through the ranks of Wal-Mart IT department, was named vice president of applications development in 1998, and promoted into the CIO's role in 2002.
She achieved somewhat of a rockstar status in that position and was named one of Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business each year from 2003 to 2007. In 2006, however, she was reassigned to the role of executive vice president of benefits and risk management for Wal-Mart, and assumed a much more quiet profile.
Her new position with HP could see Dillman step back into the spotlight.
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