CIOs on the Move for Jan. 13, 2010

 X by 2 Hires CIO Advocate, Stream Global Services Gets CTO

In the past few weeks, X by 2 has hired a CIO Advocate to advise customers, and Stream Global Services appointed a CTO and executive VP. Read on to learn more about these and other CIO moves.

Technology consulting firm X by 2 announced recently that is has brought on Frank Petersmark as CIO Advocate. The former CIO and vice president of IT at Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co., Petersmark has thirty years of experience as an IT professional in the insurance industry, according to X by 2 officials. In his new position, Petersmark will serve as a liaison between the company and CIOs at existing and perspective clients to help understand their challenges and serve as an advisor, according to the company.

Frank has been in the CIO's shoes and intimately knows all the technology, business and leadership issues they face, said K. Ram Sundaram, senior principal at X by 2, in a prepared statement. He'll be a key public face for us as we continue to help our insurance clients realize their visions and aspirations in this highly competitive marketplace. We believe the timing is great for bringing Frank on board as 2011 will provide opportunities for our clients and for us to expand our respective businesses.

X by 2 is an IT architecture consulting firm that focuses on the insurance market.

Stream Global Services announced earlier this month the appointment of Jim Radzicki as executive vice president and CTO, responsible for the company’s overall information and technology strategy. Radzicki has fifteen years of IT experience, including time spent at Network Solutions where he served as vice president of technology strategy and governance, according to Stream officials. He also spent time at Teletech in senior management positions.

I am very excited to welcome Jim to Stream's experienced management team, said Stream's chairman and CEO Kathy Marinello, in a prepared statement. His solid leadership experience in the BPO (business process outsource) industry, coupled with his background in developing leading technologies, will be invaluable to Stream as we seek to enhance our technology infrastructure and continue to deliver the best service possible to our clients.

Stream provides BPO services that focus on customer relationship management to Fortune 1000 companies, according to officials. The company is based in Wellesley, Mass.

Software provider Splunk announced this week the appointment of Doug Harr as CIO, in charge of IT operations with a focus on expanding the company’s cloud strategy and shaping product development. The new role will report directly to Splunk CEO Godfrey Sullivan, according to company officials. Splunk has created the role of CIO to keep pace with the operational intelligence software provider’s rapid growth and expansion, officials said.

Splunk has expanded beyond our original mission of IT troubleshooting and investigation and is now being used in every department within IT, as well as business and web analytics, said Sullivan in a written statement. To support this evolution, we need a CIO who can lead and scale our IT operations and also evangelize Splunk's benefits from the perspective of an experienced CIO. Doug's background is perfectly suited to move us forward in each of these areas and we're excited to have him join our team.

Before accepting the position with Splunk, Harr served as a partner with management consultancy Stratafusion and was also CIO of Ingres Corp. and Portal Software.

Steptoe & Johnson recently announced that James Hubbard has joined the firm as CIO to lead its IT operations. Prior to joining the law firm, Hubbard was vice president of Global IT with All Options, as was also a management consultant who focused on database and system administration, according to Steptoe & Johnson officials. He has had oversight of clients’ global infrastructures and data centers.

“Jim is a results-oriented executive who knows how to transform technological infrastructures,” began Susan S. Brewer, CEO of Steptoe & Johnson, in a prepared statement. “Our clients will be well served by Jim’s corporate experience as he shifts our information system to the next level,” she said.

Steptoe & Johnson is a regional law firm with 200 lawyers in ten locations throughout West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. The firm focuses on energy, labor, employment, and litigation.

Dex One Corp. announced the appointment of Atish Banerjea as senior vice president and CTO, effective from January 10. Banerjea is responsible for all IT, engineering, and interactive product development for the company, according to officials. Banerjea will be based at Dex One’s Cary, N.C. headquarters and will report directly to CEO Alfred Mockett. Banerjea most recently was at international media group Pearson PLC.

“Attracting an individual with the talent and experience of Atish demonstrates our ability to execute on a key part of our strategy,” said Mockett in a prepared statement. “We intend to assemble an industry-leading management team to build next-generation technology platforms for our customers and implement the operational changes and growth initiatives that will drive sales and position Dex One on a path to growth.”

Dex One is a marketing solutions company that offers services to local businesses.

Applied Materials, which makes technology to enable the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic products such as semiconductors and flat-panel displays, last week announced the promotion of Omkaram Nalamasu to CTO. Nalamasu will assume his new position on January 24, according to company officials, and will report directly to CEO Mike Splinter.

“Om’s extensive experience in fostering innovation at global corporations, research universities and world-class R&D laboratories has served Applied well over the past few years in his role as deputy CTO and general manager for our Advanced Technologies group,” said Splinter in a written statement. “His passion for innovation, demonstrated leadership skills, and a proven track record of excellence in research and commercializing science and technology will continue to be invaluable as he transitions to the role of CTO.”

Nalamasu most recently served as Applied Materials’ Deputy CTO. Mark Pinto, CTO since 2004, will remain the company’s executive vice president and general manager for its Energy and Environmental Solutions and Display groups, officials said.

Bermuda-based QuoVadis Services Ltd., a provider of managed data center services, announced recently the appointment of Mike Harris as CTO. Harris has twenty years of experience managing large telecommunications and IT infrastructures for companies including IBL, Cable & Wireless, and Quantum, according to QuoVadis officials.

“We are excited to have Mike join our team with his well-earned reputation as a technology pioneer,” said Gavin Dent, CEO of QuoVadis Services, in a prepared statement. “The IT sector in Bermuda is moving rapidly towards managed services as companies seek to maintain their flexibility while lowering both their costs and operational risk.”

Founded in 1999, QuoVadis offers IT hosting and disaster recovery services for corporations, as well as encryption services. The company recently opened a multimillion dollar secure data center in Hamilton.

Prab Varma, CTO of Blue Pearl Software, was recently named an IEEE Fellow, the company announced last week. Varma has been recognized for his contributions to system-on-chip test technology and his research has aided the development of electronic test automation software to help reduce the costs associated with testing chips found in electronic devices such as smart phones, according to officials.

The IEEE professional technology association’s board of directors awards the grade of fellow to people with outstanding records of accomplishments in specific fields, and is the highest grade of membership, according to officials. The association has 385,000 members in 160 countries; currently 321 people have been named IEEE Fellows for 2011, they said.

Varma co-founded Blue Pearl Software, based in Santa Clara, Calif., in 2004, and prior to that founded design analysis and verification software company Verita