Universal Music Group promoted Jens Kessler to chief information officer. Kessler previously served as the senior vice president for the music company’s applications group. Kessler joined Universal Music Group in 2001, working first in the Los Angeles-based company’s Germany offices. He holds a degree in law from the University of Kiel in Kiel, Germany.
The city of Newton, Mass. has named Robert Barrett as its first chief information officer. Barrett was previously CIO at lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems which recently told investors it had five months of cash left. Prior to A123 Systems Barrett served six years as CIO for Babcock Power. Newton’s 2013 budget lists the CIO salary at $120,001.
The city of Baltimore, Md. announced the hiring of Chris Tonjes to CIO. Previously Tonjes was CIO for the District of Columbia Public Library where he led a project to provide broadband availability to the district’s branch libraries. Tonjes, who has also held IT director positions for the Washington, D.C. city government, earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the State University of New York College at Potsdam. Tonjes replaces Rico J. Singleton who resigned in February after an audit revealed that while working for the state of New York, he secured a job for a girlfriend with a software vendor later awarded a major contract by the state.
Amtrak named Jason D. Molfetas chief information officer. He will lead the rail service’s IT team, support customer service and business operations and improve financial performance. Molfetas joins as Amtrak introduces eTicketing on all trains and develops a new reservation system. Previously Molfetas served as CIO and senior vice president for Australia-based information management and logistics company Recall. Molfetas has also held positions at Weston Group, Xerox, Pearson Publishing and Pepsi. “Jason has considerable expertise in the IT field and possesses the leadership skills needed to build the partnerships and the new technology systems to advance Amtrak into our bright future,” said Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman. Molfetas holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pace University and an MBA degree in marketing from Fordham University.
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The leadership shakeout at Lowe’s has resulted in a new CIO. The construction and home improvement retailer announced that Kevin V. Summers, formerly CIO for Whirlpool Corporation, would be leading IT efforts. Summers replaces Michael K. Brown who announced plans to retire in April as part of voluntary separation program that included $1.25 million in cash and a $25,000 transitional assistance subsidy. Previously, CIO Journal said that the company was in the middle of replacing hundreds of executives after poor financial performance. Prior to Whirlpool, Summers worked with The Coca Cola Company, Bell South Technology Services, General Electric and other companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from The College of Charleston and an M.B.A. from Duke University.