CIO Mike McNamara has left his position at Tesco to take up the same role at US retailer Target.
Over a year since Target suffered a massive breach of credit card data, McNamara will report to Target chairman and CEO, Brian Cornell. According to Computer Weekly, Tesco announced in August 2014 that it was cutting back its IT spending to reduce costs. McNamara took over as CIO in March 2011 when his predecessor Philip Clarke stepped up to become the company’s chief executive.
Tesco will not to replace McNamara as CIO, and instead is looking for a chief technology officer. “Mike McNamara has been a tremendous asset to our business and we are sad to see him go. Given this change we take the opportunity to build on Mike’s legacy by taking the next step in technology and recruit a chief technology officer,” said Tesco CEO Dave Lewis.
Cornell said: “Mike McNamara has been a driving force for technology innovation throughout his career. He’s got a stellar track record, and I’m excited to see how he’ll help our team continue to push new innovations that enhance the shopping experience for Target guests, both online and in stores.”
Former CIO Beth Jacob resigned in March 2014, and was replaced by Bob DeRodes, formerly a senior IT advisor for the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Secretary of Defense, and the US Department of Justice. DeRodes is now retiring after helping to overhaul the company’s IT security.
In an email to IT Security Guru, Dr Guy Bunker, cyber security analyst at Clearswift, said: “I think this shows that the UK leads the way in protecting critical data and creating innovative online solutions, especially in very large retail businesses – otherwise they would have found someone ‘home grown’.
“So, I think this is a very positive step for both Target and for Mike. It’s interesting that Tesco is looking for a CTO rather than a CIO as a replacement and I hope that this doesn’t show any less commitment to information security than they had before. Perhaps they will subsequently recruit a CISO or will look for the DPO to take up the mantle.”
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