Microsoft Keen on New Faces to Boost Its IT Infrastructure
Microsoft has tapped a former executive at Walt Disney to fill its CIO position, a move that shows the company continuing to fill top executive positions from outside the company.Tony Scott, 56, will start as CIO in February and report to Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner. Scott’s most recent experience was as senior vice president and CIO at The Walt Disney Co. He has also been chief technology officer at General Motors Corp. and vice president of operations at Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co.As CIO at Microsoft, Scott will oversee an IT staff that oversees security, infrastructure, messaging and business applications and supports Microsoft product groups, corporate business groups, and the global sales and marketing organization.”More than any other company, Microsoft knows how important it is to leverage IT for strategic business advantage, and I look forward to building on this success in my new role,” Scott said in a statement.Tony Scott replaces former chief information officer Stuart Scott, who was ousted several months ago for “violation of company policies.” Microsoft wouldn’t provide details about what policies were violated or how. The two men are not related, but Stuart Scott was also an outsider, joining Microsoft in 2003 from General Electric.In the past two weeks, Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes, mergers and acquisitions chief Bruce Jaffe, and Windows development VP Rob Short have all disclosed plans to leave Microsoft.
