Dive Brief:
- Former Merck & Co. executive Jim Scholefield became Marriott International's chief information and digital officer on Monday. He will oversee IT and digital strategies for the hospitality group, a spokesperson told CIO Dive.
- Scholefield, whose career as a tech exec includes stints at Nike and The Coca-Cola Company, will report to Stephanie Linnartz, group president, consumer operations, technology and emerging businesses, at Marriott.
- The exec will replace former CIO Bruce Hoffmeister, who is retiring this year. Hoffmeister will stay with the company through the mid-2020 to assist with the transition.
Dive Insight:
Scholefield is expected to drive technology modernization efforts at Marriott, leveraging a 30-year career in digital transformation.
From cloud migrations to connected room concepts, the hospitality industry is known for putting customer experience at the center of its technology strategy. In Marriott International's case, its technology projects will need to span a portfolio made up of over 30 hotel and lodging brands.
Scholefield will have to execute on his priorities in the aftermath of a 2018 cybersecurity breach that exposed data from 383 million guests, including — in some cases — passport numbers, addresses and payment information.
The breach landed Marriott a penalty under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced in July it intended to issue a $124 million fine against Marriott, since about 30 million breached records belonged to European residents.
In November, the ICO said it was considering feedback from Marriott International regarding the fine "in deciding whether to give a penalty notice, and the amount of the penalty if a penalty notice is given."
