Workday has announced the appointment of Rani Johnson to chief information officer effective immediately. The role will see Johnson oversee the company’s global information technology organization, including the internal deployment of Workday products, go-to-market applications and all other enterprise-wide IT systems.
A veteran in the industry, Johnson brings over 25 years of experience in diverse technology roles, industries and organizations. Having begun her career at NASA Johnson Space Center, most recently she was CIO at Cloud Software Group and prior to that she held CIO positions at TIBCO, SolarWinds and Lower Colorado River Authority.
Johnson has also been recognized by Technology Magazine as one of the ‘Top 100 Women in Technology’ and the Austin Black Business Journal celebrated her as one of the ‘Top Ten Blacks in Tech’.
Speaking of her new role as Workday’s CIO, Johnson said: “As a long-time Workday customer, I’ve seen the power of the Workday platform. As CIO, I look forward to innovating with the IT team to drive operational excellence and efficiency, as we continue to grow and scale the business.”
The CIO’s appointment follows another recent joiner as ex-SAPer Laurence Leyden has filled a newly created role, vice president of Workday’s UK&I Financial Services Industry (FSI) team. Leyden brings 25 years of industry expertize in the financial services industry and has worked with organizations such as Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group.
Having previously held various senior positions at leading financial institutions, Leyden has also operated as SAP’s general manager of EMEA financial services, and more recently, service industries for Southern Europe.
Speaking of his appointment, Leyden said: “It is a challenging but exciting time in the financial services right now. Technological innovations are changing the face of financial services. I am thrilled to lead this team, which will help us build agile frameworks, as well as amazing digital experience for customers, through smarter data and analytics.”
The latest Workday new starters come in the first few months of co-CEO Carl Eschenbach’s leadership, as the business ramps up efforts to reach $10bn in revenue by 2025.
More Workday news is set to come in the next issue of ERP Today, out later this month.
