The Hartford Names O'Connell CIO

Hartford, Conn. — The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced that Brian O'Connell has been named to the newly created position of SVP and CIO for the company. O'Connell, who currently serves as CIO for The Hartford's life operations, will report to the company's president and COO, Tom Marra. The appointment is effective October 6.

"A cross-company, integrated approach to technology management will provide us with a more efficient and effective strategy to meet our goals," says Marra. "Brian will provide the necessary leadership and technology vision to ensure that we are not only executing today, but are forward thinking in terms of what our customers will need and expect from us in the future."

As CIO for The Hartford, O'Connell will be responsible for developing and implementing a centralized, enterprisewide information technology strategy in support of the corporation's business goals. O'Connell joined The Hartford in 2007 as VP of information technology management for the company's life operations, and was later promoted to CIO for the life operations. In that latest role, he focused on driving consistency and defining and prioritizing technology initiatives across the organization.

Prior to joining The Hartford, O'Connell had a 25-year career at Accenture. He most recently was managing director of the Life Insurance Industry for North America and Asia and of the Technology Work Group for North America. In these roles, O'Connell led a number of strategic technology projects for large life insurance companies, including The Hartford, centered around procurement, eCommerce, legacy application consolidations, customer service operations and various other transformation activities.

Source: The Hartford