Microsoft Taps Disney Exec as Next CIO

Microsoft has hired former Disney executive Tony Scott as its chief information officer and corporate vice president, to replace ousted CIO Stuart Scott.

Scott, who joins Microsoft in February, will assume responsibility for the software maker’s 4,000-person global IT organization, which is responsible for managing the technology systems that support the company’s worldwide sales, marketing and services efforts, the company said in a statement Jan. 17.

He will also be in charge of enterprise systems and applications for all corporate processes, and will report to Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer.

Part of his responsibility will also include overseeing the process known internally at Microsoft as "eating our own dog food," where the IT department deploys and helps manage beta versions of its own products across the company.

Stuart Scott, Microsoft’s former CIO, was terminated last November "after an investigation for violation of company policies,” but landed a new gig as chief operating officer at privately held mortgage broker Taylor, Bean & Whitaker in less than a month.

New CIO, Tony Scott, was senior vice president and chief information officer of The Walt Disney Co., where he was the first CIO to manage companywide IT. Before that, he was chief technology officer at General Motors Corp. and vice president of operations at Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co.

Scott said in a statement that Microsoft was successful at leveraging  IT for strategic business advantage, and offered him the opportunity to expand his skills and have an impact across its broad range of technologies, from services to unified communications and mobility.

Microsoft CTO Kevin Turner said in a statement that Scott would focus on three main areas: running a world-class IT department and achieving the highest level of business value by utilizing IT; driving its solutions and deployment and giving input and feedback to the product groups; and connecting and collaborating with CIOs across the globe so as to share best practices with customers and partners.