Tesco CIO jumps to same role at Target

Mike McNamara, a longtime senior executive at U.K.-based supermarket chain Tesco, is moving over to Target in the U.S.

McNamara had been with Tesco for more than 15 years, most recently in the role of chief information officer. He will assume the same post--along with the role of executive vice-president--when he joins Target, where he replaces the retiring Bob DeRodes.

DeRodes joined Target last spring, after Target had gone through a huge data breach in late 2013 in which credit and debit card payment data from U.S. customers was accessed. It was reported that as many as 40 million such accounts were involved, as well as the personal information of 70 million customers.

While Target Canada said Canadian stores were not impacted by the unauthorized access to payment information, it subsequently offered one year of credit monitoring to Canadian customers whose contact information the retailer believed may have been accessed in the security breach.

McNamara will be overseeing Target's technology team in his role, including information security. He will be reporting into Brian Cornell, Target's chairman and CEO. Cornell commented that technology is critical for the company's future success in the release about McNamara's appointment. "I'm excited to see how he'll help our team continue to push new innovations that enhance the shopping experience for Target guests, both online and in stores," said Cornell.

While at Tesco, McNamara helped improve the shopping experience in that he was instrumental in launching the retailer's scan-as-you-shop capabilities.

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