A great time to gain board experience -- and new ÍæÅ¼½ã½ãs to report... ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã If you’ve ever thought of getting some board experience, now is a great time to start. Companies are currently in particular need of executive direction and with board members needing to spend more time with their own companies, you may find some great opportunities in this poor economy. While corporate board positions tend to be the ultimate goal for most ÍæÅ¼½ã½ãs, many find that advisory board work is a good place to start. Jonathan Rider, ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Gilbane Building Company is a great example. He was recently named to the ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã advisory council for Sprint North America and as such, will contribute ideas and opinions on Sprint’s business direction, their portfolio of products and solutions, and how they can continually improve their customers’ experience. A great networking experience too!GridPoint., a smart grid software provider announced that it has appointed as leader of its smart grid operations. The former Xcel Energy ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã led the design and implementation of the utility’s $100 million SmartGridCity in Boulder, Colorado. Carlson joined Xcel Energy in 2002 from Arthur Andersen, LLP, where he was a practice director in the areas of technology integration and financial operations. David Y. Sharp, former AVP of Global Operations and Customer Service at the ACE Group has taken on a new role as Director of Information Technology at Alliance Healthcare Information, LLC, a United Drug Company.Scott Hicar, formerly ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Solectron, just became ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã and SVP of Global Information Services for Digital Globe, a provider of high resolution commercial imagery and the only company operating a constellation of sub-meter commercial imaging satellites.Complinet, a provider of connected compliance solutions to the financial services companies, has appointed as ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã based in London. Jordan has previously worked at Citigroup, dunnhumby and Beyond Analysis and brings key skills in SaaS, IT strategy development and implementation, and global operational management to Complinet.Osh O’Crowley is the new ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Sephora. Previously, O’Crowley was ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Benefit Cosmetics. CT, a Wolters Kluwer business, today announced the appointment of two senior-level members to its information technology team. Venkatesh Ramakrishnanhas been named CTO for CT compliance, governance and lien solutions, and Paul Wanuga assumes the role of ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã for CT. Ramakrishnan joined CT Corporation in 2000 as software engineering manager and has served in multiple capacities, including his most recent position as vice president of software architecture. Wanuga came to CT in 2003 to lead the newly formed Program Management Office. Dean Foods has a new ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã. recently served as the corporate VP of the mobile devices division at Motorola prior to that was ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Diageo Americas.Hydra, a performance-based advertising network, announced the appointment of to ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã. As ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã, Dimler will lead technology strategy and development to support higher volume operations and will focus on building up data warehousing, real-time optimization and other capabilities. Prior to joining Hydra, Dimler’s career included executive IT management positions for leading multinational companies such as DirecTV, Transamerica, and Mail.com Media Corporation. Dimler is also a veteran of a number of successful startups and initial public offerings. Alan Hughes has been named ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and is succeeding John Sternbergh who is retiring. Hughes comes to BCBSNC with 20 years of senior leadership experience in information technology, most recently at GE Commercial Finance and Deutsche Financial Services. At GE Financial, he served as ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Global Risk Management and as ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã of Distribution Finance. He was also President of Business Services and ÍæÅ¼½ã½ã for Deutsche Financial Services, which was acquired by GE Financial in 2003. Until next week…Martha Heller, Managing Director, IT Leadership Practice, ZRG Partnersmheller@zrgpartners.com SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe