The Hartford Names James Eckerly EVP of Newly Created Strategic Initiatives and Enterprise Technology Position

James Eckerle has joined The Hartford as executive vice president, Strategic Initiatives and Enterprise Technology. In this newly created role, Eckerle will report to the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, Liam E. McGee, according to a statement from the insurer.

Eckerle supersedes Brian O'Connell as The Hartford's enterprise head of technology. O'Connell was named the carrier's first enterprise CIO in 2008, having taken on the role of Hartford Life CIO the previous year. O'Connell will report to Eckerle, according to a company spokesperson. Regarding the significance of Eckerle's role for the existing IT hierarchy, the spokesperson says that "this is a newly created position and Brian's role has not changed."

The Hartford's CEO, Liam McGee, cites Eckerle's "extensive background in leading transformational and process improvement efforts to deliver tangible, measurable results for an organization." McGee adds, "As we work to make The Hartford a more customer-centric and efficient company, his leadership will be invaluable.”

Eckerle has more than 30 years of financial services industry experience, with a specific focus on change management and process improvement. He joins The Hartford from Bank of America where he most recently served as senior vice president of Global Transition, Quality and Change. Eckerle joined Bank of America in 1986 and held a number of leadership roles in Enterprise Initiative Delivery, Senior Change Management Technology and Operations.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio