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Chatanooga, Tenn.-based Unum (Chattanooga, Tenn.; $51.9 billion in 2005 assets) had been without a CIO per se since Bob Best was promoted to chief operating officer in January, but the disability insurer has now named Kathy Owen to that post. As CIO, Owen will continue to execute some of the duties she held as SVP of information technology business applications but will take on new responsibilities for IT operations, risk management and corporate systems. Owen will report to Best.

Unum has also elevated Brent Rogers to the post of chief technology officer, in which capacity he will report to Owen. Rogers was senior vice president of operations and technology and had been with Unum since 1984.

Like Best, Owen was with Provident Companies before its 1999 merger with Unum Corporation to form Unum Group. Over a 32-year career she has held a variety of IT leadership roles where she has driven new management practices and brought innovative business platforms into production.

"These moves come at an exciting time for the IT area and for the entire Unum US organization," said Bob Best, chief operating officer for Unum US. "Under the leadership of Kathy and Brent, our IT organization will continue to enable Unum US to retain and build upon its strong position in the marketplace."

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