NOL group names Hickler as CIO

Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) today announced the appointment of Hans Hickler as Chief Information Officer of the NOL Group.

NOL President and CEO, Flemming Jacobs said as CIO, Mr Hickler would have responsibility for expanding the role of IT as a competitive differentiator and be the architect of NOL's ongoing efforts to strengthen the Group's technology advantage.

Mr Hickler will be supported by newly appointed CIO of APL Liner, Cindy Stoddard, and Mike Moore, CIO of APL Logistics, both members of their respective business Executive Committees. Ms Stoddard is currently responsible for operating systems under the Enterprise services unit. Mr Moore provides a critical linkage between the "technologists" and business managers, and the development of the important new systems to support the fast growth of APL Logistics.

Mr Jacobs said that Mr Hickler's 17 year experience with container transportation subsidiary, APL, would be invaluable in his new role, particularly his strong customer focus.

Most recently Mr Hickler has led APL's Information Strategy and Customer Support teams as Senior Vice President. "Hans Hickler has continued to be a talented, creative and enthusiastic supporter and generator of new products and services which have kept APL at the leading edge of the industry," Mr Jacobs said.

APL was recently elevated 384 places to 74th on Information Week magazine's top 500 IT companies, beating even Hewlett-Packard, Dell and IBM in the ranking.

"My vision has always been to offer our customers choice and to make it easy for them to do business with us," Mr Hickler said.

"In developing products and services that achieve that, we have also created ways of doing business more efficiently, smoothing workflows and improving productivity within the company. As CIO, I intend to continue with that customer focus, looking for structural as well as strategic ways of adding value both to our company and to customers' business."

"Hans Hickler's drive, commitment and vision will continue to keep the NOL Group at the forefront of the industry, " Mr Jacobs said. "I know that when it comes to our position as an IT leader, he is never satisfied with being best in industry - he always aims for best in class. That's the leadership he brings to this new role."

Former CIO Don Liedtke is joining a technology services company in Texas.