This Week’s Leadership Moves: Kroger, Aviva, and State Farm – CDO Magazine

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CDO Magazine Unveils the 40 Most Influential Data Leaders in Finance — North America 2026 Few industries are advancing data and AI as rapidly as financial services. From real-time payments and fraud detection to risk modeling, regulatory compliance, and AI-driven customer experiences, fina…
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Leadership Moves

Written by: CDO Magazine
Updated 12:00 PM UTC, March 20, 2026
Each week, CDO Magazine curates a high-level overview of executive appointments and leadership transitions shaping the global data, AI, and analytics ecosystem. This roundup offers a quick-read snapshot of how leadership talent is transitioning across organizations as they evolve data and AI strategies to support digital transformation, data management, enterprise innovation, security, and AI-driven decision-making.
This briefing tracks leadership movements involving Chief Data Officers, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers, Chief Data and Analytics Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Information Security Officers, and senior executives responsible for data, analytics, security, and digital strategy across industries.
For the week of March 16, highlighted in this edition, we feature key leadership updates at Kroger, Aviva and State Farm, alongside several other notable appointments recently spotlighted on CDO Magazine.
State Farm has promoted Jon Francis to Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Head of Digital Channel Performance. Francis previously served as a senior executive for digital growth at the firm and brings a wealth of experience from his time as CDAO at General Motors. In his expanded role, he will lead the integration of customer touchpoints to create a seamless, end-to-end digital journey across insurance and financial services.
Aviva has tapped Chris Cochrane as its next Group Chief Information Officer, effective summer 2026. Cochrane joins the multinational insurer from M&G, where he served as Group Chief Information Technology Officer. He will succeed the retiring John Cummings, focusing on sustaining Aviva’s momentum across the insurance, wealth, and retirement sectors through robust technology leadership.
MSCI Inc. has named Dinesh Gupta as Chief Data Officer and Global Head of Operations. Gupta joins from Goldman Sachs, where he led firmwide digitization and AI platform development. Based in New York, he will oversee MSCI’s global data organization, ensuring enterprise-wide data governance and the development of research-driven solutions to navigate increasingly complex financial markets.
Kroger has appointed Milen Mahadevan to the newly created role of Chief Data and AI Officer. Mahadevan, who continues as president and CEO of Kroger’s analytics subsidiary 84.51°, is tasked with unifying the company’s data and AI teams. His leadership will focus on embedding advanced AI capabilities into business processes to enhance the customer experience across one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S.
Associated Banc-Corp has appointed Alexander Bush as Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer. Reporting to the CIO, Bush will oversee enterprise-wide data strategy and governance to ensure data reliability and consistency. Bringing over 20 years of experience from Huntington National Bank, he will focus on leveraging the bank’s data ecosystem to drive operational efficiency and superior customer experiences.








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