Boeing hires CIO from its airline customer Qantas for digital transformation

Boeing said Wednesday it has hired Susan Doniz from Australian airline Qantas as the company’s chief information officer and senior vice president of information technology and data analytics.

Doniz, 50, starts in May and will succeed Vishwa Uddanwadiker, who has served Boeing an interim capacity since October 2019 and continues with the company, Boeing said.

“Susan is a proven, customer-focused technology leader with extensive global experience across multiple industries, including commercial aviation,” Boeing CEO David Calhoun said in a statement.

Doniz will oversee all aspects of information technology, information security, data and analytics for Boeing. She’ll be based in Chicago and report to Calhoun.

Boeing’s former CIO Ted Colbert was promoted to president and CEO of Boeing General Services unit last fall.

“She brings deep insight and skills to digital transformation, data analytics and artificial intelligence — all essential to our long-term growth strategy as well as our continuous drive for operational and safety excellence. She brings as well a passion for STEM education and diversity and inclusion,” Calhoun said.

Doniz joins Boeing from Qantas Group, where she’s served as the Australian airline group’s CIO since January 2017.

In that role, she oversaw technology innovation, development and integration, digital capabilities and cybersecurity across the group’s companies, including Qantas Airlines, QantasLink, Qantas Loyalty and Jetstar.

Doniz, a Canadian, has worked in global technology jobs for 25 years, including at SAP, Procter & Gamble and more recently Aimia, a Canadian-based loyalty management company.

Boeing said Doniz holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science and engineering from the University of Toronto.

She also serves as vice chair of the International Air Transport Association’s Digital Transformation Advisory Council.