Disney and GM veteran Tony Scott joins Microsoft

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, announced Thursday that it has hired former Disney and GM executive Tony Scott as chief information officer (CIO) and corporate vice president to head its internal IT systems’ management.

Tony Scott’s duties of CIO in Microsoft will take effect in February. He will take over the role previously held by Stuart Scott, who was dismissed by the software company in November.

In November, reports had emerged saying that Microsoft had fired its Chief Information Officer (CIO) Scott Stuart, whom the company blamed for violating unspecified company policies. The Redmond, Washington-based software company confirmed later in the month that Stuart is dismissed from the position, and that it is already looking for a replacement.

Stuart was responsible for the information technology infrastructure at the company. His duties were taken over by General Manager Shahla Aly and Vice President Alain Crozier, who is in charge of the company's CFO, sales, marketing and services group, after the firing.

Tony Scott, who used to run global information technology operations for The Walt
Disney Co., will be in charge of the software behemoth's 4,000-person global information technology operation that manages critical technology systems supporting the company's world-wide sales and marketing efforts.

"More than any other company, Microsoft knows how important it is to leverage IT for strategic business advantage, and I look forward to building on this success in my new role," Scott said in a statement.

"So few places offer the chance to expand your skills and have an impact across such a broad range of technologies -- from services to unified communications to mobility. It is a great opportunity, and I am excited to work with this team to help Microsoft advance its business forward through IT," he continued.

Scott, 56, will report to Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kevin Turner, who reports directly to Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.

Tony Scott was most recently senior vice president and chief information officer at Walt Disney Company, and before that he has served as chief technology officer at General Motors Corp. (GM), where he was responsible for defining the information technology computing and telecommunications strategy, architecture and standards across all of GM's businesses globally.

He has also served as vice president of operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., where he led the transformation of company’s technology infrastructure organization to a shared services model and the development of a corporate infrastructure to support implementation of SAP and web-based technologies.

Microsoft shares plunged 12 cents to $33.11 in NASDAQ Stock Market trading.