McLaren welcomes Karen McElhatton as new Group CIO

The McLaren Group has appointed Karen McElhatton as its new Chief Information Officer.

Karen joins McLaren from the manufacturing and retail sectors, having led IT at regional and global levels for Procter & Gamble and TJX International. Most recently, Karen was Chief Digital Officer at JAB Luxury, the group that oversees luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Bally and Belstaff.

A native New Zealander, Karen graduated from Otago University, Dunedin, with a degree in finance and accounting, two disciplines that signposted to her the potential that technology had to resolve business problems, and which ultimately led to her pursuing a career in information technology.

Stints working in Australasia, North America, Asia, the Far East and throughout Europe have given Karen extensive global experience in the sector, and enabled her to develop the digital consumer experience, build and launch ecommerce platforms, and improve supply-chain and operational procedures.

In her role Karen will oversee the continuing digital transformation of McLaren across its high-tempo, highly distributed businesses, further creating synergies in the delivery of data and digital services, while deepening collaboration with the team’s technology partners.

Speaking about her appointment, Karen said:

“I’m thrilled to be joining McLaren at a time when each of our businesses is building innovative, ambitious and exciting plans for the future. I’m looking forward to working with the excellent technology professionals we have at McLaren, and collaborating with our strategic partners to deliver the high-performance technology experiences our colleagues, customers and fans across the world expect from us.”

Jonathan Neale, COO, McLaren Group, added:

“Karen’s appointment will ensure our IT provision is perfectly equipped to handle the evolution and development of the group’s three core businesses, both strategically and technologically. McLaren puts technology and IT at the core of its operation as a force multiplier in a high-performance culture. The scope of Karen’s role will ensure we are embracing and developing new and existing technologies while working with our partners and suppliers to ensure our IT discipline remains at a world-class level.”