Burberry poaches Unilever CIO Mark McClennon

McClennon spent 29 years at consumer goods giant Unilever

Burberry, the British luxury fashion designer and retailer, has hired former Unilever chief information officer (CIO) Mark McClennon to be its global CIO.

The company has not formally announced the appointment, but has confirmed to Computing that McClennon has been appointed CIO. He has already started working at the company, according to his LinkedIn profile.

McClennon worked at consumer goods giant Unilever for 29 years, becoming the CIO of its North America and Caribbean sector in January 2007, and then CIO of its consumer division in January 2011. He also remains a non-executive director at ladies fashionwear retailer Bonmarché.

In a LinkedIn post, McClennon wrote: "After 29 wonderful years at Unilever I've taken the decision to move on to something new. It's been a journey that's taken me all over the world - from sitting in board rooms to sleeping in igloos (long story!)."

He added: "I want to say a huge ‘thank you' to everyone at Unilever but especially my brilliant team - it's been an honour to lead such a talented gang."

On his move to Burberry, he said: "It was always going to take something special to tempt me to move on. The chance to join an inspirational business such as Burberry as global CIO was just too good to miss.

"It's a business that is a magical mix of heritage, creativity and a belief in power of people and digital technologies. I'm truly excited to see what we can achieve in the next part of our journey."

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