Cain New Schneider North America CIO

Bobby Cain, Schneider Electric’s Chief Information Officer

Schneider Electric announced a new CIO for Schneider Electric’s North America region.

And the best part … he has sales and distribution experience and hence empathy!

Bobby Cain, who joined Schneider Electric in 2014 as VP National Sales Force and led the central sales region, will now be the CIO for North America.

According to a Schneider press release:

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has appointed Robert (Bobby) Cain as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for its North America region.

As the newly appointed regional CIO, Bobby will be tasked with driving digital transformation and IT landscape evolution to support Schneider Electric’s North America operations and business growth. His responsibilities will include ensuring the realization of strategic transformation initiatives around supply chain resiliency, simplified finance, and a best-in-class employee experience ꟷ  in close partnership with the North America Operations leadership team.

“This role is crucial in our continued efforts to transform our digital technology and business landscape to better serve customers, partners and employees,” said Aamir Paul, President, Schneider Electric North America. “Bobby brings the right balance of leadership and expertise to guide us in our ambitious digital journey.”

“It is truly an honor to take this role and become a partner for the North America region on the precipice of a bold digital transformation,” added Bobby. “Our IT organization in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is uniquely positioned to support the multi-faceted needs of the business and deliver strong results for our stakeholders.”

In his previous role as Business Transformation VP for North America, Bobby led a comprehensive transformation strategy in alignment with business priorities by leveraging modern technology to expand margin, drive customer value, and increase employee engagement.

Bobby joined Schneider Electric in 2014 as VP, National Sales Force, where he led a $1B sales region. He routinely delivered growth in orders and sales, while gaining share and reducing costs in both mature and emerging markets. Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Bobby spent 11 years at GE in various commercial leadership roles. Alongside his 22 years of demonstrated commercial success, Bobby brings two decades of military and leadership experience as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.”

From a sales, and distributor, perspective, it is always better to have someone in a support position who understands the commercial issues. It provides the support person a much better perspective on the issue and a frame of reference to help craft win-win solutions, rather than a technologist who gets enamored with technology and/or processes (and maybe beholden to existing methods!)

This could bode well for Schneider and Schneider Electric’s distribution network as collectively they seek to reduce channel costs via digital transformation and continue driving Schneider’s “eCommerce” initiatives.

Congratulations Bobby on the new opportunity.