Rockwell Automation appoints new chief information security officer

Rockwell Automation announced that Nicole Darden Ford is joining the company as vice-president and chief information security officer (CISO) on March 21.

Darden Ford will report to Chris Nardecchia, senior vice-president and chief information officer at Rockwell Automation. She succeeds Dawn Cappelli, who retired in February.

“I am excited about the energy, perspective and expertise Nicole brings to this critical area and look forward to her contributions in executing our growth, digital transformation, and cybersecurity strategies,” said Nardecchia. “With over 20 years in IT leadership, Nicole’s extensive knowledge and application experience in forensics, digital transformation, and homeland security practices is a valuable addition to our team.”

Most recently, Darden Ford served as the global vice-president and CISO at Carrier. In this capacity, she was in charge of global information security, compliance and product (IoT) cybersecurity through the company’s spin-off from parent company United Technologies Corporation. Previously, she was the global vice-president and CISO at Baxter International, where was responsible for information security, information governance and IT quality compliance.

Darden Ford is passionate about building and growing teams, fostering culture and focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion.