Sears names new CIO, home electronics head

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. Sears Holdings announced that Timothy Kasbe will be joining the company as SVP and CIO. In this role, he will provide leadership and guidance for the company's information technology (IT) initiatives.

Prior to Sears Holdings, Kasbe served as CIO at Reliance Retail Ltd. (RRL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. RRL is a startup retail chain in India, that in the past two years has opened 978 stores and 79 distribution centers for 14 different formats including; supermarkets, specialty and convenience stores.

The company also announced that effective immediately, Karen Austin will begin serving as president of the company's home electronics business unit. She had previously served as CIO for Sears Holdings since March 2005.

Prior to the merger of Sears and Kmart, for over 20 years, Austin served in several IT leadership positions, including SVP and CIO of Kmart, a position she held from April 2002 to March 2005.