Author

José Carlos Eiras is a global CIO with extensive experience in industries such as, food, tobacco, automobile, transportation, and distribution and he has worked for businesses on every continent across the globe. As an accomplished technology leader and an agent of change, Eiras is highly regarded for his ability to transform IT technology for Fortune 10 global companies, creating long-term competitive advantages in rapidly changing markets.

He was recently Chief Information Officer of DHL Express-US, a division of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), the world’s leading logistics and transportation company. He was recruited to DHL Express to drive IT initiatives to turnaround and build the package delivery business in the United States, competing with Federal Express and UPS.

Previously, Eiras had served as CIO Latin America, Africa, and Middle East (LAAM) for General Motors (GM). One of his tasks was assuming IT responsibilities previously handled by EDS, which GM had divested in 1996. His experience and leadership is credited for building a strong internal IT discipline, replacing EDS and then managing EDS as a supplier, which was a major benefit for GM LAAM. In parallel, Eiras developed strategies and executed plans that replaced most of GM LAAM’s old systems infrastructure with a SAP based solution.

Following his success in LAAM, Eiras was appointed CIO General Motors Europe were he was responsible for bringing together a disparate and culturally diverse IT group located in several countries. He developed long-term systems strategies by functional area and integrated each with business strategies, propelling General Motors Europe systems and IT infrastructure ahead of its automotive competitors. This success was achieved through the implementation of engineering systems and tools, sales, service and marketing systems and web portals, along with, manufacturing, quality supply chain, finance, and human resources systems. Eiras also deployed packages such as SAP, PeopleSoft, and Siebel. At the same time he reduced IT structural costs by more than 30% in four years and increased investment in IT infrastructure, security and new applications.

After five years in Europe, Eiras was appointed Global Services Information Officer with responsibilities for General Motors’s worldwide IT infrastructure and services and implemented global services contracts, with several tier-one suppliers, covering all aspects of the IT infrastructure.

Prior to General Motors, he was appointed Latin America Systems Director for Philip Morris. Earlier in his career, Eiras held positions of increasing responsibility at Kraft Foods in Brazil, the United States, and Spain. He attributes his success to strong leadership abilities in business and IT.

Eiras earned an equivalent MBA degree with Harvard Business School and earlier a BA from Escola Superior, a branch of the Catholic University in São Paulo, Brazil. In his free time Eiras enjoys soccer, golf, and travel with his family.