The Society for Information Management (SIM) Presents Subaru of America CIO With 2010 SIM Leadership Award

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society for Information Management (SIM), the premier network for information technology leaders, recently presented Brian Simmermon, Chief Information Officer, Subaru of America, Inc. with its fifth annual SIM Leadership award.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101208/PH14349 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080325/SUBARULOGO )

Simmermon, who resides in Blue Anchor, N.J., joined Subaru of America, in 2005 as Chief Information Officer. Simmermon then performed a company-wide technology assessment and determined that the business ran a large collection of applications, many of which duplicated functionality. Establishing the mantra, "Simplicity, Flexibility, and Cost Effectiveness", he reduced the total number of applications, moved to a small core set of systems – including Oracle and Siebel - and brought the range of hardware into a substantially smaller footprint.

Tom Doll, COO for Subaru of America said, "We are very pleased Brian has been recognized. He has consistently shown vision and leadership and under his leadership, our technology group's innovations have helped our sales to grow to record levels, regardless of the economic circumstances."

Simmermon's technology group's  aggressive business deliverables have helped Subaru to become one of the most successful brands in the US with the brand reaching record sales in both 2009 and 2010.

Prior to Subaru, Simmermon spent two years with direct-to-consumer giant QVC, Inc where he headed up their Applications Development group. With international responsibility, Brian managed all design, development and integration of applications for over 4000 users in this $5.5B company. His main system was SAP though he also introduced Service Oriented Architecture, J2EE and other then modern technologies. Prior to QVC, Simmermon was with the Franklin Mint for 15 years moving from manager Chief Operating Officer, European Operations and Chief Information Officer. Brian ultimately managed a staff of 200 people and lived both in the US and the UK during that period.

Simmermon has presented at numerous conferences and is very active in the technology community. He sits on the Oracle Customer Advisory Council and has been a keynote speaker at several Oracle events and is also active as the Chairman of the CIO Roundtable of the Greater Philadelphia Senior Executive Group (GPSEG) and has judged for several SIM Leadership awards. He has also presented at the SIM CIO Forum and Executive IT Summit. Earlier in his career, Simmermon was also a founding member of The Cavanaugh Group.

Simmermon graduated from Rowan University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

The SIM Leadership Award is given to SIM members who, through exceptional services, have volunteered their time and have contributed significantly to SIM and the SIM community.

For more information about the award, visit www.cioleadershipawards.com.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

About SIM :

Established in 1968, the Society for Information Management (SIM) is the premier network for IT leaders comprised of nearly 3,000 members, including CIOs, senior IT executives, prominent academicians, consultants, and other IT leaders. SIM is a community of thought leaders sharing experiences and rich intellectual capital that can be applied, and exploring future IT direction. In partnership with its 30 chapters, SIM provides resources and programs inspired by IT leaders for IT leaders that enable CIOs to further develop the leadership capabilities of themselves and the key and emerging leaders in their organizations. SIM provides the collective voice to advocate policy and legislation on behalf of the IT profession across industries.

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.