Columbus, OH - Jim Fowler will join Nationwide as the company’s chief information officer. Fowler succeeds Mike Keller, who announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

Fowler will lead the company’s technology strategy and IT capabilities, as well as the prioritization and delivery of strategic business transformation programs that support Nationwide’s goal of helping individuals and businesses grow and protect their financial well-being.

Fowler most recently served as Chief Information Officer for General Electric (GE), where he was responsible for leading the company’s global information technology strategy, services and operations. He was also responsible for the digital transformation program across the GE enterprise.

“Jim’s strategic, transformational and people leadership skills, strong alignment with the Nationwide culture, and his extensive IT background will be valuable to Nationwide as we continue to leverage technology to serve the evolving needs of our members,” said Steve Rasmussen, Nationwide’s Chief Executive Officer. “As we make this transition, we value the strong foundation that Mike and his leadership team established as they built a leading-edge IT delivery model that helped to move Nationwide forward and advanced our reputation as a customer focused company.”

With General Electric since 2000, Fowler’s career represents extensive IT leadership experience across GE’s many industries, serving as Chief Information Officer for GE Capital, GE Power and Water, GE Intelligent Platforms, and GE Aviation. He also served as Chief Technology Officer for architecture and design at GE Infrastructure. Prior to GE, he held IT roles with NCR and Accenture. Fowler holds a bachelor of science degree in management information systems and marketing from Miami University, and a master of business administration degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also Six Sigma Black Belt certified.

Active professionally, Fowler currently serves on the Information Security Advisory Boards at Miami University and as a national board member for YearUp. He is also well recognized in the industry for his results-oriented leadership style and his ability to drive new innovation – and was recently recognized by Forbes with the CIO Innovation Award.