Stephen Ford

Rockwell Automation announced that Stephen Ford is joining the company as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, effective immediately. Ford joins from McKesson Corporation, where he was Vice President, Global Security.

Ford was to report to Chris Nardecchia, who at the time of the announcement was Rockwell Automation's senior vice president and Chief Information Officer, the company said. According to the release, Ford's task in the role is to develop and execute a holistic cybersecurity strategy for Rockwell. The company says the strategy is meant to keep its customers, products and infrastructure, which make up its Connected Enterprise ecosystem, safe, secure and resilient.

At McKesson, the company says, Ford led teams overseeing access management, incident response, offensive security, security engineering architecture and cybersecurity operations. Before joining McKesson, Ford held leadership roles in systems engineering, IT infrastructure, and information security and compliance, according to the release. The company says he held those earlier roles at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine and HP.

At McKesson, Ford served as national board chair for the African American/Black Employee Resource Group, PR Newswire reports. According to the company, Ford holds an MBA and a bachelor's degree in computer science, both from Prairieview A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. He also holds a master's degree from Harvard University, PR Newswire reports.

Rockwell Automation describes itself in the release as a company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation. The company's shares are listed on the NYSE under the symbol ROK, according to the release. Rockwell Automation is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and employs approximately 29,000 people who serve customers in more than 100 countries, the company says. Rockwell Automation lists Ford against a breakout session on Securing the Autonomous Enterprise, naming him as VP and Chief of Information Security Officer.