Dive Brief:
- Former Tyson Foods CTO Scott Spradley will join homebuilding company Lennar Corporation as its CTO starting April 3, according to a LinkedIn post. Lennar confirmed the appointment to CIO Dive Friday.
- “Scott brings a depth of experience in delivering strategic results designed to strengthen the positioning of long-term tech capabilities in industry leading enterprises,” Drew Holler, chief human resources officer at Lennar, said in a LinkedIn post Thursday. “We are confident that Scott’s leadership will help us define the future of homebuilding.”
- Spradley most recently served as EVP and chief technology and automation officer at Tyson Foods. The executive joined Tyson in 2017 following leadership stints at Hewlett-Packard, Chevron and Intel.
Dive Insight:
Lennar has been ramping up its technology capabilities for years.
In 2017, Lennar launched voice control and home-automation capabilities in its home designs, according to the company. The following year, Lennar launched an investment arm called Lenx, to “integrate technology solutions across Lennar,” according to the company.
“While we are intensely focused on our core homebuilding business, we believe our technology investments represent a significant opportunity to create efficiencies in our internal operations and to reduce our costs,” the company said in an SEC filing on March 1.
The company did not immediately disclose specific projects falling under Spradley's purview.
Lennar presented board nominations for its upcoming shareholders' meeting in April, including some with technology experience. Amy Banse, a former EVP at Comcast, was nominated to join the board due to “her experience with digital media and technology.” She sits on the board at Adobe and The Clorox Company.
“Our investments in technology provide our homeowners with enhanced experiences, including our digitized financing process that allows homeowners to finance their homes with less paper, in less time, and with more transparency,” the company said in the filing.
Global investments in construction technology held steady at around $5.38 billion in 2022, slightly less than $5.4 billion in 2021, according to a venture capital firm Cemex Ventures report.
The report highlighted four key areas of investment: enhanced productivity; programs such as AI, advanced building materials, robotics and machine-assisted applications; green construction; and supply chain solutions.
