Dive Brief:

• Staples Inc. hired Pragati Mathur as its new chief information officer, according to The Wall Street Journal. Former Staples CIO Tom Conophy left Staples last fall.
• Mathur will report to Chief Technology Officer Faisal Masud, who was hired in December to lead Staples Digital Solutions, a new department within the company focused on digital organizations. Last month, Staples announced Brett Wahlin has been appointed to the role of Chief Information Security Officer. Wahlin will also report to Masud.
• "Aligning our e-commerce and global technology organizations under one leader will speed execution so we can more rapidly bring digital solutions to market, and drive even greater innovation within the business, as we continue to enhance our B2B customer experience," said Shira Goodman, Staples’ Chief Executive Officer and President, in a company press release, following the appointment of Masud. 

Dive Insight:

Staples is betting big on digital transformation to modernize its business in a sector that is undergoing a lot of shifts. Not only has the company added three IT executives over the last six months, the office supply retailer is also discussing the adoption of public cloud services and using artificial intelligence technology to allow customers to order office supplies via voice and text using a digital version of its "easy button," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bolstering its IT leadership should help the company refine its IT strategy and begin its digital transformation journey. The office supply area is notoriously competitive, and Staples hopes it can use tech to increase customer engagement, decrease costs and improve efficiencies. The company has been battling lower revenue recently as well as the collapse of its planned merger with Office Depot earlier this year.