Western Sydney Uni hunts for new CIO

Western Sydney University CIO Daniel Saffioti is leaving, and the university has kicked off the recruitment process for his replacement.

Daniel Saffioti

A long time member of the university’s IT staff, Saffioti first joined Western Sydney University in 2015 as a solutions architect and engineer, holding roles as both a lecturer and director for solution and process services.

In 2021, he was appointed deputy chief information and digital officer.

Early this year, he was appointed CIO during a reorganisation, in which WSU split its head of IT into two positions. 

Kerry Holling, who had previously held the head of IT job, moved into into a "CDO/CISO role".

Saffioti announced his resignation on LinkedIn.

Confirming his imminent departure, a spokesperson for Western Sydney University told iTnews that Saffioti "has held a leadership position in the university’s Information Technology and Digital Services (ITDS) for the last four years."

“In particular, he played a key role in ensuring the University’s IT systems were adapted and suitable for off-campus operations at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic," the spokesperson said.

“His expertise and influence during that period and his leadership in the CIO role has placed the University in good stead as its progresses its digital acceleration plan.”

The spokesperson said the university wants Saffioti’s replacement to “continue to advance the University’s information technology capabilities and ensure it is well placed to meet new and emerging technological and cyber security challenges.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Kerry Holling has also recently retired, which the university confirmed to iTnews.