Bausch & Lomb puts new CIO in charge of customer service

Eye care company Bausch & Lomb has given its CIO the customer service reins. On Wednesday, the company named Alan Farnsworth, senior vice president of customer service and information technology and chief information officer.

Cutting through the rather bloated title, it appears that Bausch & Lomb has linked IT and customer service and given one guy the ball to integrate the two. The move is also an example of how business executives--not technically trained types--are taking over the role as CIO.

In the new position, Farnsworth will be responsible for the "company’s global delivery of customer service processes, as well as for the strategic development of information technology resources to support global business growth."

Farnsworth had been president of Bausch & Lomb's Europe, Middle East and Africa division and responsible for the company's commercial operations across the globe. He joined the company in 1988 as vice president of business development.

Farnsworth will take over his new role in the third quarter.