Rocket Software names Jay Leader as its new CIO

Rocket Software announced on May 12 that Jay Leader has joined the company as senior vice president and chief information officer.

Leader will work in the company’s world headquarters in Waltham, MA, and report to Rocket’s CEO, Andy Youniss.

Leader is a 29-year veteran of the IT industry, having served in a variety of IT and consulting positions, including management roles in network/telecommunications, business systems and project management. Most notably, Leader served as chief information officer at iRobot and Nypro.

The former chairman of the Boston Society for Information Management CIO Roundtable, Leader was named the 2010 “Massachusetts CIO of the Year” by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.  He was also named one of Computerworld’s 2011 Premier 100 Leaders in IT.

“I am pleased to welcome Jay to our executive team,” Youniss said. “At our core, we are a global engineering company. We develop software, deliver solutions, and provide support to our community of 17,000 customers and partners around the world. Our information technology strategy is an absolute differentiator for us and remains critical to our ability to serve our customer and partner community with the best products and solutions. The experience that Jay brings to the company allows us to grow and service our community at an accelerated pace.”

Leader is a graduate of Clark University, of Worcester, MA, where he earned a B.A. in international relations and an MBA.