HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – CDK Global, Inc., a leading retail automotive technology company, announced that Kirsten Garen has joined the company as chief information officer (CIO).  She will also be a member of the executive leadership team. In her role, Garen will execute the IT strategy to drive innovation and operational excellence in support of the customers, partners and employees of CDK Global.

I see tremendous opportunity for enterprise collaboration to drive efficiency and scale that will allow us to grow and work with our clients to transform their businesses.

”Kirsten’s ability to align operational execution and technology transformation with business outcomes make her the perfect fit to accelerate our vision to modernize, transform and support a digital future for our customers and employees,” said Mahesh Shah, executive vice president and chief product and technology officer, CDK Global. “She prioritizes developing talent and team collaboration that matches well with our core values and corporate culture.”

With more than 30 years of experience in technology and operations roles, Garen brings a diverse experience in driving transformations in customer-centric, growing organizations. Most recently, she served as CIO for Delta Dental of California where she led all technology functions.  Prior to Delta Dental, she served as CIO for Bank of the West.  Garen has also held senior executive technology and operations roles at VISA, Charles Schwab and Bankers Trust. 

She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.  

“I’m delighted to join CDK. I see tremendous opportunity for enterprise collaboration to drive efficiency and scale that will allow us to grow and work with our clients to transform their businesses,” said Garen. “We will focus on streamlining and optimizing the work of our teams to allow them to innovate and create new client solutions.”  

Read: CU Direct and DealerSocket Announce New Integration for CUDL Auto Lending Platform