ATO hires Accenture exec as CIO

The Australian Tax Office has lured the head of products for Accenture Australia to become its new chief information officer, ending six months of searching for former long-time CIO Bill Gibson's replacement.

The ATO today confirmed Ramez Katf, managing director of products for Accenture A/NZ, will take over the agency's top IT role.

Katf has spent more than 29 years at the consultancy, and at one point served as the account manager for the tax office. Accenture has been a long-term partner of the agency, including on its change program.

He will take over a role that been temporarily filled by Jane King after Gibson's departure in November last year. Gibson had been the ATO's CIO for 11 years.

Katf will be handed the reins to the agency's enterprise solutions and technology portfolio, and will take the lead on an effort to transform the ATO into a "contemporary, service-oriented organisation".

The agency has previously said it wants the CIO to drive a services engagement model into the business - which will necessitate changes to existing practices, approach and culture.

"Strategic focus areas are end-to-end digital service delivery and working environment, insight and intelligence, and anticipating and responding to the expectations of business and community," it wrote in its job ad earlier this year.

At the time of his resignation, Gibson advised his eventual successor to think beyond 12 or 18 months in order to effect transformational change.

"If you’re only ever doing continuous improvement without a view to a major future endpoint, you won’t get step change," he told iTnews at the time.

“My other advice to my successor is you’ve got a very good, capable and committed team - continue to use them and trust them."

Ramez will take up the role next year, and will be located in his home site of Brisbane.