'Digital CTO' pictures new role at Kodak

Eastman Kodak on Tuesday continued its march into digital terrain with the appointment of a new chief technology officer.

William Lloyd, who will also function as Kodak's director of research and development, has been director of inkjet systems since he joined the company in June 2003. He replaces James Stoffel, who will retire at the end of February after six years as CTO.

Kodak chairman and CEO Daniel Carp said in a statement: "Bill Lloyd has a long and successful track record of developing digital products and managing large organisations. We expect Bill to build on that legacy as the head of Kodak's technology efforts."

In recent years, Lloyd worked at several companies, including smart-card maker Gemplus International, where he was CTO, and Phogenix Imaging, where he was co- CEO. Before that, he spent 31 years with Hewlett-Packard; at HP, his posts included technology chief in the inkjet products group.

Long a mainstay of the camera film industry, Kodak decided to shift its focus to the digital camera segment only in September 2003. Despite its late start, however, the company in the third quarter tied for the top spot in sales of digital cameras with powerhouse Sony.

Stoffel was Kodak's "first digital CTO" and helped guide its transition from traditional silver halide technology, the company said.