US IT outsourcing giant CSC has replaced incumbent Australian chief Nick Wilkinson with Gavin Larkings (pictured), a former local executive with the group who is returning from Harvard’s Advanced Management Program.

International executive Wilkinson has led the company in Australia since December 2007, relocating down under to do so. He was previously the company’s vice president of its Chemicals, Energy & Natural Resources division.

Wilkinson’s next role has not yet been announced, but in a statement, CSC’s global CEO Michael W. Laphen praised the executive, saying he had been instrumental in fostering growth in Australia, with a “stronger focus on marketplace recognition and improved sales and marketing capabilities in CSC Australia’s target verticals”.

Larkings has recently completed the Harvard program. Previously, he was assigned as vice president of service delivery with CSC’s Managed Services Sector for Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions. He was previous vice president of service delivery in Australia, and has held several senior positions since he joined the company in 1999.

“Larkings’ career in information technology (IT) spans over 30 years and includes management roles within the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and EDS. His experience in IT has been broad and diverse, ranging across line and executive management roles in data centres, technical systems support, applications development and account management,” CSC added in its statement.

The executive has a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology from the University of Technology Sydney and a Post Graduate Diploma in Banking Management from Macquarie University Sydney, in addition to his new Harvard qualification.

It hasn’t been all plain sailing for Wilkinson during his stay in Australia.

In April last year, CSC confirmed it would make a number of its Australian staff redundant as a result of the global financial crisis — shortly after Wilkinson had emailed journalists personally referring to the year ahead as “a banner year”.

However the company also won a number of large IT outsourcing clients in the period — generally renewals such as last week’s deal with BlueScope Steel.

Larkings will take over CSC’s Australian operation on April 6.

Image credit: CSC

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