Jim Fowler

Legacy & significance

Fowler ran technology for one of America's largest industrial conglomerates, GE, where he oversaw a $3 billion budget and 25,000 employees and drove the insourcing of thousands of technology jobs, before leading Nationwide's digital transformation and now shaping Lumen's AI-driven network strategy as its CTPO.

Major achievements & key works

• Named Chief Technology and Product Officer, Lumen Technologies (2026). Leads technology, engineering, security, and product organizations, overseeing Lumen's digital transformation and AI-driven vision as 'the trusted network for the digital economy.'
• Group Chief Information Officer, General Electric (2015-2018). Led global technology strategy and a 25,000-person organization on a $3B+ annual budget; drove a Digital Thread transformation program targeting $1 billion in productivity, and led an insourcing initiative that added 2,000 GE technology employees while eliminating over 6,000 contractors.
• Chief Information Officer, GE Capital. Led technology for GE Capital's $350 billion asset portfolio, directing a multi-year modernization program to meet Dodd-Frank regulatory requirements.
• Chief Technology Officer, Nationwide (2018-2025). Led Nationwide's digital product transformation and operational efficiency automation strategy for over seven years.

Pivotal turning points

Year	Event	Impact
1996	Joins Accenture as a Manager on ERP implementation programs	Builds enterprise systems foundation
2005	Joins GE Infrastructure as CTO of Architecture & Design	Begins a decade-plus career across GE's technology organization
2015	Named Group CIO of General Electric	Leads global technology strategy for the entire company
2018	Joins Nationwide as Chief Technology Officer	Leads digital product transformation for over seven years
2026	Named Chief Technology and Product Officer, Lumen Technologies	Leads technology, product, and AI-driven network strategy

Sources & further reading

Primary sources

• Jim Fowler, LinkedIn profile

Recommended secondary sources