UKG appoints Jim Joudrey Chief Technology Officer to drive AI

UKG has announced the appointment of Jim Joudrey as Chief Technology Officer to oversee the company's global engineering and cloud organisation.

Joudrey takes on responsibility for leading a team of more than 4,000 technology professionals at UKG, and will serve on the executive leadership team reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morgan.

Joudrey brings over twenty years of experience leading technology and engineering teams across several major technology companies. Most recently, he was Vice President of Digital Acceleration at Amazon, where he managed digital eCommerce operations across more than 40 business units, including Prime, Prime Video, Audible, Music, Devices and Games. Joudrey's earlier roles include Senior Vice President of Analytics Cloud Engineering at Salesforce, where he contributed to Tableau's cloud migration project following its acquisition by Salesforce.

During his tenure at Amazon, Joudrey spent a decade working in a range of positions, including those focusing on core financial systems, marketplace services, and supply chain operations. He concluded his time at Amazon by serving as a technology leader within Amazon Web Services (AWS) Infrastructure. In that capacity, he was responsible for engineering teams tasked with labour management, datacentre automation, security, hardware vetting, and system monitoring.

Leadership perspectives

Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morgan highlighted Joudrey's track record and the timing of his appointment:

"Jim is a transformational technology leader with a track record of turning bold ideas into products that deliver results for customers. He joins UKG at a perfect time as we begin the next chapter of our technology story. With his deep expertise, we'll accelerate innovation and create even greater opportunities for our customers to better understand their workforce and orchestrate how work gets done - driving deeper engagement with their employees and resulting in better experiences, higher productivity, and stronger outcomes. We're thrilled to welcome him to UKG."

As Chief Technology Officer, Joudrey assumes responsibility for shaping and executing UKG's technology vision. The remit includes advancing the company's AI-first platform, intended to assist customers in making more informed decisions based on workforce data.

UKG provides HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions to more than 80,000 organisations worldwide, including two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies. Its platform is aimed at delivering productivity, efficiency, and flexibility for users and their workforce operations across 150 countries.

New CTO's priorities

Joudrey succeeds Sri Srinivasan, who has served as interim Chief Technology Officer for UKG since 2023. In his new position, Joudrey will direct efforts relating to artificial intelligence, software as a service (SaaS) transformation, and operational processes, with a stated commitment to a customer-first approach.

Commenting on his new role, Joudrey expressed enthusiasm for UKG's trajectory and strategic ambitions:

"UKG is on a remarkable trajectory, with the platform, workforce insights, and AI-first strategy to reshape work for organisations around the world. What drew me to UKG is the opportunity to build category leading products that help organisations of all sizes empower their employees and optimise their operations. We are the engine of innovation that drives agility, performance, and better work experiences for tens of millions of workers globally."

Background at UKG

UKG positions itself as an AI-first provider of solutions that link people data, work data, and employee sentiment data with business outcomes through the use of artificial intelligence. The company supplies cloud-based HR, payroll, and workforce management technology to organisations across industries and geographies.

The appointment of Joudrey forms part of the company's broader technology strategy. Under his leadership, UKG expects to continue its emphasis on supporting clients to maximise their workforce potential and enhance both productivity and employee experiences.