Cindy Hoots

Cindy joined AstraZeneca in January 2020, as Chief Digital Officer & CIO.

She started her career at American Medical International as an application development programmer and continued to work in the healthcare industry for 5 years.

Over her career, Cindy has gained deep technical expertise and extensive global business experience spanning a variety of industries. She spent 16 years at Mars, Incorporated, followed by a move to ITT – an aerospace & defense and high-tech manufacturing company. From her role at ITT, Cindy then moved to South Africa as the CIO for Africa at SABMiller (consumer goods) based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Cindy was the Global Vice President, Technology at Unilever, based in London.

Cindy is recognized as a leader in innovation. She is passionate about helping companies transition from being product centric to patient/consumer centric companies and working with partners in a broader ecosystem to positively impact society. She is an international speaker on the topics of Future Technology Trends, Digital, Exponential Organisations, and global Leadership. Cindy is a guest lecturer at several leading universities on the topics of digital, AI and the role of IT in leading business.

Cindy is the AstraZeneca deputy for the World Economic Forum’s Edison Alliance which is focused on driving heath, financial and technology equity around the globe. She is the former President of CIONet’s Advisory Board and actively works on advancing the IT profession and the role of IT within companies. Cindy mentors a number of people and has been recognized for the work she has done to create diverse teams. She is the Executive Sponsor of AZ’s North America LGBTQ+ community and works on a number of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives around race, gender and neurodiversity.

In January 2023, Cindy joined Zoom’s Board of Directors. She is a member of their Audit Committee and chairs the Cyber Risk committee. In addition, Cindy advises and mentors various start-up companies around the world.

Cindy was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She has lived on four continents, travelled to more than 50 countries and has worked extensively in emerging markets. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Institute of Technology. Cindy is married and has three children. She moved back to the USA in January 2020 and is currently based in Gaithersburg, MD.