Effective Sept. 1, 2023, Karen McCarthy and Marcus Robinson begin serving as co-interim chief information officers at Northeastern University. At the same time, Senior Vice President of Global Network and Strategic Initiatives Mary Ludden will begin a search to fill the opening for vice president for information technology and CIO under her leadership.  

Karen and Marcus both previously served on the ITS Leadership Team as associate vice presidents and deputy CIOs, leading technology strategy, helping develop the IT roadmap, and delivering solutions throughout the global university system.  

Karen has over 20 years of experience in information technology, working in corporate, healthcare, and higher education settings. She joined Northeastern six years ago, where she has led many strategic initiatives within ITS—governance and execution excellence being two key focus areas. 

Marcus joined Northeastern in 2019 and has more than two decades of experience in private and public higher education. In his current role, he oversees a portfolio of functions and projects across digital strategy and governance, IT communications, and customer service.