DISH appoints Suma Nallapati as chief digital officer

DISH Networks today announced the appointment of Suma Nallapati as chief digital officer.
Dish chief digital officer Suma Nallapati
Suma Nallapati, who currently serves on Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s cabinet as secretary of Technology and state CIO, will be reporting to DISH CIO Atilla Tinic when she joins the cable and broadcasting company in January.

Suma Nallapati, who holds her master’s degree in nuclear physics from Andhra University India, will lead DISH’s application delivery and digital strategy implementation. Her technology portfolio will include sales, e-commerce, customer and partner management, billing and other various operational support systems.

Dish Network lost 367,000 satellite subscribers during the third quarter. Customers, who cancelled their satellite service due to the Univision blackout accounted for roughly half of the subscriber losses.

The company’s streaming video service Sling TV added 26,000 subscribers. Dish has tried to lure viewers to its $25-per-month Sling TV as it battles cord-cutting in its satellite TV services, with audiences shifting to services like Netflix.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Suma Nallapati as Colorado CIO, a state cabinet-level position, in 2014. Prior to her role leading Colorado’s Office of Information Technology, Suma Nallapati served Catholic Health Initiatives, as associate vice president of Service Delivery.

Suma Nallapati began her IT career as a programmer for DISH in 1997. Suma Nallapati was named CIO of the Year earlier this month by the Colorado Technology Association. Suma Nallapati was named a 2017 Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado honoree by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.