AI Workforce Platform Sona Appoints Richard Tallboy as CIO

Richard Tallboy from Côte restaurants joins as CIO for AI-powered workforce management platform Sona.

Richard Tallboy has been appointed to the newly created position of chief information officer (CIO) advisor at Sona, an AI-powered workforce management platform found in 2021. Their mission is to solve the unique challenges of frontline work with truly intelligent AI that empowers every employee.

Before this Richard Tallboy was CIO of Côte restaurants for three years and he has more than two decades of senior technology leadership experience to the software provider, having held CIO and CTO roles across brands such as Pizza Express, Wagamama and the Restaurant Group. Tallboy will collaborate closely with Sona's leadership team in his advisory role to carry out business assessments, customer advisory board governance, and strategic planning.

Steffen Wulff Petersen, co-founder and chief executive of Sona said that having Richard in Sona allows them to offer his CIO expertise to hospitality businesses on a much broader scale and at a much lower cost. They believe this will help the hospitality industry leverage the benefits of technology and AI faster, at a time where efficiencies are needed across the industry.

According to Richard Tallboy, hospitality leaders are under more pressure than ever to make the right technology decisions, particularly as AI becomes embedded across operations. The pace of growth, the calibre of hospitality brands Sona partners with and the company’s clear ambition around technology and AI, make this a compelling opportunity.

In addition to Richard Tallboy’s appointment, Sona is launching CIO Snapshot, a new diagnostic tool for mid-market and corporate organizations looking for independent evaluations of a company's tech infrastructure, stack rationalization potential, and strategic roadmap formulation.