2018 CIO 100 leader named as Global’s David Henderson

Global Radio Director of Technology and Operations David Henderson has been named leader of the 2018 CIO 100, a celebration showcase of CIOs and technology executives driving transformation at their organisations, alongside Trainline CTO Mark Holt and News UK CTO Christina Scott.

[View the 2018 CIO 100]

Multiple CIO 100 member Henderson was recognised for developing its programmatic Digital Audio Exchange advertising platform for radio, technology innovations which have helped reduce broadcasting errors and supported tremendous growth at the media organisation, and for consistently championing diversity and inclusion initiatives which have had a measurable positive impact on the company.

Holt is recognised for his predictive analytics push which has helped shift Trainline’s mission and strategy, taking predictive analytics out of tech into marketing, finance and HR, and from there into the hands of customers. Scott, who is also Deputy CTO at global company News Corp as well as CTO for News UK, returns to the highest echelons of the CIO 100 for helping facilitate a new approach to product development, an IT infrastructure overhaul, driving revenue through building a new data science capability, and driving a positive cultural change up, down and across the organisation.

Growth, diversity and innovation leadership

Henderson said: “I am immensely proud of what the Technology & Operations team have been able to achieve at Global. We have found the right balance between embracing new technologies and introducing new ways of working while maintaining what works really well.

“It feels like there is recognition of not just saying the right things, but doing them too. From our partnership approach with key vendors to a more diverse talent strategy and attracting the best entry level technologists, we have been able to execute an ambitious digital transformation that, in turn, has helped launch compelling new products and grow the business.”

CIO UKEditor, Edward Qualtrough, said: “The 2018 CIO 100 leaders were recognised in particular for driving business growth with technology innovations, for using their position to have a significant positive impact on organisational culture and strategy, and for their part in developing products which can ultimately benefit their customers and businesses.”

CIO 100 panel member Jayne Nickalls, a non-executive director on a number of organisations and the first Chief Executive of Directgov, stressed the 2018 CIO 100 leaders were promoting ways of working to drive culture change, were using data to drive revenue, and showed a customer focus in service and product design.

“All three CIOs come from different backgrounds but demonstrate a balanced approach and an ability to operate across a number of areas, building a team to complement their own skill sets. All are acting as change agents within their businesses to drive change and disruption,” she said.

No CIO uniformity

The 2018 CIO 100 panel noted that the initiative brought together a number of types of roles and styles of leadership – and that there was a unique opportunity for CIOs to carve their own path.

Matt Ballantine said: “What really struck me more than in previous years was how broad the definition of the CIO role has become – there’s definitely no generic role description. Whilst that is sometimes defined by the nature of the industry in which a CIO finds themselves, even within sectors there can be quite a breadth of types and styles of CIO that go beyond the old models of turnaround and steady-state that we have maybe seen in the past.”

Multiple CIO 100 alumnus, Christine Ashton, said: “What I see is a broad spectrum of CIOs. If you correlate the CIO role in a company with industry disruption and a company’s appetite for change then I think you can start to see a bit better what is going on.

“In the 2018 CIO 100 there is everything: the contracting CIO, the infrastructure CIO, the business system manager CIO, the entrepreneurial CIO and more.”

Former CIO 100 leader Trevor Didcock added: “There is no one CIO role any more, there are business leaders, tech disruptors, and fixers. The need to define who you are, what you stand for and be honest about what you can do and what you can’t do is greater than ever. The 2018 CIO 100 seem to me to really know who they are and how to make things happen in their particular context.”

The CIO 100 is a showcase of CIOs as business leaders that deliver change, IT projects and customer benefits through information and technology, as well as a recognition of the unique and challenging roles CIOs play in their organisations.

Qualtrough added: “I would like to thank all CIOs who took part in the initiative which we hope will be of benefit to the whole CIO community. My appreciations and gratitude also extend to the CIO 100 panel for their input, insight, experience and expertise and without whom the CIO 100 would not be possible.”