University College London Hospitals director of IT James Thomas has been named the number one CIO in the 2013 edition of the CIO 100 list – while London 2012 Olympics CIO Gerry Pennell received a special Outstanding Achievement award in recognition of his unique contribution. The CIO 100 judging panel, which comprised of Editor in Chief Mark Chillingworth and magazine columnists – many of whom are former CIOs – Mike Altendorf, Jerry Fishenden, Richard Sykes, Ade McCormack, Ian Alderton and Rorie Devine, placed Thomas above JLT Group CIO Ian Cohen and Unilever’s Willem Eelman. Last year’s number one Trevor Didcock of easyJet was ninth. The panel agreed Thomas showed what the CIO can do for an organisation in terms of sourcing strategy and management, process improvement and being a board level leader that enables an organisation to think openly and differently, with technology playing a key role. In the last year UCLH has opened a groundbreaking new cancer centre in association with the Macmillan charity. This development and the pioneering approach to public sector technology sourcing and provision pushed Thomas to the head of the list. “At a time when the public healthcare system in the UK is struggling, James Thomas and UCLH demonstrate the importance of technology to improve the efficiency of an organisation so that it can do more for its most important community, it’s users,” said Mark Chillingworth, Editor in Chief of CIO UK. “Also, financial services, retail and manufacturing are facing some very tough challenges in the current economic climate; Ian Cohen and Willem Eelman of JLT and Unilever respectively, demonstrate what organisations in these sectors can achieve by enhancing the power of digital collaboration and data analysis. Both organisations are seeing benefits from backing their CIOs to be innovative and provide the company with greater insight,” Chillingworth said. “James Thomas is a very worthy successor to easyJet’s Trevor Didcock,” said former ICI CIO Sykes. “But like a CAMRA pub of the year,” quipped Devine on Didcock, “you can’t win two years running.” Ade McCormack said that Eelman’s “been quite masterful in the way he’s taken charge of IT at Unilever”. Pennell was recognised by the judges due to the unique nature of the London 2012 CIO role and the popularity and respect he has garnered in the UK CIO scene. It was noted how it has been impossible to judge Pennell over the last four years making him ineligible on previous editions of the CIO 100; his entire delivery and achievements hinged on one glorious summer last year. View the CIO 100 Related content brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM How digital twin technology is changing complex industrial processes forever As the use cases for digital twins proliferate, it is becoming clear that data-driven enterprises with a track record of innovation stand the best chance of success. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM Why modernising applications needs to be a ‘must’ for businesses seeking growth Around one-third of enterprises are spending heavily on application modernisation and aiming for cloud native status. The implications for corporate culture, structure and priorities will be profound. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation opinion 11 ways to reduce your IT costs now Reorienting IT’s budget toward future opportunities is a big reason why CIOs should review their IT portfolios with an eye toward curbing unnecessary spending and realizing maximum value from every IT investment. By Stephanie Overby Dec 05, 2023 11 mins Budget Budget Budget news analysis SAP faces breakdown in trust over innovation plans The company’s plan to offer future innovations in S/4HANA only to subscribers of its Rise with SAP offering is alienating customers, user conference hears. By Peter Sayer Dec 05, 2023 6 mins SAP Cloud Management Innovation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe