2014 CIO 100 showcases transformational business IT leaders

Each year CIO UK asks the community to share its transformation vision and achievements to create a list of the 100 CIOs leading business change in their organisation. The aim of the CIO 100 is to reveal year on year that CIOs are a key to business transformation.

Transformation can take many forms. For some organisations it is a business critical upgrade of its core technology assets to enable the organisation to keep pace with its market sector, for others the technology estate has suffered under-investment and requires a root and branch reorganisation and refresh. But as we see with this year’s top three, technology is reshaping the environment these organisations operate in and these CIOs are instrumental, with their fellow board members, in embracing and leading technology change. In some cases, such as Stephen Kneebone at Nissan and Phil Jordan at Telefonica, this is a case of a CIO and company embracing the digital disruption leagues ahead of their market rivals.

It is our genuine hope that the CIO 100 will show that within the British economy there are CIOs out there driving process improvement, using technology to delight customers and the workforce, realising efficiencies and enabling organisation to remain relevant as a digital revolution sweeps across our economic environment in tandem with a change in economic performance of the developed world. Not only is the UK blessed with a community of transformative CIOs, this year’s trio of leaders show we provide the global CIO community with the type of CIO required for the challenges of the future.

There is always a danger with products like the CIO 100 for them to be seen as ‘power lists’ or awards. The reality is that the CIO 100 is a showcase of the CIO role and all it can do for organisations.

In previous eras CIOs have been judged by the size of their estate, the budget available to them or the size of the organisation they provide technology to. In 2014, CIO UK believes this to be a completely unsatisfactory judgement on the benefits technology and CIOs can offer organisations.