Computing Awards for Excellence: IT Leader of the Year shortlist

Mark Akass, BT Global Financial Services

Mark Akass was promoted to chief technology officer (CTO) of BT Global Financial Services in January 2007, having served as CTO of BT Radianz.

Akass and his team identify changes in the industry and incorporate them into the new services offered by BT, and he has led the launch of some of the most innovative products in the market, including Radianz Ultra Access, the world’s fastest algorithmic trading network service.

Akass has been integral in securing several recent partnerships with global players including LiquidityHub and the London Stock Exchange.

John Crane, National Australia Group Europe

John Crane was appointed chief information officer (CIO) at National Australia Group Europe three years ago, and was immediately required to address the group’s need to refocus amid instability.

His strategic agenda was integral to the convergence of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank onto one core banking application.

Crane has overseen projects including the sale of the group’s Irish banks and the transfer of their data and operations. He also oversaw the customer connect and convergence programmes, which handled the migration of 1.2 million accounts and £10.6bn of assets and liabilities.

Richard Cross, ITV

Richard Cross, director of technology for ITV, is responsible for all informa tion, broadcast and production technology services for the business.

As part of an integration strategy, Cross has driven down costs in core services by 50 per cent. He has been a key part of ITV’s exploitation of digital media, including sponsoring the proactive digitisation of ITV’s feature film and TV archive, which will make 20,000 programmes available digitally.

Cross has also helped to generate significant revenue opportunities, by encouraging the board to create a consumer group and an emerging technology group, delivering more than £50m in new revenue.

Rorie Devine, Betfair

As part of its ethical and responsible approach to growth, Betfair has set new standards in the fight against corruption within sport, becoming the first company in the online gaming industry to achieve ISO 27001 information security accreditation.

Betfair’s chief technology officer (CTO) Rorie Devine has helped to transform Betfair into a mature global company. He runs fortnightly “talkback” sessions to encourage feedback from engineers, and sends out a weekly email called “Rorie’s Ramblings” to share the ups and downs of a week as a CTO.

Customers are also benefiting from continued innovation ­ in 2007, the time taken to return money to customers during the Grand National was just two minutes, down from 90 minutes the previous year.

Benoit Laclau, EDF Energy

Benoit Laclau joined EDF Energy as managing director of business improvement and technology in April 2005, charged with the task of transforming IT performance.

Laclau spends two-thirds of his time working with the business, rather than on IT operations. This allows him to fully understand the needs of the company and align IT with its needs.

Laclau introduced the “EDF Energy project way”, which promotes a standard approach to portfolio and project management, using consistent language across several areas. Employee satisfaction at EDF Energy has improved in response to Laclau’s hands-on leadership style.

Gareth Nutt, Mouchel Parkman

Gareth Nutt became IT director for Mouchel Parkman (MP) just over two years ago, when IT was disparate and widely seen as an obstacle to business success.

Having identified a set of distinct objectives, including the alignment of IT with business strategy, Nutt restructured MP’s IT into three streams: managing demand, supply and services, and technology. The number of support calls resolved every month is up from 3,250 to 4,500 and despite increased staff levels, spend per capita remains unchanged.

Nutt signed up MP for group membership of the BCS and enrolled his department into membership of user groups Construct and CIO Connect.

Al-Noor Ramji, BT

BT chief information officer (CIO) Al-Noor Ramji recognised the need for a radical redefinition of the company’s approach to IT.

The transformation, combining new business IT-based processes and a more efficient IT staff structure, has helped boost productivity by 23 per cent. Growth in IT revenues is up by more than £465m, and the 21st Century Network project to IP-enable BT’s communications is expected to generate annual savings of £1.1bn in operational expenses once complete.

BT’s broadband subscriber base has increased by 123 per cent and online transactions have risen by 300 per cent. Ramji plans to continue to explore better integration of all processes and systems to improve customer satisfaction.

Darrell Stein, Marks & Spencer

When Darrell Stein took on the role of IT director at Marks & Spencer (M &S) in July 2006, the IT infrastructure was creaking and major programmes were at risk.

It was down to Stein to deliver technology that would drive the business forward, and in his first year in the role, M&S’s expectations of IT have been redefined.

In response to M&S’s Plan A, launched to cover the group’s social responsibilities, Stein’s team delivered an online supplier exchange in just six weeks, designed to drive innovation on environmental and ethical standards.

The board of M&S now recognises IT as an innovative and expert partner, supporting the group’s overall business plan.