News in Brief

e-skills UK Board Membership Strengthens

e-skills UK today announced the appointment of seven new leading industrialists to its Employer Boards. The new members will join sixteen existing Board members. The Employer Boards drive the direction and strategy for e skills UK to ensure the UK has the technology-related skills it needs to succeed in the global economy.

Joining the IT & Telecoms Industry board are John Pluthero, Group Managing Director UK and Executive Chairman, Cable & Wireless, and Nick Read, Chief Executive, Vodafone UK.  The IT & Telecoms Industry board brings together the interests of the UK’s IT and telecoms businesses.

Appointed to the CIO Board are Neil Cameron, Chief Information Officer of Unilever PLC and Unilever NV; Andrea Kalavsky, Systems Magician, innocent; John Suffolk, CIO, UK Government; John Varney, Chief Technology Officer, BBC; and Ben Wishart, Group IT Director, Whitbread. The CIO Board brings together the interests of companies that use IT.

Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK commented: “We are honoured that these high profile and hugely experienced individuals have joined our IT & Telecoms and CIO Boards. Through their knowledge and vision they will help e-skills UK to make a real impact on the technology skills landscape and the UK’s future competitiveness.

“IT underpins every business regardless of its sector. Our Board membership reflects this breadth of impact.”

Biographies of new board members:

Neil Cameron, Unilever 
Neil Cameron is Chief Information Officer of Unilever PLC and Unilever NV. With over 30 year’s experience of the IT industry, Neil joined Unilever in July 2003 from Diageo plc where he was also CIO. Prior to that Neil was CIO for the North American business of Marks & Spencer. Neil began his career in IT in 1973 with RHM Management Services and held technical and junior management positions for a variety of organisations including Dixons Stores, TSB Trustcard, Aer Lingus & IBM.

John Pluthero
John Pluthero was appointed Group Managing Director, UK and Executive Chairman, of Cable & Wireless on 1 April 2006. Previously he was Executive Director of the UK business, a position he held since from November 2005. Until the acquisition by Cable & Wireless, John was Chief Executive of Energis.

Nick Read
Nick Read was made chief executive office for Vodafone UK in May 2006. Nick held a number of financial and commercial jobs at companies including J Sainsburys, BAA Plc, and Dixons Stores Group before moving to Federal Express Worldwide. In 1999 Nick became chief financial officer for Miller Freeman Worldwide (the major division of United News & Media plc). Nick then joined Vizzavi Europe as Chief Financial Officer, before moving to Vodafone in 2002 as Finance Director and then Chief Commercial Officer.

Andrea Kalavsky
Andrea Kalavsky joined innocent just over three years ago as its Systems Magician. She looks after all IT operations, ensuring that everything is always running smoothly at all the company’s Fruit Towers offices in the UK and in Europe, and, more importantly, that it is always heading in the right direction, when it comes to new technology. Andrea has worked for several SMEs in a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, recruitment and government. She thrives on working with growing businesses ‘because you can really feel the challenge of growing companies beneath your feet’. Andrea was born in Italy but her parents are Czech and she went to school in South Africa. Andrea likes nothing better than being outdoors with her dogs, Bobbi and Sasha and she really wants to learn capoeira.

John Suffolk, CIO, UK Government
With over 25 years' experience in IT and major transformation programmes, John took over his current position as the new Government CIO by the UK’s Cabinet Office in June 2006. John’s previous job was Director General of Criminal Justice IT (CJIT), to which he was appointed in February 2004. 

John Varney, BBC
John Varney joined the BBC in 2002 as Chief Technology Officer, responsible for the overall technology vision and strategy for the whole of the BBC worldwide. He leads the Technology Group, which identifies the technology requirements for the corporation now and in the future, and manages the technology supply contract with Siemens Business Services.

Ben  Wishart, Whitbread
Ben is the Group IT Director of Whitbread, owner of Premier Travel Inn, COSTA Coffee, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, TGI Friday UK and David Lloyd Leisure.  He joined Whitbread from Tesco, where he spent four years as a Director in the IT Division, in the UK and Central Europe. Prior to that he worked with Gemini Consulting on change management assignments in consumer products, retail and travel and tourism, and with American Express in marketing and new business development.

The full membership of the e-skills UK boards is:

Larry Hirst, Chief Executive, IBM UK, Chair of e-skills UK

IT & Telecoms Industry Board

Stephen Gill (Chair), VP/CEO, HP
Lis Astall, UK Managing Director, Accenture
Alistair Baker, MD & VP EMEA, Microsoft
Andy Green, Chief Executive, BT Global Services
Julian Harris, CEO, Smart421
Larry Hirst, Chief Executive, IBM UK
Peter Hutchinson, Managing Director UK Public Sector, Fujitsu
Duncan Mitchell, VP & MD UK & Ireland, Cisco
John Pluthero, Executive Chairman UK, Cable & Wireless
Nick Read, UK CEO, Vodafone Ltd
Ian Smith, MD, Oracle
Bill Thomas, President of Europe, EDS

CIO Board

Paul Coby (Chair), CIO, British Airways
Peter Brickley, CIO, Centrica
David Burden, Group CIO, Royal Mail
Neil Cameron, CIO, Unilever
Claire Hamon, Director of Business Information Systems, CPS
Andrea Kalavsky, Systems Magician, innocent
Simon Post, Chief Technology Officer, Carphone Warehouse
John Suffolk, CIO, UK Government
Richard Thwaite, Global Head of IT Production Change, UBS
John Varney, Chief Technology Officer, BBC
Ben Wishart, Group IT Director, Whitbread

Posted on 07 Jul 2006