Paul Coby, CIO, British Airways, has been voted the UK’s most influential
Chief Information Officer in the 2007 CIO50 list, run by silicon.com.Launched this year, the CIO50 list recognises the individual achievements
of the top 50 UK CIOs and the contribution their leadership makes to their
own organisations and, more widely, to UK Plc. The list is compiled by the
UK CIO community, along with a panel of other experts, who voted for the
top 50 CIOs based on leadership ability, delivery and execution, innovation
and influence.

BA’s Paul Coby was voted the UK’s top CIO because of the crucial role he
has played in the airline’s turnaround during one of the most difficult
periods in its history. His achievements include cutting IT costs by almost
half, overhauling the BA.com website, introducing online check-in and
print-your-own boarding passes and building state-of-the-art systems for
the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow.

Andy McCue, community editor for silicon.com, said: “Technology is at the
heart of most businesses today and the role of the CIO has never been more
important. The CIO50 list uniquely identifies the most influential and
innovative individuals leading tech-driven change at the top of UK Plc.
Their outstanding leadership is driving real business value across a wide
range of organisations, from the biggest FTSE100 players to high-growth
innovators to the public sector.”   

The final CIO50 list for 2007 was compiled using the votes of 35 CIOs and
IT directors and other experts that included the former CIOs of AstraZeneca
and Deutsche Bank, leading CIO headhunter firms Boyden UK and Heidrick &
Struggles, and CIO career development coach Brinley Platts.

The top 10 CIOs

1.      Paul Coby, CIO, British Airways
2.      Colin Cobain, Group IT director, Tesco
3.      Neil Cameron, CIO, Unilever
4.      Nigel Underwood, CIO, DHL Logistics
5.      David Lister, CIO, Reuters
6.      Ian Buchanan, CIO, Alliance & Leicester
7.      Robin Dargue, CIO and business process director, Diageo
8.      Simon Post, CTO, Carphone Warehouse
9.      Darin Brumby, CIO, FirstGroup
10.      JP Rangaswami, CIO, BT Global Services

silicon.com’s CIO50 coverage (www.silicon.com/CIO50).includes biographies
of all 50 CIOs and in-depth analysis about the CIO role and the challenges
in various vertical sectors including financial services, government and
retail.

The top 50 rankings were revealed at an event hosted at the Cinnamon Club,
London on 6th June.  A keynote speech at the event was delivered by the CEO
of Lastminute.com, Ian McCaig.
——-