Government's deputy CTO Magnus Falk is latest to leave GDS

Like several others, Falk leaves government without securing a new job, suggesting a degree of unhappiness with GDS direction

The government's deputy CTO, Magnus Falk, is the latest to leave Whitehall, as the exodus since former Government Digital Service (GDS) chief Mike Bracken's departure sees no sign of letting up.

"Magnus joined GDS on a fixed term assignment to work with Government's Technology Leaders and now he has decided it is the right time to leave," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said.

The government may dress this (along with the other departures) up as an "IT shake-up" and suggest that change is always necessary to keep things fresh, but Falk joins several other senior IT professionals in government who have left without specifically stating their next whereabouts. Deputy director Tom Loosemore, director of strategy Russelll Davies, and director of design Ben Terrett - all of whom had significant input into the way GDS worked - resigned from their roles without first securing new jobs either - suggesting a degree of unhappiness with the direction in which GDS is heading.

Falk became deputy CTO of government in August 2014, joining a team tasked with ensuring that government technology is capable of making the shift online. He reported into CTO Liam Maxwell.

Falk had spent 16 years at Credit Suisse, becoming CIO of the bank's EMEA region in 2008, before leaving the post in August 2012. He then became a consultant for what he calls a "leading bank", where he was involved in a £3bn IT change programme that formed part of the bank's transformation agenda.

As deputy CTO of the Government Digital Service (GDS), Falk led the Common Technology Services (CTS) team on a temporary basis. Earlier this month, the government put out an advert advertising for a director to run the CTS team on a permanent basis, with a salary of up to £160,000.

Perhaps the government did not want to hire Falk for the long-term. However, the fact that the Cabinet Office spokesperson said that Falk had decided it was the right time to leave, suggests that it was indeed his decision to part ways with GDS.

Other members of GDS to leave since Bracken decided to resign include head of user research Leisa Reichelt, who returned to Australia to work for the government's Digital Transformation Office, and GDS director of performance and delivery Richard Sargeant, who moved within government to the Home Office, as director of transformation. Last month, Michael Beaven decided to step down from his role as transformation director to move to a director of digital role at consultancy group Methods Digital.

Bracken was highly regarded within the industry, and is taking up a role as chief digital officer at the Co-Operative Group this month. Stephen Foreshaw-Cain, the chief operating officer of the GDS, has been chosen to replace him.