Bob Compton

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2026.

Bob is an award‑winning C‑Suite technology and digital leader with a proven track record of delivering transformations, resilience, and innovation across financial services and banking. He brings extensive experience shaping technology strategy, modernising legacy estates, and enabling business growth and value through data, AI, and digital capability.

A member of the Executive Committee and SMF24 for Mobilize Financial Services UK and RCI Bank UK, Bob leads enterprise technology, data, cyber, and digital transformation, with responsibility for regulatory alignment, operational resilience, and third‑party risk.

His background spans CIO, CTO, CDO, and IS/IT Director roles, underpinned by 25+ years in software engineering, data, architecture, IT and financial‑services technology.

What's the most exciting part of your current role?

Being a tech leader in 2026 is a very unique time with the consideration that the majority of people have tools and knowledge available to them that ultimately makes the whole company tech oriented. No longer are the only people capable sat within the technology departments.

As a tech leader, you have to have a strategy and a direction for the whole organisation on how to best get the modern tools embedded and utilised to the best of their ability. Therefore, an exciting part of the role is taking on the challenge to encourage that citizen development, automating as much as possible, making everyone more efficient and productive. But then, especially in regulated industries, making sure this is done with the best practises, rules of engagement, security and change management all considered to avoid risks and incidents triggered by any of these business-generated solutions, as per end user computing guidelines.

Taking this forward-looking approach avoids Shadow IT and creates a collaborative spirit.

What do you do in week one of a new project to avoid pain in month six?

There are several key points but one of the most important factors everyone can consider is a Sprint 0 if you are an Agile organisation. More importantly, it’s good practise to focus on a pre-mortem - considering everything that could go wrong so that you can prepare all of your contingency in advance, but more likely to avoid the pain in the first place.

What’s the part of your estate you most want to simplify in 2026?

It would be amazing to click my fingers and have a ready to go inventory and library of all reporting, data, AI and automation solutions implemented across the organisation.

We are quite far along in this process, but it would be good to be engrained from TODAY including a comprehensive data model, data lineage all in place and updated instantly on any change - and the documentation to go with everything. All the parts of the puzzle that can be left slightly behind as you strive to deliver superb software solutions in a lightning fast time to market.

Excluding smartphones, what piece of technology could you not live without and why?

The whole Renault family of cars have the best built infotainment systems of any brand I have driven. With Google built in, recently I've found myself interacting with Gemini on long drives and challenging it in the usual way:

"I'm sorry I cannot interact with your WhatsApp messages."

"Yes you can, you just read one out."

"My apologies you are correct, I can do that, I will read out that last one in the style of Mr T."

What excites you most about the future of IT?

This is more a hope than excitement, but I hope the world finds its way with realising there is a time and a place for tech. We speak about work/life balance a lot, I also think humans would benefit from a bigger focus on a tech/life balance. There are times where you can go and do something and not have your phone glued to you or a smart device strapped to you.

Everyone has their own preferences, but the gym for example is a great time to let your mind be in the moment and focus on your exercises and your thoughts, not to watch a box set on your iPhone whilst doing squats.

Technology is amazing and also addictive. Of course I'm focusing specifically on "devices" when I say this, but once the world finds its feet on getting the balance right you will really start to see incredible things.

What talent are you quietly proud of that would never show up on LinkedIn?

Recently saw The Prodigy in Wembley arena - absolutely bringing me back to my youth. Quietly proud that in my head I'm back in the 90s working in perfect harmony to the beat - in reality could look suspiciously like dad dancing.

What’s your most-used keyboard shortcut or command that you wish everyone knew?

There is one of those Microsoft glitches where, having been connected to multiple screens, you go back to one screen and your Outlook window is "off radar," and you cannot bring it back into view. Rather than having to kill it I use Windows+R to bring up the run box with my ready to go "outlook.exe /resetnavpane".

There are other ways involving move and cursors, but I feel this is quickest as it happens to me all the time.