Jeremy Cooper

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

Jeremy boasts a career of 20+ years in IT for life sciences, with a little foray into consulting plus high performance and coaching. He is now able to do a bit of both, but loves to see how to get the best out of people, improve performance and ensure we're enjoying life as well as chasing the next bug fix or SLA.

Jeremy is passionate about the outdoors and sport.

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

Working with the business while we break new ground in our drug development life cycle. Also, the ability to build from scratch and be a part of the business, not just an IT function

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

Make sure we get the right people at the table and set the expectations and required outcomes. You've got to take people on the journey from the start.

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

Data access management and controls. Our operating model makes it complex.

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

My smart watch. I'm a bit of a nerd - well I do work in IT - and the watch helps me stay accountable to my health and wellbeing. It also adds a little gamification, which is always fun.

P.S. I think I'd love to be without my phone

What excites you most about the future of IT?

That every company is a tech company but many don't realise it yet. IT can be an innovator and help drive transformation

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

I don't know, I generally put lots of odd stuff onto LinkedIn. Probably handstand walking

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

Win + L. People just need to lock that machine when they walk away. Most days I want to go do something on their machine when it's left there.