Tom Clark

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

With a record of successfully setting vision and direction for enterprise technology, Tom has more than 30 years experience in the IT sector, working for organisations from HSBC to the University of Leeds. Today he is CTO at Ardonagh Advisory, leading digital transformation and technology introduction across the group.

How do you ensure diversity is taken into account in your IT recruitment?

Diversity and equality are of significant importance throughout the Ardonagh Group and embodied through our governance processes. However, to quote our sponsor of the Group Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) forum, "As a Group, we've created the D&I forums and their communities to be the catalyst and create conversations which allow us to build understanding and take positive action. But D&I doesn't belong in the forums, it belongs to all of us. It's not 'just' a project - and it's not going to be an overnight fix... The ultimate destination is a Group where inclusivity is part of our corporate DNA". Personally I encourage diversity in inclusion, for example supporting multiple gender and social mobility mentoring."

Which technology are you currently most excited by?

I think its a tremendous time to be working in technology, with the scale and pace of change ever on the increase. The most exciting application for me is how processing speed and data capacity is enabling insights and automation through AI that cannot have been achieved previously.

What do you to unwind?

I love snowboarding - with this year being 30 years since I started. I worked as an instructor in the past and am so proud that my 16 year old has just qualified too. I don't get away as much nowadays so enjoy family time, our dogs and a "project" house renovation.

If you were an animal (other than human), which animal would you be and why?

Definitely a dog - always optimistic, glad to see you and trusting.

What makes you laugh?

I'm a big fan of dark comedies - recently saw Silent Night, an apocalyptic story set over Christmas. Very funny.

How did you get into IT?

Typical teenage geek story of home computing (using a Video Genie), which sparked my interest and led to me seeking out a role as a trainee programming, using Cobol on a 16k mainframe.