Stephen Rooke

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2025.

A forward-thinking CTO with over two decades of experience leading enterprise transformation. As CTO of Healthxchange.com, Stephen is driving innovation in the aesthetics industry with a serverless-first strategy, streamlining operations, enhancing customer engagement, and eliminating legacy inefficiencies. His focus on simplification, strategic innovation, and building empowered teams ensures technology fuels business growth while meeting regulatory demands.

Outside of work, Stephen is passionate about surfing, spending time with his family, and cheering on Barnsley FC.

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

Improving things! Seeing changes delivered that drive productivity and sales

What do you consider your greatest IT achievement of the last 12 months?

Migration away from Citrix!

What's the biggest challenge facing IT leaders today, and how are you tackling it?

Everything is people and communication. Regular consistent communication, town halls, meet ups, project updates and stakeholder sessions.

What piece of technology could you not live without, and why?

It’s boring, but my phone, as it allows me to stay in touch on the move.

What excites you most about the future of IT?

It’s always the efficiency gains, be that AI or process changes anything that enables us to build on and deliver more.

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

I once had a part time job where measured railway tunnels to make sure they'd not moved!

If you could instantly master one new skill, what would it be?

Big wave surfing! Failing that I think everyone could benefit from improved change management.