Computing is all about the IT leader - whether that's the CIO, CTO, IT director, chief architect or any one of dozens of other titles. Having spoken to hundreds of IT leaders over the last 12 months and beyond, we feel well qualified to produce the definitive rankings for the top 100 IT leaders in the UK.
To produce this list we took into account factors like size of organisation, size of department, annual budget, duration in role and level of transformation achieved. Then, in consultation with industry experts, we undertook the incredibly challenging task of producing the final list - a task which became ever trickier the closer to the top we got.
Do you feel that you should be on this list? Should you be placed higher? Then contact the editorial team, we'll arrange an interview and next year, it could be you sitting at the top.
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Darren Price
Group CIO, RSA
Price joined RSA in 2007 and has worked across emerging markets directorate before being appointed CIO in June 2013. Price has been focused on aiming to ensure that the firm has effective and efficient technology platforms to serve the company's customers. He has over 15 years' experience in a range of industries including financial services and consumer goods.
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Paul Clarke
Technology Director, Ocado
Anyone who thinks online retailing is a piece of cake should take a look at what Clarke is developing at Ocado: automated warehouses, robotics, artificial vision systems and much that must remain secret. Clarke's technology. "This is conceptual stuff, but it's not an indulgence. It's absolutely essential in order for us to maintain the disruptive lead we have over everybody else, says Clarke.
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Charles Ewen
CIO, Met Office
Ewen arrived at his post 3 years ago from Premier Farnell. A life-long learner he is a strong believer in learning from mistakes then moving on. "As you progress in an organisation, the need for lifelong learning is absolutely paramount. I make mistakes all the time and I'm learning all the time. In such a fast-moving world it's dangerous to apply rules of the past to the world of the future, he says. "I think the only core skill that I would say you have to have as a CIO is to be a geek - and you can be a geek without being a technologist. What I mean by being a geek is that you absolutely recognise and understand that technology is a fabric of business now, any business."
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Phil Pavitt
CIO, Specsavers
Pavitt became Global CIO of Specsavers in June last year. He has been working with his team on transforming the company digitally. "It's not necessarily about increasing footfall but it's about increasing the surety of the footfall" he told Computing earlier this year. Pavitt has also been aiming to reduce the firm's reliance on third parties as well as improving the customer experience in stores using technology.
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John Jackson
CIO, Camden County Council
In 2015 Jackson will have been CIO at the London Borough of Camden for 10 years. Clearly this is a man who enjoys his job. "I find the public sector refreshingly innovative, and in my career so far I've had opportunities to take part in some really big stuff…"
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Jane Scott
CIO, Mars
Scott joined Mars in June 2013 as VP and CIO after spending over three years at Baker Hughes as Vice President of IT. She focuses on developing high performing teams, managing ERP programmes as well as looking after the overall IT strategy at Mars.
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Mark Dearnley
Chief digital and information officer, HMRC
When Dearnley joined HMRC from Vodafone, he must have known about the huge challenge that would await him at the tax office: the winding down of the Aspire mega-outsourcing contract and its replacement by a series of smaller contracts, more closely managed by Dearnley's team at HMRC. Dearnley is currently putting the business case together - which will no doubt be critically appraised by the Public Accounts Committee.
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Martyn Croft
CIO, Salvation Army
Croft has been CIO at the Salvation Army UK for over six years. He is also the co-founder of the Charities Security Forum. He recently warned Computing about some organisations placing blind faith in the cloud when it comes to sensitive data: "I'd agree you can't outsource risk, and shouldn't even try. It's a bit of a fool's paradise. The other thing for me that springs to mind is if you put all your eggs in one basket, you make it a bigger target and easier to hit."
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Hugh Fahy
CIO, Net-a-Porter
Leading a 300 strong technology team at the luxury fashion brand, Hugh Fahy is tasked with developing and delivering largely in-house developed retail and publishing platforms and eCommerce for NET-A-PORTER.
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Julian Bond
Head of ICT, Hillarys Blinds
As head of ICT for Hillarys Bond doesn't just have to support the IT required of a UK manufacturer of shutters and blinds, but also a contact centre, a mobile workforce and high-traffic commerce websites. "It was about interacting with customers in the way that they want to be communicated with, whether that be by phone, email, social media or web chat."