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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James Lomas
IT Director, Comparethemarket.com
Lomas has successfully started the company's transition into the cloud, while reorganising his IT teams into small product-focused teams. This allows engineers, analysts and project managers to work on tightly-focused goals, that have reached proven results. He is also achieving high levels of success with open source databases.
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Catherine Doran
Group CIO, Royal Mail Group
Joining Royal Mail in 2012 from Network Rail, Doran has spearheaded the preparation of the IT infrastructure for privatisation. She oversaw an entire bespoke platform replacement, as well as increasing efficiency in mail tracking.
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Mike Lear
Group CIO, City Index
Lear has been with spread betting firm City Index for five years, initially beginning in the role of head architect before becoming Group CIO. In that time, he and his 100 strong IT team have stabilised and improved an IT infrastructure that supports a global trading system for 50,000 users. Testing and continuous delivery have been to of the key factors in transforming into such a success service.
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Tom Clark
CIO, Leeds Building Society
Clark, a finalist in the UK IT Industry Awards CIO of the Year in 2015, is responsible for strategy, risk, performance and people. He also has functional responsibilities for IT Services and Operations including outsourced arrangements; IT Systems development and change; and Business change management and project delivery. He is a Non Executive Director of North Lincolnshire Homes.
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Wei Wang
EMEA CIO, Allergan
As EMEA CIO, Wang is responsible for digital and technology strategy in EMEA. he is the department leader for the EMEA IT organisation supporting 13 commercial offices, 4 regional hubs, 38 distributors, and 38 entities. He has an annual budget of $20 million.
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Simon Meredith
CTO, IBM UK
Meredith has been CIO for IBM in the UK & NI for almost seven years. In his role he has the responsibility for leading corporate technology operations in the region. He has been at IBM for 14 years, having previously occupied various technology roles within the firm.
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Mike Sackman
IS director, Argos
Sackman has been heading up the development of Argos' technology strategy since joining in 2012, and the fruits of his labours are now appearing on the highstreet. Replacing catalogues, pencils and order forms with slick iOS-based order systems that link the customer with the warehouse downstairs, Sackman is leading the retailer's ambitious image change
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Susan Cooklin
CIO, Network Rail
Cooklin has been group CIO at Network Rail for over six years, where she leads a complex technology and shared services portfolio, focusing on reducing the cost of running the railway by 25 per cent by 2019. She also holds non executive director positions at Leeds Building Society and Leeds Metropolitan University.
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Jon Rudoe
Digital & technology director, Sainsbury's
Grocery chain Sainsbury's is currently in the midst of a wide-ranging technology update - up until about a year ago, it even ran ageing PCs running Windows XP. Rudoe, in charge of Sainsbury's online unit since July 2011, was appointed to his new role in February with a brief to improve Sainsbury's technology and digital sales channels. "Technology is a key part of our future vision, right across the customer experience and as a vital tool for our 157,000 colleagues, and I want to put it at the heart of everything we do to serve our customers."
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David Gooding
IT Director, Biffa
With a long career in waste industry IT, Gooding has emerged from a complex series of mergers heading up IT at the sector's leading firm. His greatest achievement is overhauling and upgrading Biffa's Unix-based IBM central system, making huge cost savings in adapting and expanding, rather than replacing.
