Thirty years in technology transformation. I start with the problem, not the playbook.
FBCS. Treasurer, BCS Ethics Committee. Technology executive across government, financial services, life sciences, and media. Open to interim and fractional CIO roles.
Executive delivery at scale
Abcam: VP Engineering at an AIM-listed life sciences company, creating their first unified technology portfolio and delivering the engineering transformation after four consecutive years of double-digit growth stalled entering a fifth. Travis Perkins: Group Director, bringing together all brands under a single software delivery function for the first time. Led crisis management during the Ukraine conflict. Cognizant: Director of Delivery. Cybersafe Schools: CEO. UK Government: at GDS, coaching the teams delivering the Exemplar programme that replaced paper driving licence counterparts for 40 million licence holders. At ESFA, delivering the digital Apprenticeship Service managing the distribution of £2.7 billion in annual levy funds. At HMRC, agile delivery and dev tooling within the Aspire programme.
The scale has always been large. The problems have always been structural. The people have always been a big part of the solution.
beò
beò is a B2B company measuring the cognitive impact of AI adoption on workforces. The founding research (Hendry, 2020, n=82) found near-zero correlation between standard technology questionnaires and actual usage behaviour: the same measurement gap organisations are now making with AI. Understanding what AI actually does to the way people think, decide, and collaborate makes for a more credible technology leader in AI transformation conversations.
Interim and fractional CIO
Full ownership of the technology estate, accountable to the board. I take on interim and fractional CIO positions where the organisation needs someone to diagnose what's actually broken, build the right team around it, and stay until it's fixed.
What this looks like
Travis Perkins (FTSE 250)
Brought together all the group's brands under a single software delivery function for the first time, building capability across UK and Ukraine. When the conflict began, led the evacuation of 100 team members while maintaining delivery continuity. Geopolitical risk, stakeholder communication, and operational resilience simultaneously.
Abcam (AIM-listed, £260M revenue)
Owned delivery, engineering, and operations across four countries. Created the business's first unified technology portfolio. Integrated with Oracle Cloud ERP. AWS migration reducing costs by 40%. Unlocked the double-digit growth Abcam had delivered for four consecutive years but was stuck entering its fifth.
The short version
FBCS. Treasurer, BCS Ethics Committee. MSc Psychology (Distinction), University of Strathclyde. Visiting Researcher, University of Strathclyde, 2020-21. BSc Computer Studies. Data Science for Executives (Columbia via edX). Quantum Computing (Linux Foundation). Thirty years across GDS, Cabinet Office, HMRC, ESFA, Abcam, Cognizant, Travis Perkins, Cybersafe Schools, Sungard, JP Morgan, American Express, BBC, Barclays, Tesco, Sky, The Guardian, Royal London, and Ordnance Survey. Agile Alliance sponsor, AXELOS contributing editor, PRINCE2 Agile contributor, CTO Craft panel member. Keynote speaker.