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Dargue named #1 UK Chief Information Officer
Royal Mail's Robin Dargue tops the 2008 silicon.com CIO50
London, XXX June, 2008 - Today, silicon.com named Robin Dargue, Group CIO and Technology Director at the Royal Mail, as the leading CIO in the country. The annual silicon.com CIO50, in association with Orange, saw a panel of industry experts and CIOs vote Dargue top of the list, which also included CIOs from Royal Bank of Scotland, Unilever and Network Rail.
At Royal Mail, Dargue was employed to lead a £1.2bn IT-based transformation programme and he has wasted no time in reskilling and reshaping the group's IT department to meet the demands of the nation's postal service.
Dargue started out in the late 1980s at Logica Financial Systems before joining Mars as an IT Analyst in 1989 and rising to the position of Systems Manager for UK and Ireland by 1995. He moved on to become Information Systems Director at UDV, which later became part of Guinness and then Diageo where his final position was CIO and Business Process Director.
Steve Ranger, Editor of silicon.com said: "IT spend in the UK reached $84.5 billion in 20071 - a year on year increase of 16.3%. The right IT investments can either make or break a company, meaning that an innovative and visionary CIO is vital to the success of any organisation. We are delighted to announce Robin as the 2008 winner; he has shown at not one, but two large organisations, how transforming the IT department can have a significant impact on the overall success of the business."
Launched in 2007, the annual list is compiled by silicon.com in conjunction with the UK CIO community and a panel of experts. They judge each contender on four criteria: leadership ability, delivery and execution, innovation, and influence. Only those who demonstrate truly outstanding skills over the previous twelve months make it onto the list.
"At Orange we are passionate about supporting the best of British business, and it is exciting to see how technology leaders are paving the way for success in this country," commented Paul Tollet, Vice President, Orange Business Services, "Robin Dargue is an inspiration to us all and we hope he continues to lead the Royal Mail and the UK as a whole to a great future."
Other CIOs in the top 10 included:
- David Lister, Royal Bank of Scotland
- Neil Cameron, Unilever
- Catherine Doran, Network Rail
- John Suffolk, UK Government
- Gordon Lovell-Read, Siemens UK
- Paul Coby, British Airways
- Tania Howarth, Birds Eye Iglo
- Simon Post, Carphone Warehouse
- Ben Wishart, Whitbread
The full CIO50 list can be seen at www.silicon.com/cio50.
For more information contact:
Vicky Aitken, Edelman
020 3047 2331
victoria.aitken@edelman.com
Helen Cooke, CNET Networks UK
020 7021 1100
helen.cooke@cnet.com
About silicon.com
silicon.com is the leading UK online publication for senior IT and business decision-makers seeking to assess and understand how technology will drive their business forward. Delivering comprehensive daily news, expert analysis and commentary, whitepapers, case studies and special reports, silicon.com provides broad context and strategic insight into the key issues influencing how businesses use technology today.
About CNET Networks UK
CNET Networks UK (www.cnetnetworks.co.uk) is a part of CNET Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CNET, www.cnetnetworks.com), an interactive media company that builds brands for people and the things they are passionate about, such as gaming, music, entertainment, technology, business, food, and parenting. Founded in 1992, CNET Networks has a strong presence in the US, Asia, and Europe.
CNET Networks UK focuses on business technology, personal technology and entertainment categories through six UK-focused websites: ZDNet.co.uk (www.zdnet.co.uk), silicon.com (www.silicon.com), atlarge.com (www.atlarge.com), CNET.co.uk (www.cnet.co.uk) and GameSpot UK (www.GameSpot.co.uk) and SmartPlanet (www.smartplanet.com). CNET Networks UK also delivers one-to-one services through its direct marketing arm CNET Direct (www.cnetdirect.co.uk).
About Orange
Orange is a key brand of the France Telecom Group, providing mobile, broadband, fixed, business and entertainment services across Europe. It is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with more than 170 million customers on five continents.
In June, 2006, Orange became the single brand for mobile, broadband and multi-play offers. In addition, Orange Business Services became the new banner for business communications solutions. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries with network reach in 220.
In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population. At the end of March 2008, Orange had over 16.9 million customers in the UK - 15.8 million active mobile customers and over 1.1 million broadband customers.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited.
Further information about Orange and France Telecom can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk or the France Telecom website at www.francetelecom.com.
1International Data Corporation (IDC), "Worldwide Black Book Query Tool, Version 3, 2007"