Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

BRITISH AIRWAYS' PAUL COBY VOTED UK’S MOST INFLUENTIAL CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO)

UK’S TOP 50 CIOs REVEALED

British Airways, Tesco and Unilever among those honoured in silicon.com CIO50 list
www.silicon.com/CIO50

Paul Coby, CIO, British Airways, has been voted the UK’s most influential Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the 2007 CIO50 list (www.silicon.com/CIO50), run by silicon.com, the CNET Networks UK-owned online publication for senior business decision-makers.

Launched this year, the CIO50 list recognises the individual achievements of the top 50 UK CIOs and the contribution their leadership makes to their own organisations and, more widely, to UK Plc. The list is compiled by the UK CIO community, along with a panel of other experts, who voted for the top 50 CIOs based on leadership ability, delivery and execution, innovation and influence.

BA's Paul Coby was voted the UK's top CIO because of the crucial role he has played in the airline's turnaround during one of the most difficult periods in its history. His achievements include cutting IT costs by almost half, overhauling the BA.com website, introducing online check-in and print-your-own boarding passes and building state-of-the-art systems for the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow.

Andy McCue, community editor for silicon.com, said: "Technology is at the heart of most businesses today and the role of the CIO has never been more important. The CIO50 list uniquely identifies the most influential and innovative individuals leading tech-driven change at the top of UK Plc. Their outstanding leadership is driving real business value across a wide range of organisations, from the biggest FTSE100 players to high-growth innovators to the public sector."

The final CIO50 list for 2007 was compiled using the votes of 35 CIOs and IT directors and other experts that included the former CIOs of AstraZeneca and Deutsche Bank, leading CIO headhunter firms Boyden UK and Heidrick & Struggles, and CIO career development coach Brinley Platts.

The top 10 CIOs

1.Paul Coby, CIO, British Airways
2.Colin Cobain, Group IT director, Tesco
3.Neil Cameron, CIO, Unilever
4.Nigel Underwood, CIO, DHL Logistics
5.David Lister, CIO, Reuters
6.Ian Buchanan, CIO, Alliance & Leicester
7.Robin Dargue, CIO and business process director, Diageo
8.Simon Post, CTO, Carphone Warehouse
9.Darin Brumby, CIO, FirstGroup
10.JP Rangaswami, CIO, BT Global Services

silicon.com's CIO50 coverage (www.silicon.com/CIO50).includes biographies of all 50 CIOs and in-depth analysis about the CIO role and the challenges in various vertical sectors including financial services, government and retail.

The top 50 rankings were revealed at an event hosted at the Cinnamon Club, London on 6th June. A keynote speech at the event was delivered by the Chief Executive Officer of Lastminute.com, Ian McCaig.


-Ends-

For more info contact:

Mark Terry-Lush, CNET Networks UK, 07740 432 112 mark@renegademedia.net

About CNET Networks UK

CNET Networks UK (www.cnetnetworks.co.uk) is a part of CNET Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CNET, www.cnetnetworks.com), a worldwide media company and creator of content environments for the interactive age. CNET Networks Inc. is headquartered in the USA and has offices in 12 countries globally including the UK. CNET Networks takes pride in being "a different kind of media company," creating richer, deeper interactive experiences by combining the wisdom and passion of users, marketers and its own expert editors. CNET Networks UK focuses on the business technology, personal technology and entertainment categories through six UK-focused websites: ZDNet 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). CNET Networks UK also delivers one-to-one services through its direct marketing arm CNET Direct (www.cnetdirect.co.uk).

According to ABC Electronic audit November 2006 silicon.com has more than three quarters of a million monthly unique users following a 42% year on year increase to 752,838. These users sparked a 74% increase in page impressions to an all time high of 4,073,521.