Chief Disruptor Blog

First speakers for IGNITE May 15

Written by Mark Young | 12-Dec-2014 15:50:00

The next Nimbus Ninety IGNITE digital innovation and business transformation summit takes place on May 12 & 13, 2015.

We are delighted to announce a fantastic first batch of speakers from some of Britain’s leading digital and technology innovators.

Speakers confirmed for the summit so far include:

Fin Goulding, CIO, Paddy Power

Fin is recognised as one of the most disruptive and charismatic CIOs in the business. At IGNITE he’ll be delivering insight into his current efforts at the market leading betting company Paddy power to instil ‘agile on steroids’ throughout the organisation, and how enterprises can get to grips with what is tipped to be one of the biggest trends in business in 2015 – DevOps.

Ilona Simpson, Global Head of IT, Aston Martin

Ilona Simpson likes life in the fast lane – whether that’s her approach to rapid business innovation or the cars she drives. Having previously served as Group IT manager for Porsche Cars Great Britain, Ilona is now leading Aston Martin’s innovation activities, linking the technology strategy back to core performance principles. Sandwiched between those roles, she was a Vice president of IT for DHL.

Ilona is a Lean Six sigma Black Belt, a start-up mentor through Virgin Startup and holds an MBA from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra. 

Nigel Sudell, COO, giffgaff

giffgaff is a disruptive mobile network, established and owned by the communications giant and owner of O2, Telefonica. The company differentiates itself through the flexibility of its product offering, its customer community, and its digital customer service.

As COO, Nigel Sudell has a rare blend of science, technology and business skills. He studies physics at MA level at the University of Oxford before rising through the ranks at O2 to become the launching CTO at giffgaff in 2009, and then moving into the COO position in 2014.

Pascal Moyon, Chief Digital Officer, lastminute.com

lastminute.com was one of the first big companies created in the rise of e-commerce – and one of the few that has endured. The company has needed to revolutionise the way that it has worked multiple times over the last two decades in order to ensure that it remained the disruptor, rather than joining the ranks of those it disrupted. Under Pascal Moyon’s watch, the digital strategy now constantly evolves in line with its customer-first commitment.

Before joining lastminute.com in 2014, Pascal held senior director positions for Thomas Cook and Hertz.

Stewart Bromley, Director of People & Customer Experience, Atom Bank

Atom is due to launch in 2015 as the first digital-only bank. The company has been founded by Anthony Thomson, founder and former chairman of Metro Bank, and Mark Mullen, a former CEO of First Direct. It has raised £25m from high profile investors so far, and will raise a further £75m in its next funding round in the spring. The company is concentrating on digital innovations which it thinks will revolutionise the customer service in the banking industry, including biometric identifications such as fingerprint, voice, facial and iris recognition.

Stewart Bromley has a fairly unique role that combines the HR and customer service functions. He believes – and will explain how at IGNITE – that internal people strategies are the cornerstone of great customer experience. He previously held a number of people and change roles at HSBC.

Get involved

Further speakers for the Nimbus Ninety IGNITE May 2015 summit will be announced shortly.

As well as the speaking slots there will be a raft of discussion groups, interactive workshops, pitching sessions, debates and networking taking place across the two days.

Places are already filling up fast. If you’d like to get involved in IGNITE, as an attendee, contributor or partner, please leave your details through the 'Interested in attending?' link on the IGNITE May 2014 event page.