Nick Kirkland is the Chief Executive Officer of CIO Connect, the independent networking forum for top CIOs and their direct reports. CIO Connect helps CIOs and their teams to become informed business and operational leaders. With more than 250 members, including most of the FTSE 250 companies and high-profile public-sector organisations, CIO Connect runs a comprehensive programme of events including conferences, roundtables and special interest groups as well as offering unique online information services and conducting regular research on topics of relevance to CIOs. Before joining CIO Connect, Nick was Group Vice President and Worldwide Head of Fulfilment for the analysts group Gartner running its Executive Programs. Earlier in his career, Nick served on the Board of Penguin Books as Information Services Director and previously was head of IT in the UK for Sony. A regular speaker at business and IT conferences on the challenges of CIO leadership, Nick is passionate about the integral role of IT leaders in the implementation of business change and competitive advantage. A member of the Institute for the Management of Information Systems and the Institute of Directors, away from the office Nick is a non-executive director of The Children’s Mutual, the only UK company specialising exclusively in children’s savings.