The Information Technologists' Company

Charles Hughes is Master of the Information Technologists’ Company, the 100th City of London Livery Company. He has been a Freeman of the Company since 1996, has chaired several committees, and is currently leading the team seeking a Royal Charter for the Company. His theme for the year is “professional values”.

In his 40 year career in the IT industry Charles has had wide ranging roles, including board level appointments in Australia, Germany and the USA as well as in the UK. He worked for ICL and in 1999 he founded eManagement to provide strategic and project services to central government and industry.

He has successfully guided cultural and organisational changes through major projects in both the private sector and government. In the 1990s he was project director at the Department for Trade and Industry where he developed and launched the Information Society Initiative.

Charles was President of the British Computer Society and initiated and championed the Professionalism in IT programme. He has been a council member of the Institute for the Management of Information Systems, chairman of the Real Time Club and is a council member of the Parliamentary IT Committee. In 2009 he was honoured by the International Federation for Information Processing for his work on the international programme for IT professionalism.

Charles was educated at Stockport Grammar School, founded in 1487 by a Lord Mayor of London and probably the oldest school associated with a livery company (Goldsmiths), and is a mathematics graduate of the University of Manchester. He is married to Beverley, has a son and daughter and in his spare time enjoys sport, food and wine, travel and philately.

Ken started his IT career as an IBM scholar at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He worked for IBM and Wang before founding Interregnum, the technology merchant bank, in 1992. His charitable and public service work includes chairing a homeless charity, the Thames Reach Bondway, and being a governor of the Peabody Trust.

Ken retired from Interregnum in 2006 and now runs a boutique technology merchant bank – Restoration Partners.

His current public company appointments include Directorships at (where he is a member of the Audit Committee and a member of the Board of the Reuters Foundation) and Canadian software developer – Open Text Corporation (where he Chairs the Remuneration Committee).

In addition he serves on the Board of, or is an adviser to, several privately held and innovative companies including BioWisdom and Metapraxis.

Jonathan graduated from City University in 1987 with a BSc (Honours) in Philosophy and Economics. He then trained as a software engineer, working at a Central London software house, before moving into sales for the company's Banking and Finance Division. In 1990, with two former colleagues, he started a City of London-based computer consultancy, Iconics, which specialised in writing bespoke software systems for international investment banks and providing related IT consultancy services. Jonathan left the company in 2003 to concentrate on strategic and sales consultancy before branching into coaching three years later. He has been a full-time executive coach with The Parallax Partnership since May 2006.

Jonathan became a Freeman of the Information Technologists' Company (ITC) in 1994 and a Court Liveryman two years after that. He served on the Events Panel from 1995 to 2006; as Secretary for 8 years, then as Chairman. He is now the Junior Warden, as well as Chairman of ITC Charitable Operations Limited. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS).

John Carrington has over thirty years experience at the leading edge of telecommunications and IT. A pioneer in the development of international telecommunications services in the early 1980’s, he has also played a key role in the development of cellular communications in the UK and Europe, especially the emergence of the GSM standard in the late 1980’s.

John is currently non-executive Chairman of a number of IT companies and an Advisory director to Alegro Capital.

After serving as Strategy Director to British Telecom International, John moved to found Cellnet (now O2) in 1983 and between 1985 and 1989 John was the first Chief Executive of British Telecom’s Mobile Division. During that period mobile was established as a major part of BT’s service portfolio.

John joined Cable and Wireless in 1989 to founded Mercury One2One (now T Mobile), the first PCN network in the world.

From 1993 to 1995 he was Chief Executive of Regional Businesses at Cable and Wireless Plc, responsible for 16,000 staff in 34 countries, covering the Caribbean, South America, Bermuda, Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan.

In 1995 John joined Dr Mo Ibrahim at Mobile Systems International plc, a software and consultancy business specialising in designing mobile radio networks, first as Group MD and then as Deputy Chairman.

John was Master of the WCIT in 2001–2 and is Chairman of the WCIT Charity. He is a Governor of Woodbridge School Suffolk, a member of the Council of Gresham College and a Trustee of the Friends of his local church in Suffolk.

John is married to Lindi and has one son, also called John.

Outside technology John’s interests include cycling, a passion for clocks (he is a Liveryman of the Clockmakers’ Company) and the restoration of old buildings.

Jo has been in the IT Industry since 1966 when she joined Mars Inc as a trainee programmer. Her career developed with appointments as a Systems Analyst at Aspro Nicholas and a Consultant at CMG Ltd.

Following the birth of her first child in 1976, Jo joined F International (FI), a company founded by Dame Stephanie Shirley, a Past Master of The Information Technologists. The company grew rapidly and after a number of acquisitions rebranded to Xansa plc. During her career there Jo held many positions including Sales and Marketing Director and Chief Operating Officer. She was appointed to the Board in 1991 and became Group Managing Director in 2000.

Jo “retired” from Xansa in 2003 to follow a “portfolio career” – a mixture of fee earning and not-for-profit activities. Since leaving Xansa she has held a number of non-executive director positions with companies such as THUS plc, Synstar plc, London Bridge Software Holdings, Cornwell Management Consultants and @UK plc. She is currently a non-executive director of RM plc.

In addition she is Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the University of Hertfordshire, Chairman of the UK charity Help the Aged and Chairman of the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted.

Jo joined the Information Technologists in October 1996 and became a Liveryman in April 1999. She has served on a number of committees, chairing the Education and Training Committee, the Charitable Development Committee and the Membership Committee.

She is a fellow of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Engineer and a Charted IT Professional.

She is married to Michael (who was also in the IT industry) and lives in Hertfordshire. They have two grown up children, a son, who is married with two sons, and a daughter.

In 2008 Jo was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Hertfordshire.