IBM exec Joanna Davinson to join Home Office as new technology chief

IT leader is back in the SCS, having begun her career at the National Audit Office

Davinson is the second person in recent weeks to move from a senior post at a major technology company to take a role in Whitehall  Credit: Steve Cadman, CC BY-SA 2.0

IBM executive Joanna Davinson is to join the Home Office as its new chief digital, data, and technology officer.

Davinson’s appointment marks something of a return to her roots, having begun her career in the civil service in the employ of the National Audit Office, where she trained as a public-sector accountant. Since then, according to her LinkedIn profile, she has worked in the UK, Tanzania, and Canada for companies including Coopers & Lybrand and PwC.

She has been with IBM for 10 years and is currently responsible for heading up the firm’s consulting and business process outsourcing business across Europe. She begins work at the Home Office of 20 November.


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“I am delighted to be joining the Home Office and to have this opportunity to lead Home Office Digital, Data and Technology (DDat),” Davinson said. “I look forward to working with colleagues across the Home Office, in wider government and in our supplier community to build on the great work that has already been done and to ensure that DDaT continues to bring forward the best in technology innovation, and to deliver digital, data and technology services that support and enable the Home Office to achieves its mission and priorities.”

In her new role, Davinson will replace Sarah Wilkinson, who left the Home Office earlier this year to become chief executive of NHS Digital.

Davinson’s appointment marks the second time in recent weeks that a senior executive has left a post at a major IT company to head up the technology operations of a government department. In September, Jacky Wright announced that she was to join HM Revenue and Customs as its chief digital and information officer, in what is effectively a two-year loan from her previous employer Microsoft.

 

Sam Trendall

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