Eric Smith Email & Phone Number

Part-time role advising a Virtual Reality retail platform startup.

Dubai, UAE

Advising some CEOs and advising and coaching CIOs and IT Leaders across the ME region to leverage Gartner’s insights and capabilities to develop their own IT Strategies and increasingly innovative Digital Business strategies, capabilities and effectiveness. Personal speciality has been upgrading “Office of the CIO” functions, as these ensure good benefits.

Program managing significant infrastructure projects while improving overall release, change, project and program management. Gained full management support to turn around 3 stalled projects including a large Datacentre migration - collectively predicted to take another 3 years - to complete them all within 6 months.

CIO role for Emirates’ core Commercial & Planning departments. Facilated business IT strategy; drove program delivery (typically managing 300 staff and expenditures of $30m); led innovative CRM (including a $25m Contact Centre project); enabled large-scale systems development and implementation; and improved airline sales and profitability.

Led the implementation of CMMI in IS, ITIL in TS and Security Solutions across IT and introduced new development, BI and production technologies, standards and performance monitoring for the Group.

CIO role covering all IT strategy, development and services for Group corporate functions, CRM and DNATA. Directed fast-tracked Oracle ERP implementations for HR, Procurement and Finance in Emirates Group, Virgin Atlantic and BMI.

Broad brief to improve IT project and service quality, facilitate IT strategy, establish governance and manage all IT budgeting, training, recharging and software engineering. In parallel helped develop HR Performance Management for the enterprise, then ran Y2K programs for IT and then the business.

CIO-role for the Banking Strategy and Service areas of RBS’s retail banking, focussed on leading CRM and other significant system developments supporting multiple business/IT change initiatives as part of a major change program.

Developed IT strategies and architectures for a Barclays car rental subsidiary, M&S food distribution, British Sisalkraft and others.

CIO for leading container rental company which at the time generated annual profits of £87 million.

Responsible to the CEO of Gellatly, Inchcape Shipping Services, for all IT-related matters, covering nine locations throughout Europe and North Africa. Improved the management, ROI and reputation of Gellatly's IT function, establishing new LAN-based and UNIX systems across the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Holland.

Established Information Engineering Services across the Middle East and led a wide range of IT strategy and related assignments for retail, commercial, financial service and conglomerate clients.

Initially managed IT for buying departments, represented IT on a senior management think-tank, then developed strategic plans and architectures for the buying and distribution of clothing and homeware.

Founding member of a software company trail-blazing innovative retail, catering and point-of-sale systems.

Graduate trainee to technophobe, building networked operating systems, compilers etc.. Ultimately responsible for all process control and factory management systems for Mars Confectionery (UK).

Mba (With Merit), Business Administration

Final thesis: IT Performance Measurement.

B.Sc.(Hons), Physics With Astrophysics