Sarah Wilkinson, CEO of NHS Digital, Named U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year 2017 by CDO Club

NEW YORK and LONDON, March 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sarah Wilkinson, CEO at NHS Digital, was today recognized as "U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year 2017" by the CDO Club, the world's largest community of C-suite digital and data leaders.

Ms. Wilkinson was presented with the award after her keynote on "Digitising the National Health Service" at the 3rd U.K. CDO Summit in London, England, by CDO Club founder David Mathison.

In 2017, Ms. Wilkinson became CEO of NHS Digital, the executive body of the Department of Health, which provides information, data, and IT systems for health and social care nationally.

Prior to joining NHS Digital, Sarah was Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer (CIO) at The Home Office, with responsibility for the delivery of technology services for the UK Border, Visas and Immigration, Asylum, Policing and Counter-Terror. Prior to The Home Office, Sarah spent 23 years in financial services during which time she held CIO roles at Credit Suisse, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Lehman Brothers.

Sarah is a Non Executive Director of Kings College London and a member of their Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee; a Non-Executive Director of the Police ICT Company; a member of the Tech Partnership Board; and a member of the advisory boards of the Department of Computing at Imperial College and the Department of Maths at Oxford University. She has also worked as an advisor to various technology start-ups.

Sarah read Mathematics at Imperial College, and earned an MBA from the London Business School. She also holds a Financial Times Non Executive Director Diploma and is a CEDR-certified mediator.

In December 2017, Sarah was voted No 2 in the TechUK 50, Computer Weekly's poll of the Top 50 Most Influential Leaders in the UK IT Industry, having been voted No 3 in the December 2017 list. In April 2016, she was named No 26 in the CIO 100, CIO Magazine's ranking of the most transformative and disruptive CIOs in the UK. In October 2017, June 2016 and July 2015 she was recognised by Computer Weekly as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in IT.

"Sarah has two decades of experience in running complex IT organisations in both the financial services sector and in government. As CEO of NHS Digital, she is now dedicated to spearheading digital transformation of their IT capabilities, and to modernising health and care to provide maximum value to patients and the public, remarked David Mathison, CEO of the CDO Club and CDO Summit.

"Sarah has also made the strategic transition from CDO to CEO, and undertaken numerous Non Executive Director roles, demonstrating the strategic value she provides to organisations and stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. It is my distinct honour to name Sarah as the U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year 2017," said Mathison.

The CDO Club is the only organization tracking the CDO to CEO career path, and has identified more than 100 CDOs who have become CEO, President, or Non Executive Director since 2007.

Sarah Wilkinson said "I am very honoured to receive this accolade from the CDO Club. It's a huge privilege to be working in the digital, data, and technology space at such an incredibly exciting point in time. Digital has radically transformed many sectors since the start of the internet era, but in many sectors, including healthcare, the transformation still has a very long way to run. The next few years will be a time of accelerating digital transformation delivering incredible opportunities and benefits. I, and all my colleagues at NHS Digital, look forward to delivering these opportunities and benefits across the NHS."

The CDO Club has given CDO of the Year awards since 2013 in the U.S, U.K., EU, ANZ, and Japan. Previous U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year award winners include Bertrand Bodson, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at Sainsbury's Argos (2016); Tanya Cordrey, former Chief Digital Officer at Guardian News and Media (2015); and Mike Bracken, former Chief Digital Officer at U.K.'s Government Digital Service (2014).

About the CDO Club 
The CDO Club is the world's largest community of C-suite digital and data leaders. Its 5,000+ registered members receive access to breaking news, original research, career development support, and networking opportunities. For more information, visit: http://CDOClub.com.

About the CDO Summit 
The CDO Summit has been addressing the challenges and opportunities arising from big data, the cloud, digital disruption, and social and mobile media. CDO Summit gatherings include the very best digital and data strategists and practitioners on Earth, speaking in intimate, collegial, and supportive environments designed to encourage networking, learning, and knowledge-sharing. The next CDO Summits are in NYC on May 30, 2018 and San Francisco, CA on June 27, 2018. For more information, visit http://CDOSummit.com.

Media Contact:
Michelle Oster 
Communications Manager 
CDO Club
[email protected] 
Tel +1-516-488-1143 x. 7

SOURCE CDO Club