Introducing Ade McCormack

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ade McCormack for his informative presentation delivered at our guest speaker event, Thursday 12th June at the Institute of Directors.

A Session synopsis – “What makes techies tick?”

In an IT-centric world, only those organisations that invest intelligently in IT will survive and thrive. The quality of your IT function is driven by the quality of the staff that 'drive' the technology. Thus the calibre of your IT people will significantly influence the sustainability of your organisation. But technologists are in the main different to users. Often on different wavelengths talking a different language. This is an issue.

In parallel there is a war for IT talent taking place. Those that understand how to acquire and develop their technologists to meet the needs of the business will yield the full value of their IT investment. Fundamental to this is understanding what makes technologists tick.

About Ade McCormack

Ade McCormack has 25 years experience at the sharp end of IT. He started out as a real-time software engineer followed by seven years at Logica.

He left Logica recognising that business people generally don't know what IT people are talking about and worse still, IT people didn't care. This was causing organisations to under perform from a 'return on IT perspective'. 

Thus he set up Auridian to enable companies to leverage more value from their IT investment – by simply enabling people, who directly or in-directly, work within I.T. to understand eachother.

Ade advises both end user and technology companies in this respect. He works with the Chartered Management Institute on the 'future of work' and with e-skills UK as an advisor on moving the UK's IT talent pool further up the value chain. He is a recognised expert on the subject of IT talent management.

Ade on Jenrick CPI

"I have worked with Jenrick CPI in an advisory and people development capacity for over a decade. From day one I was struck by their service orientation. In an industry that is more typically sales-driven this was refreshing. Unlike many of their 'competitors' they are not herd-followers.

Jenrick CPI knows where it is going and as its high profile accolades attest they are indeed on the right path. This makes them an industry exemplar. There is a strong 'esprit de corps' within the team, which is underpinned by high ethical standards.

Engaging with Jenrick CPI has always been for me a very uplifting experience."

Ade has written two acclaimed books:

* IT Demystified - The IT handbook for business professionals
* The IT Value Stack - A boardroom guide to IT leadership.

According to Nicholas Carr, author of Does IT Matter? and The Big Switch, and former executive editor - Harvard Business Review:

"Ade McCormack sounds a much-needed clarion call for IT to "grow up" and become a mature business function. And he provides a practical management framework and a rich set of case studies that will help companies achieve that difficult goal."

He also has a regular column in the Financial Times advising business leaders on strategic IT issues. He is also an industry commentator and often engages with clients in a thought leader capacity.

Ade's blog - www.itvaluestack.com

Ade's company - www.auridian.com