Neil
Catton
38+
years of experience
years of experience
Fractional CTO/CIO & Board Adviser — AI Governance & Technology Strategy
Neil began writing code for the nuclear industry three decades ago and has since held CTO, Chief Architect, and Director roles at BT, Wipro, Fujitsu, Sopra Steria, and Capita - spanning a £1.5bn digital transformation and a landmark Google data partnership at BT, a $1bn health infrastructure programme serving 400 million people across 11 medical cities and 6,500 remote clinics at Wipro, and a five-year strategic roadmap for UK Government Home Affairs at Fujitsu.
Today he works as an independent fractional CTO/CIO and board adviser, currently serving as Group CTO to the Global Consortium Group on AI and data strategy for public safety and justice organisations, alongside a portfolio of advisory and startup engagements - including as a panel CTO with CTO Grand Rounds. He's also the author of four books examining what happens when technology outpaces the human systems around it, and writes weekly on Substack.
When an adult sees something new, they pick up the manual. A kid just starts playing with it. Startups need that mentality - read the manual later. Learn, don't fail. Learn, move forward. Try next, try next, try next.
Good
match for
Boards and leadership teams facing a technology decision they haven't been able to properly have - stalled transformation programmes, architecture that no longer matches the business it serves, AI adoption outpacing governance, or organisations needing someone who can sit between engineering and the room where decisions get made. Comfortable operating across the full range from early-stage startups to complex, regulated, multi-sector organisations.
Neil Catton's industry experience
Public safety, security & justice
Banking, insurance & financial services
Health technology
Government & public sector
Manufacturing & retail
Education
Telecoms
Nuclear
When to bring us in
Typical decisions
The critical technology decisions leaders face when delivery, investment or product direction is at risk.Our AI adoption is moving faster than our governance can keep up with - what should we put in place?
We're about to acquire a company or a major supplier - what does independent technology due diligence actually tell us?
We need someone to sit on our board specifically to scrutinise technology and AI risk, not just approve recommendations
Should we build in-house, nearshore, or offshore, and how do we retain control either way?
Our data estate is fragmented across competing platforms - how do we get to a coherent data strategy?
We're entering a complex public sector procurement process and need senior technology leadership in the room
Our cybersecurity posture doesn't match our actual risk exposure - where's the gap?
We're at a decision point where the cost of getting it wrong is high - who should be in the room?
We need someone who can hold both the technology and the ethics of a major decision
Examples
Negotiated and established a strategic partnership with Google (GCP) at BT covering data, AI platform, governance and real-time data integration - part of a benefit realisation model that identified over £800m in quantifiable savings and new revenue opportunities
Led architecture on a $1bn country-wide health service for India, integrating secure data infrastructure and AI-enabled diagnostics across 11 medical cities and 6,500 remote clinics, ultimately serving 400 million people
Defined and delivered a five-year digital transformation roadmap for UK Government Home Affairs at Fujitsu, including leading the “Get to Green” recovery of multiple SLA failures for a major government client
Engineered a new data platform for a leading motor industry body at Wipro, resolving chronic data quality issues across 100+ insurance companies and improving regulatory compliance sector-wide
Currently Group CTO to the Global Consortium Group, including a formal presentation to the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the future of policing technology and a proposition for an AI data mesh across UK custody data
Articles
“Rethinking Public Sector Service Delivery for the Digital Era” - smartergovs.org:
https://www.smartergovs.org/2024/11/12/rethinking-public-sector-service-delivery-for-the-digital-era/ (opens in a new tab)“Building for the Long Term: Why Real Success Needs Better Design” - writing.neilcatton.com:
https://writing.neilcatton.com/p/driving-sustainable-development-849 (opens in a new tab)“The Next Evolution” (book) - neilcatton.com:
https://neilcatton.com/books/the-next-evolution (opens in a new tab)“The Cognitive Crucible” (book) - Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Crucible-Mr-Neil-Catton/dp/1068298529 (opens in a new tab)The Ethical CTO (essay series) - writing.neilcatton.com:
https://writing.neilcatton.com/s/the-ethical-cto/ (opens in a new tab)Grand Rounds Availability
Completed session:
EURYAN