On winning the Next CIO Award, briefly

Awards in our industry are easy to be cynical about. The cynicism isn't entirely wrong - recognition is noisy, the people who deserve it most often don't apply, and the trophies live in a drawer within a year. I've held all of those views, and I still do.

What I didn't expect is that the application process itself was the most useful part. Writing down what I've actually done and why it mattered forces a level of articulation that day-to-day work doesn't. You realise which decisions you can defend and which were luck. You notice the gaps between the story you tell yourself and the evidence that supports it. It's a structured exercise in self-honesty, and I'd recommend it independent of whether you win.

Specific thanks: Harry Singh and Harmeen Mehta for backing the application; Armand David and the wider Digital team for being a place worth doing the work; Ian Golding for years of patient mentorship; Romy Tuin as award chair, who runs the programme with unusual care.

The part that actually matters is forward-facing. The award commits me to a set of mentoring relationships with people earlier in the journey, and I'm taking that part seriously. If you're an aspiring digital leader and you'd find a conversation useful, my inbox is open.