That
three central government CIOs earn more than the prime minister
tempts one to choose between the sins of envy and pride. Let's
plump for pride.
Some IT professionals are prone to dwell gloomily on a common
perception that things aren't what they used to be. That the glory
days of the eighties and nineties have turned into the dog days of
the noughties. That they must stop their children going into IT.
That they will never get out of the ghetto and into the mainstream
of "the business". That CIOs will never make it to CEO. And that
the CEO is always likely to ask the CIO to fix his laptop.
And yet
Steve Lamey of HM Revenue and Customs,
Joe Harley of the Department for Work and Pensions, and
Richard Granger, director general of NHS IT, earn more than the
chief of the defence staff and Gus O'Donnell, head of the Civil
Service. The IT leaders' salaries are between £249,000 and £285,000
- at least 25% more than the salary of the prime minister.
Compared with some Premiership footballers, investment bankers,
and City lawyers, these are still slim pickings. Nevertheless,
these central government CIO salaries are an impressive reflection
of the strategic importance placed by the state on IT-based
transformation projects. This troika of top-earning CIOs are in the
throes of IT-based projects which together are worth at least
£16bn. The government has to offer competitive salaries to attract
people who have a track record of leading complex, large-scale
change within organisations.
Not all central government CIOs earn more than £200,000, and
some top CIOs in the private sector earn more than £1m. But the
value of these beacon salaries should not be gainsaid. Would you
rather be part of a profession whose high fliers were modestly
remunerated?
CIOs get biggest pay packets in Whitehall >>
More on
government IT projects in Tony Collins' blog >>
Computer Weekly/SSL
salary survey >>