Experience

As Head of IT Operations, I lead the full spectrum of IT delivery across a multi-brand, international travel group—combining strategic oversight with hands-on leadership. My role spans IT infrastructure, support operations, project delivery, vendor management, and M&A execution. I work closely with the CIO and senior leadership to ensure that technology is not just an enabler, but a key driver of growth, resilience, and innovation.

I oversee the IT function across both cloud and on-premise infrastructure, ensuring high performance, security, and availability. My operational responsibilities include acting as the escalation point for all 2nd and 3rd line support, particularly for complex issues involving networking, telephony, hardware, and cloud services. I manage a geographically dispersed team and ensure ITIL-aligned processes are embedded and followed throughout the department.

Key Responsibilities & Achievements:

• Strategic IT Leadership:

  • Shape and execute an IT roadmap that aligns with the company’s long-term vision, collaborating directly with the CIO and board-level stakeholders.

  • Champion initiatives that modernise systems and streamline operations, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, performance, and user experience.

• IT Operations & Infrastructure Management:

  • Lead the day-to-day operations of the IT support function across multiple brands and locations.

  • Ensure uptime, reliability, and performance across all critical IT systems, achieving 99.9% availability.

  • Serve as the primary escalation point for complex technical issues involving telephony, networking, cloud services, and hardware.

• Project Delivery & Transformation:

  • Directed the full migration to a cloud-based telephony system, integrating two contact centres and rolling out features that significantly improved communication workflows.

  • Led the migration of key in-house systems to cloud infrastructure, enhancing resilience, security, and disaster recovery planning.

  • Managed IT integration for newly acquired businesses, overseeing setup, alignment with standards, and onboarding of international operations.

  • Occasionally contribute to preparing IT separation templates for divestments, ensuring smooth systems disentanglement and operational continuity.

• Cloud Cost Optimisation:

  • Achieved a 35% reduction in cloud expenditure, restructuring infrastructure and renegotiating supplier agreements to align costs with usage and scalability goals.

• Event Technology Support:

  • Support the operational delivery of major golf tournaments, ensuring systems are fully operational under high-pressure, real-time conditions.

  • Oversee the coordination of tech support for customer logistics and hospitality, working closely with internal teams and external partners.

• Vendor & Budget Management:

  • Manage key vendor relationships and negotiate contracts, securing scalable and cost-effective solutions that meet evolving business needs.

  • Oversee and control an annual OPEX budget of £1 million, ensuring strategic investments in IT systems and services.

• Culture & Team Leadership:

  • Lead and motivate a multi-functional team including international DevOps engineers, promoting collaboration and accountability.

  • Champion a people-first IT culture, maintaining morale and performance even through structural change and headcount reduction.

  • Embed ITIL-aligned processes for incident, problem, and change management, continuously improving service delivery and support outcomes.

• Reporting & Performance Monitoring:

  • Provide regular reporting at C-Suite and board level, presenting updates on IT system performance, incident trends, project delivery, and risk management.