Gordon Lovell-Read CIO50 2008

A 35-year veteran of the IT industry working with blue-chip organisations, Gordon Lovell-Read spent six years at Siemens UK as CIO and an executive management board member, with a string of successful business ventures and transformation projects under his belt before stepping down in May 2008 to pursue other opportunities.

Relentlessly inquisitive, he has a self-confessed "unhealthy" interest in quantum mechanics and particle physics - driven by a frustration and fascination that we still do not have scientific explanations for a whole range of phenomena.

A great influencer and networker, Lovell-Read is known as a "noisy thinker" by colleagues and an optimist with the cup perpetually half-full.

Although he started out his career at ICL in software engineering, Lovell-Read has risen to the role of CIO without going through the traditional IT department route and he spent 17 years at HP in a number of senior management posts, rising to become director of business consulting.

That background has given him a rare mix of leadership capabilities and a proven track record in strategy, business transformation, change management, sales, marketing, consulting, project management and business development.

Outside of work Lovell-Read has a passion for boats, fast cars and possible future applications of the Nintendo Wii interface. He says he is helped in his self-control by following the instructions of the houseful of ladies that make up his family.