John Thorp CIO50 2008

John Thorp has been the group CIO for electrical retail group DSG International (DSGi) - formerly known as the Dixons Stores Group - since May 2006 and joined the executive board at the beginning of 2007.

One of his achievements in the past year has been to outsource DSGi's printing infrastructure to Lexmark, with predicted cost savings of more than £500,000 per year and a 22 per cent reduction in the use of toner cartridges.

Thorp was previously IT director at no frills airline Easyjet and has also worked for the Burton Group and Compass Group.

His senior exec roles have taken him to Australia, Brazil, Europe and the US and he has developed a niche as a bit of a mergers-and-acquisitions specialist.

Thorp has a master's degree from Cranfield University, where he is a regular visiting lecturer.