Kevin Berry CIO50 2008

As systems director of Waitrose, Kevin Berry is responsible for all IT and telecommunication systems used throughout the supermarket chain. He looks after everything from strategic business analysis to systems implementation, and also the operational support, maintenance and performance of all systems.

His rise to the top began in 1977 when he joined the John Lewis Partnership as a graduate trainee. He climbed through the ranks, working as the partnership's chief analyst, head of department store systems, systems director for John Lewis and between 1997 and 2001 he was responsible for the John Lewis Partnership's corporate systems. He became systems director for Waitrose in March 2006.

In addition to his role as systems director, Kevin is a member of the Waitrose management board, a director of Waitrose Ltd, chairs the programme board at Waitrose which provides the governance for the Waitrose business change programme and is head of branch for the Waitrose Head Office campus at Bracknell.