Mike Cope CIO50 2009

Mike Cope, who was IT director at Virgin Atlantic until June this year, first joined the company as head of IT strategy before becoming IT director in 2007.

Under his leadership, the Virgin Atlantic IT team saw business satisfaction double and business impact from IT issues reduced by 40 per cent.

Cope began his career as a civil engineer and has since held IT roles at British Airways, Shell International and US system integration companies.

A keen cyclist who has cycled 1,000 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats, he is now looking for his next challenge which may see him cycling around Australia or across the US.