Blue Circle IT chief talks up high-tech balancing act

NEWS Balancing the potential of technology with people's ability to cope with change is one of the key skills of the IT Director, according to Roger Ellis, group IT controller at building materials conglomerate, Blue Circle. Speaking to Silicon.com in the latest in our series of Agenda Setters interviews, he said: "I've always believed that technology moves a lot faster than people's willingness or capacity to embrace it, and I think the trick is to move technology into areas of the company where it is applicable, but not at the speed that turns people off." As occupier of the top IT job at the £2bn a year firm, Ellis acknowledged that the role is tricky, but said it's that challenge which makes the role of the IT director a healthy one. Ellis is also chairman of Elite, an association for IT directors with the muscle to attract speakers like Michael Dell and Bill Gates, and has strong views on the way IT affects business. The full Agenda Setter interview with Ellis, where he talks at length about the changing role of the IT director, is available in Silicon.com's Manufacturing Channel (http://www.silicon.com/a34404 ).