How to champion a strategic tech vision whilst keeping the lights on
Matt Webb, UK Power Networks CIO on the challenge of change within critical infrastructure
Matt Webb is leveraging his non-traditional route into leadership to bridge business and technology to reshape the role of IT within UKPN and drive innovation to support the UK's transition to net zero.
UK Power Networks (UKPN) is the distribution network operator for electricity, covering London, and parts of the Southeast and East of England. It’s a large, complex organisation, employing approximately 6500 people and forming part of UK Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
As CIO, Matt Webb is actively reshaping the information systems (IS) function he oversees, along with the perceptions of IS and its role within the broader business context, both internally and externally.
Managing the changes that this reshaping requires experience and credibility. Webb doesn’t come from a traditional IT background and therefore didn’t take the well-trodden technical route into tech leadership.
“I've evolved into this role in many senses,” he explains. “I’ve been with UKPN for 18 years and came into the organisation with an engineering background within the capital programme arena. I then got involved in business change and transformation projects and that exposed me to data. I then took on the lead of our asset information function, so specifically looking at our core asset systems, the databases and geospatial systems for the network assets.
“Growing that capability really dovetailed with a period where there was a growing awareness and understanding we need to manage data better. I established what is now our enterprise data team covering data governance, management and engineering, which inherently takes you more into the realm of IT and digitisation.”
Webb led the technology and digital development of UKPN’s ED2 programme, the organisation’s business plan running from 2023 – 2028, and whilst immersing himself in strategic planning and development, undertook a master's degree in information systems management before transitioning into his present role.
“Can I do a lot of the jobs in my team? No, not all of them or even most of them. But I have a very strong appreciation of what people in my team do and how they do it. And I have a very strong understanding of what the business does and needs.”
Transformation in a risk averse environment
Webb sees his CIO role as one of a translator of languages from business to technical and vice versa, and also thinks that the route he took into leadership has left him well-resourced when it comes to changing the role of IS, and perceptions of what technology can and should deliver to an organisation which is not only forms part of UK CNI, but will also play a significant role in the transition to net zero and the decarbonisation of the wider economy. He says:
“The credibility that I bring to the role, compared to somebody that come through the traditional technologist route is in my ability to navigate between both sides of the business effectively. I think that allows me to have an authenticity and an appreciation of our internal customers and what it means for our external customers. That's key to how I operate.
“I think a lot of people from technology backgrounds want to provide that technical leadership but don't necessarily enjoy or have a propensity for the human leadership aspects. It's a different skill set, and it can be exhausting. “
Persuading stakeholders of the need to view technology as so much more than a means to “keep the lights on” is arguably a lot more difficult in an organisation that forms part of UK CNI, where keeping the lights on is literally your job.
“When you're in an organisation where the fundamentals of what they do and how they do it haven't changed in decades and are quite slow moving and risk averse all for good reasons, it can be hard,” Webb agrees. “But I enjoy that challenge.”
“My motivation is about how we transition away from a traditional operational mindset within IT of being almost a maintenance function enabling the business. I want us to be far more value oriented and a strategic part of the business. Any contemporary organisation is so inherently dependent on all forms of data and technology, that if we're not leveraging that potential value whilst maintaining that functionality and resilience and services, then you're going to fall behind.
“My passion for the job comes from working out how we build that relationship and start to push the boundary by thinking about what technology can do for us or how it can make us better, rather than just keeping things ticking over.”
Webb asserts that overcoming resistance to change requires visibility and authenticity from leadership.
“I like to have that interaction with people to understand what their problems are, what their aversions are, why there's resistance to change and how we work together to overcome it. In a business like ours, change is constant. We've moved away from the legacy which most organisations share of periodic, big bang change. Digitisation is far more about that continuous evolution and continuous improvement. It's how we use agile techniques and constant iteration to take away some of that pain, so it doesn't feel like we're being hit hard again and again.
“I think your ability to lead through that comes down to engagement and communication and listening.”