Steven Capper

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2023.

Steve is CIO at engineering and construction specialist SNC-Lavalin. He has worked in the industry for his entire career, starting at Arup when he was just 16 - and leaving 23 years later as the head of global IT - as well as Aecom and Royal BAM Group.

In the past three years Steve has led a massive datacentre consolidation programme, and invested heavily in virtualisation technology.

How did you get into IT?

Strange how I got into IT! I started in the print room, moved to drawing boards and then on to using AutoCAD design. So clearly knew how to use a computer?! Apparently...

How do you ensure diversity is taken into account in your IT recruitment?

Here at SNC Lavalin we work with schools, universities, and organisations that serve diverse communities to build a more diverse pipeline of candidates.

We remove gendered or culturally biased language in job postings to attract a more diverse set of candidates. We also remove identifying information such as name, gender, or age from CVs during the initial screening process to reduce unconscious bias.

On top of this, the whole company goes through diversity training to to help them understand and mitigate their own biases. We have set ambitious targets and regularly review them to ensure that we are inclusive and are attracting diverse candidates.

By implementing these strategies, we create a more diverse and inclusive IT workforce, which can lead to better innovation, creativity and business outcomes.

Which technology are you currently most excited by?

Extremely excited by AI, we are seriously starting to see how we can leverage our data and improve our decision making.

What would an outsider find the most surprising part of your job?

How much of it is actually about people and less so about technology.

What's your secret talent?

Engaging and motivating people.

What makes you laugh?

My youngest daughter, she is hilarious without even trying.