Bruna Pellicci

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2024.

Bruna Pellicci is the CIO at global firm Linklaters. She is responsible for driving the technology vision and information security for the firm, most recently facilitating the advancement of digital adoption.

Bruna has an impressive career spanning 30 years' experience of working in IT across sectors including law and pathology. Bruna has spent much of her time leading and transforming the IT capability of major organisations, with control of budgets up to £100M, leading teams of some 200+ on/off-shore as well as various outsourced partners, looking after technology strategy, architecture, governance, information security, projects and software development, operations, service integration and digital adoption.

How did you get into IT?

I left school and got a job with JS Pathology in Harley Street as a Computer Operator/Trainee Programmer. I was 18 years old and had less than no idea. It was a lovely place to work and great fun for 13 years. We were a small team and wrote software to help the running of a laboratory, from processing samples to keeping accounts and client details. It was a time when BBC Micros, Amstrad 8512s and a Wang VS100 were leading edge - an age ago, when if you didn't initialise your variables your computer would run out of memory, and everything stopped. Funnily I hear with Gen AI we have gone full circle and memory and storage is again premium and runs out.

I have always been supported by the organisations I've worked with. Over the years I have learnt the importance of mentors, coaches, sponsors and most importantly very good friends and family, who have supported and guided me through the many different challenges and are brave enough to tell you what you sometimes don't want to hear. Having this support has been essential throughout my career and in my personal life.

What do you consider your greatest IT achievement of the last 12 months?

There have been several achievements over the last 12 months that have made me go "wow". None of them are mine alone, as I work with many Linklaters' teams, including the firm's Technology, Innovation and wider business teams and Director group. We have successfully rolled out Laila, the firm's GenAI chatbot, to the firm and now have 3,500 unique users globally. These users are currently generating almost 20,000 prompts a week on average.

Another personal highlight has been the work we've done with Microsoft; collaborating with them to trial its 365 Copilot platform has been hugely exciting. Microsoft launched an early adoption programme, which Linklaters became a part of in August 2023; the pilot will last initially for one year and we're in the process of exploring what's next.

We have also delivered a huge amount of new technology which improves the lives of the day-to-day workings of all our people. Expanding and updating our Tech stack generating minimal disruption to the firm, including moving to cloud services, embracing ever green technology to help meet our science-based targets, are just a few highlights I can name.

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

People often don't realise the vast array of exciting tech opportunities available. To foster diversity, we actively recruit a varied pool of applicants, advertising effectively and discussing the roles openly as superb chances for growth. Our focus is on hiring individuals with zeal, ambition, and creativity. We're committed to nurturing their talents and paving their path to success. To enhance diversity, we engage in several initiatives, such as podcasts addressing gender, race, and ethnicity questions. Our event this year, 'Redefining the Code: Unity in Tech', aimed to inspire tech professionals, featuring prominent speakers like Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, to drive career advancement and innovation.

Our proactive Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Technology (EDIT) team meets monthly, contributing to the wider firm's initiatives like the Race Action Plan. We partner with DELTAS and offer workshops to secondary students, teaching them about tech opportunities, rewards, and essential skills like interviewing and presenting.

I'm deeply invested in guiding the youth about the available prospects and preparing them for what lies ahead. At the core of our strategy is the belief that a diverse and inclusive environment spurs innovation and helps us address business challenges effectively.

Which technology are you currently most excited by, and why?

Unsurprisingly, it is gen-AI. The sheer pace it's evolving is hugely exciting, I wonder if and when we discover the boundaries that it will reach. And if it could develop a personality! Gen-AI is already revolutionising legal tech; firms need to explore how to safely implement the tech and which tools are going to have the most impact. There are some challenges with using it at the minute, and you have to be aware of hallucinations and it simply not always working. However, it is evident that it has the capacity to super charge our sector, and that's very exciting.

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

How in reality I spend more time with people than with computers. My role is hugely collaborative. I spend a lot of time working with people, problem solving and forward thinking. Given the speed in which tech is evolving we need to think some years ahead, where we want to be, what technology and talent we need to get there. Working with people to map out the future is both fun and rewarding.

What's your secret talent?

I make a mean spag bol. I grew up working in our family café, Pellicci's in East London, working alongside my parents who taught me lots of things including how to make our family recipes, which I still make now for friends and family. It also taught me some valuable life lessons that I've carried with me, from working with people and what hard work is. The café is still there, run by my mum, brother and sister, and I pop in daily which is always a highlight by which I start my day.

What makes you laugh?

Lots of things make me laugh, mainly the people around me, my family and great friends, and great colleagues. My go-to film to pick up my mood is Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.