Biographies: PITCOM Council Members 2008
Vice President
Lord Renwick
Lord Renwick was a member of the House of Lords from 1973 until November 1999. His special interests include the processes of innovation and change, informatics and telematics, the application of technology, and space and special educational needs.
Chairman
Andrew Miller MP
Elected in 1992 represents Ellesmere Port & Neston in Cheshire. Regularly engages with the ITC and science communities and still claims to be able to write in Fortran. A tennis and cricket player and a very keen photographer who regularly exhibits his work.
Vice Chairmen
Margaret Moran MP
Margaret Moran was first elected as the MP for Luton South in May 1997, and re-elected in June 2001. Her interests span a wide range of concerns from Northern Ireland, to Housing, Domestic Violence, new technologies, and social exclusion and football.
Ian Taylor MBE MP Ian Taylor has been Member of Parliament since 1987. He represents the Esher & Walton constituency. Former Science and Technology minister (1994-97). Chairs the Conservative Party’s Policy Task-Force on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Holds various non-executive directorships in tech-related companies.
Hon Treasurer
Lord Harris of Haringey
Lord Harris was made a Life Peer in June 1998. He is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Policing and Treasurer of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM). He is also a member of the House of Lords Select Committee currently investigating Personal Internet Security.
Hon Secretary
Ben Wallace MPBen was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent North East Scotland in May 1999 and he became Shadow Health spokesman for the Conservatives. In 2003 Ben stood down and moved to Lancashire. In 2005 Ben stood as the Conservative candidate to fight the marginal Parliamentary seat of Lancaster and Wyre which he won. Ben's interests are the NHS, Home Affairs, Defence and Foreign Policy. Before entering Parliament Ben was Overseas Director at QinetiQ. When time permits he enjoys Rugby, Skiing and Horse Racing as well as spending time with his family in Lancashire.
Administrative Secretary
Christine Stewart Munro Hon FEI Administrative Secretary of PITCOM since March 2004. Founder, and Executive Secretary, of the Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies. Founding Administrative Secretary of two All Party Parliamentary Groups. Editor of Energy Focus. Patron of Government Affairs Group. Trustee of three charities. General Commissioner of Income Taxes.
Non-Parliamentary Officers
Communications Officer
Liz Bacon BSc, PhD, CEng, CSci, FBCS, CITP, FHEA
PITCOM Communications Officer. Head of the Computing and Mathematical Sciences School at the University of Greenwich. Member of the CPHC (Council of Professors and Heads of Computing) Executive Committee. Member of several BCS Committees. She supports Charlton Football Club and is very fond of cats.
Finance Officer
John O’Sullivan BSc FBCS CEng FCMA
John is Managing Director of Thames Communications and Chairman of ABFL Groupe Intellex, and is also active in UK/EU skills programmes for ICT. Formerly, he was Group IT Director at BT, Industrial Advisor Telecoms at DTI, and Personnel & Resources Director at BAE Systems (Military Aircraft). He is a supporter of Watford Football Club.
Membership Officer
Martin Hughes
Years in the business with IBM and consulting. Strongly committed to helping develop an informed and critical Parliamentary competence in I&CT. Believes in IT education, IT education, IT education for legislators who otherwise are too easily convinced that they can trust "experts".
Programme Officer
Jim Norton BEng, CDir CEng DEng FIEE FIoD FRSA
Jim Norton has more than thirty five years experience in ICT in both public and private sectors, as a supplier, user and regulator. He is a Chartered Director, Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional and BCS Vice-President for Professionalism. He also serves as an External Board Member of the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology (POST).
Parliamentary Members
Tim Boswell MP
Tim is a former Minister of two Departments and describes himself as an ‘ordinary constituency MP’ – but one with a wide range of interests and an extraordinary workload! By no means an IT expert, he still finds it invaluable!
Christopher Chope OBE MP
Christopher was Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen from 1983-92. He was a member of the DTI Deregulation Task Force on Transport and Communications. He was elected Member of Parliament for Christchurch in May 1997. In June 2002, he was appointed as Shadow Minister of State for Transport. From November 2003 to May 2005, he served as a Shadow Minister for Environment & Transport.
Viscount Craigavon
British peer and chartered accountant. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.
Janric is a member of the Executive Committee of the Anglo-Austrian Society. He is a former trustee of the Progress Educational Trust, and is now an advisor for the Trust.
Earl of Erroll
Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay is a cross-bench member of the House of Lords. Erroll has worked as a marketing and computer consultant, is a Freeman of the City of London and a Member, Court of Assistants of Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and was Prime Warden of the Company in 2000–01. He is also a member of the Council of the Hereditary Peerage Association.
Earl of Liverpool
He is now one of the 92 elected hereditary peers who remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act of 1999, and sits on the Conservative benches. Lord Liverpool has two children from his first marriage.
Rt Hon Alun Michael MP
First elected to Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth in 1987, he became Deputy Home Secretary in 1997. He became Secretary of State for Wales in the Cabinet (1998-1999). A fluent Welsh Speaker, he is married with five children and six grandchildren. He enjoys mountain walking, opera and squash.
Bill Olner MP
Bill has been a Labour Party Member of Parliament since 1992. He has been a Council Member of PITCOM for eight years. He had a former career in Rolls Royce and has always had a keen interest in cutting edge technology and its development.
Ian Stewart MP
Vice Chair, All Party China Group. Chair, All Party Group of Vaccine Damaged Children. Has placement under Industry and Parliament Trust with IBM. Founder of the European Foundation for Social Partnership and Continuing Training Initiatives. Main leisure interests include walking, running, painting, Tai Chi and physical training traditions, music and performance arts, research into religions, philosophical social and political systems, science and medical developments.
Lord St John Of Bletso
Lord St John Of Bletso took his seat in House of Lords in 1978 as Crossbencher (Independent). He is a member of several all party Parliamentary committees and various Select Committees. His parliamentary interests include: Foreign Affairs, particularly Southern Africa and China, European Union, Environmental protection, Science and Technology, particularly broadband rollout, Deregulation and Financial Services, Sport. He is a trustee for several charities and his leisure interests include: Golf, Tennis, Skiing and Travel.
Derek Wyatt MP
Derek was first elected to the House of Commons for the new constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey in north Kent in May 1997. Radio5Live gave him the title of "The fastest emailer in the West" when they ran a competition to find who was the quickest MP to respond to constituents emails! In 2004 he was voted one of the top 100 internet visionaries over the past decade. His web site won the New Statesman Award for elected representative in 2006. Founded the Oxford Internet Institute in 2000.
Non parliamentary members
Stephen Darvill Stephen is Government Relations Director for Logica and has worked over 40 years in the ICT services industry. He is active in the BCS, IET and Intellect, striving to increase the professionalism and global competitiveness of the UK ICT industry. Married with three children, he also breeds sheep and rings bells.
Chris Godwin
Government Programmes Manager for IBM (United Kingdom) Limited since 1999 Active Member of PITCOM Council, and of PITCOM Events Committee. Council Member of EURIM and Chair of EURIM Competitiveness Working Party
Charles Hughes BSc CEng FBCS CITP
Over forty years in IT; 12 as a Director of ICL; DTI's Project Director for the Information Society Initiative. PITCOM Council Member (2000), Chairman of Programme Committee (2004 – date). BCS President 2005-06 initiating and championing Professionalism in IT programme; Senior Warden, Information Technologists’ livery company.
Elizabeth Kanter
Elizabeth Kanter has over ten years experience working in Government Affairs, having worked in Washington DC prior to her current work in London. Elizabeth has focused on the telecommunications industry with positions at Marconi, Nortel and a technology trade association.
Carolyn Kimber
Chairman of Communications Management Association (CMA) representing business users of communications products and services. Director of Women in Telecoms and Technology (WiTT) founded to support women at all levels in the industry. Independent Consultant. Passions include high quality and fair customer service, value for money, shoes and chocolate.
Robin Seaman Head of Public Policy for BT Group Public Affairs, with a background in UK and European regulatory and commercial work. He has worked in the industry for over 30 years, during which time he has chaired a number of groups within ETNO (the European Operators' Group), worked on a number of EURIM groups in the early years of that organisation, been an adviser to the European Commission on public procurement issues, and been active within PITCOM for many years.
