Spokespeople

John Higgins CBE
Director General
Intellect
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John Higgins was appointed Director General of Intellect at its launch in May 2002. Intellect represents around 800 large and small organisations including BAE Systems, BT, EDS, IBM, Intel, Logica, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Philips, SAP, Sony and many more. Intellect brings technology companies together to influence public policy, develop markets, and improve members' business performance.

John has worked in IT since graduating in 1975. He trained as a Systems Analyst and Project Manager with the London Brick Company before moving to Triad Computing Systems in the mid-eighties. He also held senior positions with Ernst & Young and software applications company SSA prior to joining Rocket Networks, one of the first UK and west coast US based dotcoms, as CEO in 1995. He became Director General of one of Intellect's predecessors, CSSA, in April 1998.

John has an honours degree in Mathematics from UEA and a Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. In 2004 John was presented with the Individual Award for outstanding contribution to the trade association sector by the Trade Association Forum. John was awarded a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list 2005 and the award for Outstanding Contribution to UK IT at the Computing Awards for Excellence 2008.

John has led and/or contributed to many industry and industry/government bodies and initiatives dealing with a wide range of issues; from the strategy for a Digital Britain, the better use of IT in public service delivery and the use of IT in the NHS to the factors that could contribute to increased innovation and growth in the electronics sector, and the exploitation of intellectual property across the hi-tech value chain. In these activities he has worked with Secretaries of State, Ministers, policy professionals, Government officials and industry executives.

John is Vice Chair of RISC - an alliance of trade associations and think tanks working in the area of homeland security and resilience; he is also Chair of the Audit Committee at the University of Warwick and was a Member of Council from 2002 to 2008. John held the position, Vice President of the European hi-tech industry association, EICTA from May 2006 to May 2008.  John is currently a Commissioner for the Commission on Technology and Climate Change hosted by the University of Warwick, is Chair of WITSA's (World Information Technology Services Association) Forum on Green ICT and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.  He has also been appointed as Chair of the CBI's trade association council commencing January 2009.

John is married with three children and lives in Hertfordshire. He is a regular conference and dinner speaker on a wide range of hi-tech industry topics.

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