As you may have heard, last month the City of Salford appointed Jon Corner as its first ever Chief Digital Officer (CDO).
The role of the CDO is a relatively new one across the industry, having become more prominent over the past few years, as more companies and cities are becoming aware of the digital transformation taking place all around the world and wanting to keep up, rather than find themselves lagging behind.
Jon Corner’s appointment marks a concentrated effort by the city to transform Salford into one of the world’s leading smart cities, as set out in the digital summits – to encourage collaboration between public and private sector, marketing the city’s assets and maximising value for residents, businesses and the economy with further inward investment.
There is certainly no doubting his credentials for the role. With over 16 years experience in technology and digital transformation both in the private and public sector, he has also helped to shape one of the most successful tech clusters in the country in his role as CEO of The Landing.
While this appointment is certainly an exciting development for Salford and likely to motivate many people and businesses across Manchester to become more digitally engaged, if Salford wants to successfully lead the world in digital enterprise then it is vital that this is done correctly.
Getting the city on board
Obviously, Jon Corner’s appointment is a clear indication that the City of Salford is aware of the importance of this role. However, further citywide commitment will be essential to achieve effective digital enterprise.
Having recently surpassed London as the UK’s leading city for start-up growth, Salford is suffering no shortage of digital tech companies today.
It will be important going forward for Jon to use this position and the opportunity it affords him to encourage the city council and city leaders to do more to foster Salford’s development; to keep innovating and enterprising in order to achieve its ambitions.
Growing Salford’s talent pool
Despite Salford’s already enviable position in the UK as a digital leader, the city is nonetheless still victim to the very same digital skills shortage as the rest of the UK.
One of the main hurdles Jon will have to contend with in his new role is attracting and retaining the talent that is core to what makes the city great.
This will prove no easy feat, being a problem that every other city in the UK, and even the world, is facing.
However, the role of Chief Digital Officer is uniquely positioned to focus on this, which will prove to be of the utmost importance going ahead.
Connect with experts in the field
Bringing more networking events and opportunities to Salford is one way in which Jon can improve its already stellar reputation and will likely bring more opportunities and talent to the city.
Relaxed, informal events aimed at bright, interested and educated figures within the industry need to be encouraged and given room to grow within Salford.
The popular MancML series is just one example of the sort of home-grown event within Manchester that Salford can take a lead from, aimed at leading-edge areas of tech, such events regularly bring companies at the forefront of machine learning together to foster growth and collaboration.
There is clearly a demand for events like these (given the popularity of previous events and the progress of the tech scene in the area) and this is something Salford’s new CDO may want to consider during his time in the role.
Nurturing the talent and skill that is already there within the city is key to bringing more opportunities and talent to the city, also - from the aforementioned networking events, to retraining, encouraging more women and young people into STEM, to looking to the advice and help of recruitment agencies, there are countless ways in which this can be achieved.
With more than 16 years of experience in technology and digital transformation, Salford’s new CDO has proven and lasting connections to the heart of digital technology in the city.
As CEO of The Landing, he has helped grow over 100 companies and start-ups within Salford, certainly not something many others could say.
More than most, he will have the experience, connections and ability to build a strong and vital network of technology and business innovators in the city.
Showing long-term commitment to digital growth
Most importantly, with a CDO in place, Salford joins a growing list of cities, including London and Cardiff, which have made a concentrated effort to strive towards digital enterprise.
Jon Corner will need to think long-term - where Salford is right now, where it needs to go, and how it will get there, including how it will maintain sustained digital engagement in order to solidify a position of digital leadership.
Because maintaining sustained digital engagement can be a stumbling block for cities in their pursuit of digital growth, long-term vision is key, and with plans already in place around connectivity, digital inclusion, cyber-security, skills, health innovation and smart cities, this looks to be exactly what the role of Chief Digital Officer will bring.
Will this appointment succeed in transforming Salford into one of the world's leading smart cities?
At this point it remains hard to say for sure. At any rate, Salford is in a position that many other cities can only dream of.
The city won’t become a digital world-leader overnight but having a Chief Digital Officer on hand to market the city’s enviable assets and focus on maximising investment in Salford’s digital economy is a considerable step in the right direction.
Liam Wilson is Team Leader for the North at Cathcart Associates, an independent IT recruitment business with offices in the UK, Germany and Thailand.
Cathcart work with a number of leading digital businesses in the Manchester and Salford areas.
