The independent trade association for the North West’s digital sector, Manchester Digital, has today announced the appointment of its new Chair, who along with the elected council will steer the organisation through its next phase of growth and manage the governance of the business.
Graham Benson, CIO of Rentalcars.com based in Manchester, will take up the position of Chair. Graham has vast experience in building businesses through creative use of technology, and delivering strategic eCommerce and IT-enabled business transformation in both high-growth and turn-around organisations.
Prior to Rentalcars.com, after holding several senior management roles with a global remit in corporates such as Thomas Cook and Avis, he held CIO and director positions for four other well-known internet pure plays including play.com.
He has also contributed as a writer to many industry publications and spoken widely at digital seminars and conferences on creating a culture for change and leveraging technology for business advantage. He was also voted No.1 pure play eCommerce CIO in the 2014 and 2015 CIO Top 100.
Graham said: “I am absolutely delighted and feel very honoured to have been appointed as the chair of such a prestigious organisation. The digital community in Manchester, of which rentalcars.com is a key member, has been very successfully represented by Manchester Digital for many years. I am truly excited at the prospect of working with Katie, the council and Tony Foggett to take the organisation forward and build on these very solid foundations.
“Manchester is the new digital capital of the UK, and Manchester Digital has played its part in attaining this status; our challenge now is to adapt, change and grow to ensure that we continue to play an active and supportive role in maintaining Manchester’s hard-earned digital status and it is a challenge that I will relish.”
Last week saw five new members join the twelve-strong council along with Chris Marsh of UKFast who was re-elected. Newly elected Alison Ross, customer experience and operations director at Autotrader, Gemma Cameron, director at Hack Manchester, Richard Gregory, freelance, Simon Wharton, managing director at PushON, and Vikas Shah, managing director at Swiscot, will be actively supporting Manchester Digital in tackling the issues currently facing the thriving digital sector.
Members elected last year include: Amy Shapiro, senior commercial manager at Melbourne Server Hosting, Dan Donald, front-end and interaction lead at McCann Manchester, Martyn Bryant, editor in chief at The Next Web, Shaun Fensom, freelance, Tom Cull, managing director at iProspect Manchester, and Tony Foggett, CEO at Code Computerlove, who has stepped down as Chair but remains on the board.
Katie Gallagher, managing director at Manchester Digital, said: “Year after year we are overwhelmed with the support we get from the digital industry in the North, and the number of people who want to commit their time and energy to helping us improve the industry. The new combination of skills we have around the table along with the appointment of Graham means that we can make a really significant impact on all parts of the digital sector.
“Each elected member brings something new to the table and we’re really excited to see how this will impact the work we do at Manchester Digital.”
To find out more about Manchester Digital and its events programme or become a member, please visit http://www.manchesterdigital.com
