On Wednesday March 15, 2017 at the 2nd annual Sydney CDO Summit in Australia, the CDO Club bestowed awards on two world-renowned data and digital executives, Simon Bligh and Clive Dickens.
Left to right: Simon Bligh: CEO at Dun & Bradstreet (Chief Data Officer of the Year ANZ 2017); David Mathison: CEO of the CDO Club; Clive Dickens: CDO at Seven West Media (Chief Digital Officer of the Year)
The awards were presented by CDO Club founder David Mathison and Odgers Berndtson’s Paul Rush, after a panel on “Leadership” at the 2nd annual Sydney CDO Summit at Pier One in Sydney, Australia.
- Simon Bligh, CEO of Dun & Bradstreet, was named the world’s first-ever recipient of the Chief Data Officer of the Year award for Australia New Zealand (ANZ) 2017. Mr. Bligh became CEO of Dun & Bradstreet ANZ in March 2016 and is significantly expanding their commercial and consumer database through organic growth and market innovations like Credit Simple as well as strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
- Clive Dickens, Chief Digital Officer at Seven West Media, was named the Chief Digital Officer of the Year ANZ 2017. Mr. Dickens joined Seven West Media in February 2015. He is also a non-Executive Director of Yahoo7. As Chief Digital Officer, Mr. Dickens oversees strategic, operational, and investment aspects of the company’s wide-ranging digital content & digital revenue activities.
Prior to leading Dun & Bradstreet, Mr Bligh was Chief Data Officer at Veda and was responsible for the fastest growing divisions and the sourcing, management and commercialisation of Veda’s data.
Mr Bligh has also held executive positions in Australia as Chief Financial Officer of Sydney Airport and AAPT. Before moving to Australia, Simon spent 10 years working for AT&T in Europe, latterly in Paris as the European Chief Financial Officer responsible for more than 300 staff in 13 countries.
Mr. Bligh is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand, who earned his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Oxford in 1989.
“Simon has extensive knowledge of global data markets, and how data can be used to solve customer problems and uncover insights and meaning for businesses,” remarked David Mathison, CEO of the CDO Club.
“Most importantly, given his ascension from Chief Data Officer to the Chief Executive role, Simon is an exemplar to his CDO Club colleagues and serves as proof that this career path is available to data and analytics leaders worldwide. Successful companies acknowledge the importance of data as the lifeblood of the online economy, and will continue to place executives like Mr. Bligh in leadership roles. I am delighted to name Simon as Australia’s first-ever Chief Data Officer of the Year 2017,” said Mathison.
Dun & Bradstreet is Australia and New Zealand’s longest established credit information bureau and helps businesses to make informed credit decisions, and consumers to access personal credit information.
The CDO Club is the only organization tracking CDOs who have become CEO or Board Director/Non-Executive Director. Since 2011, the CDO Club has identified more than 50 Chief Digital Officers who have become CEO: https://cdoclub.com/hall-of-fame.
The CDO Club forecasts that more companies will add data and analytics experts to the C-Suite and to their Boards. For example, in 2013, Alibaba Chief Data Officer Jonathan Lu succeeded founder/CEO Jack Ma as Chief Executive Officer, and led Alibaba until 2015.
Simon Bligh and Clive Dickens, flanked by Odgers Berndtson’s Paul Rush (left) and Rebecca Reed (right).
Clive Dickens, Chief Digital Officer at Seven West Media (ASX:SWM), was recognized as Chief Digital Officer of the Year ANZ 2017.
“Today we recognize Clive as a visionary digital executive and inspirational leader whose passion, creativity, and drive has led to a successful track record in transforming analogue businesses to digital across the globe, from the UK to Australia,” remarked David Mathison, CEO of the CDO Club.
“Clive has consistently proven himself to be a humble mentor to his team, collegial and helpful with his peers, and a well-respected colleague across the C-suite. I am delighted to name Clive as Australia’s Chief Digital Officer of the Year for 2017,” said Mathison.
Mr. Dickens joined Seven West Media in February 2015. As Chief Digital Officer, Mr. Dickens oversees strategic, operational, and investment aspects of the company’s wide-ranging digital content & digital revenue activities. He is also a non-Executive Director of Yahoo7.
“Its an honour to be recognized by my peers for this award, but like all success in business I would really like to acknowledge the extraordinary talents of my colleagues and teams across the country, as they are the ones who co-create and execute our SWM company strategy in an increasingly digital world,” said Mr. Dickens.
Mr. Dickens has over 30 years’ experience in digital and broadcast media. His first digital role in 1995 was with Capital Interactive in the United Kingdom. In 2000, Clive became an advisor to the founders of Shazam. In 2008 Clive co-founded Absolute Radio. In 2010, Clive was a Founder of UK Radio Player, a joint digital venture between UK Broadcasters and the BBC. In April 2013, he relocated from the UK to Australia as Director of Digital and Innovation at Southern Cross Austereo during which time he and his team created the Industry leading Radio App.
Clive is also one of the Founding Directors of Code Club – a not for profit registered charity for primary school children funded in part by a grant from the Telstra Foundation.
Seven West Media Limited (www.sevenwestmedia.com.au) is Australia’s leading multiple platform media company with a market-leading presence in broadcast television, magazine, and newspaper publishing, and online. The company is the home of many of Australia’s best performing media businesses – Seven Network, Pacific Magazines, The West Australian, and Yahoo!7, and world-renowned content brands Home & Away, Border Security, and MKR, amongst many others.
In 2016, the inaugural ANZ CDO of the Year award winner was Rebekah Horne, then Chief Digital Officer at Network Ten, and now CDO at the National Rugby League.
Previous global Chief Digital Officer of the Year award winners include Linda Boff, CMO at GE; Adam Brotman, Chief Digital Officer at Starbucks Coffee Company; Rachael S. Haot, former Chief Digital Officer of New York City and New York State; Teddy Goff, former Digital Director at Obama for America in 2008 and 2012; Patrick Hoffstetter, Chief Digital Officer at Renault; Tanya Cordrey, former Chief Digital Officer at Guardian News and Media; and Mike Bracken, former Chief Digital Officer at U.K.’s Government Digital Service.
About the CDO Club
The CDO Club is the world’s largest community of C-suite digital and data leaders. Its 3,000+ registered members receive access to breaking news, original research, career development support, and networking opportunities. For more information, visit: http://CDOClub.com.
About the CDO Summit
The CDO Summit addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from big data, the cloud, digital disruption, and social and mobile media. CDO Summit gatherings include the very best digital and data strategists and practitioners on Earth, speaking in intimate, collegial, and supportive environments designed to encourage networking, learning, and knowledge-sharing.
The next CDO Summits are in NYC in May 2017, and Washington DC in June 2017. For more information, visit CDOSummit.com.
