Chris Earnshaw has been appointed as the new chair of the Police Information Technology Organisation and will take up his position with immediate effect Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, announced today. Mr Earnshaw succeeds Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Burton.
Announcing the appointment Ms Blears said:
"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Earnshaw as the new Chair of the Police IT Organisation. He will bring very substantial experience, commitment and knowledge to this key role.
"Under his leadership, I am confident that PITO will become even more effective in delivering to the police service high quality information and communications technology and helping bring about an electronically joined-up criminal justice system.
"I would also like to thank Sir Edmund Burton for his major contribution to PITO's work over the last three years."
The appointment was made by the Home Secretary, after an open selection process conducted under the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Biography of Chris Earnshaw FREng
In addition to his new appointment as non-executive Chairman of the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), Mr Earnshaw acts as an independent adviser to a number of companies and financial institutions in the fields of business growth and innovation in the Information Communication Technology sector. He is Managing Director of Oakleigh Ventures Ltd. He also serves on a number of professional industry boards.
Prior to this Mr Earnshaw held a number of senior executive positions in the telecoms industry and was a member of the Executive Management Board/ Executive Committee of British Telecom (BT) from 1991 until 2002. Recent key appointments were:
1999-2002
Group Engineering Director BT plc
1995- 1999
Managing Director Networks and Systems, responsible for BT's UK and global networks and service, IT design and operations and R&D.
1993-1995
President and CEO Concert Communications Services Inc, based in USA. Concert was BT's first global network services joint venture with MCI Inc.
1991- 1993
Managing Director Worldwide Networks, responsible for BT's UK core networks and a range of international business units and subsidiaries.
1989- 1991
Director Network, BT(UK) and a member of the BT(UK) Management Board.
Prior to 1989 he held various programme management responsibilities concerned with the development of network technologies and the digitalisation of the BT network in the UK.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Vice President and Trustee of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). He serves on the UK Engineering and Technology Board as an independent industry director. Mr Earnshaw was awarded the 2001 (US) Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) Ernst Weber Award for industry leadership.
Notes to Editors:
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PITO is responsible for managing the delivery of systems for policing. These include national information technology and communications systems in support of the police, the 24 hour-a-day Police National Computer service and the co-ordination, development and delivery of local IT systems. PITO also provides a procurement service to police forces. In accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Police Act 1997, PITO became a Non-Departmental Public Body on 1 April 1998.
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