Leadership and advice: Fractional CIO / Virtual IT Director
"Benefit from the leadership, guidance and support of a friendly yet seasoned CIO or IT Director, at a fraction of the cost."
Organisations can often be without the technical leadership they need – just when they need it most.
Some will have outsourced as much as possible but now need that expertise in-house again; some have excellent in-house resources but not quite the right skills and experience for the challenges they are facing; some have lost key people because people sometimes just move on.
Why Adapta
Adapta has been helping charities, membership bodies and other non-profits for many years. Our team of consultants is drawn from the voluntary sector and includes people who have held senior management positions in both large and small organisations, as well as individuals with specialist experience in a range of sector-specific disciplines. We can act as a member of your management team and advise across all “top of mind” concerns such as corporate systems, digital workforce, infrastructure, cyber-security and compliance, digital marketing, and becoming data-driven. Team thinking and a holistic approach are at the heart of the support we offer. Even where we deliver a single consultant to help with a specific issue, all of Adapta’s resources – and the experience they represent – are sitting behind that individual, providing extra support and capacity.
Clients
We have helped many charities, membership organisations and other non-profit organisations with their Fractional CIO / Virtual IT Director projects. Below are examples of just a few of the organisations we have worked with.
What our clients say
Stephen Hammersley
Chief Executive, Pilgrims' Friend Society
“Adapta were pivotal to the successful implementation of some mission critical change projects. They brought us expertise that we lacked and supported us through all phases including specification; design; tendering and implementation - and they were nice people to deal with – respectful of our values and way of working.”
Emma Revie
Chief Executive, Trussell Trust
“To achieve the level of change we saw in 6 months without the support of Adapta would have been impossible. Shortly after completing the project the pandemic hit. Without the work completed by Adapta, our organisation would not have been able to weather the pandemic and keep working.”
Our experts
Mark Luckins
Principal Consultant
07847 415748
Email
Mark advises senior leadership teams to help them navigate the world of digital technology. He helps charities and third sector organisations determine the right digital, data and...
Andrew
Technology Strategy and Operations Associate
Andrew has 30 years' experience in senior technology roles and has spent the last 15 years driving change and delivering strategies at some of the largest and best-known names in the not-for-profit sector including Comic Relief, British Red Cross, and Cancer Research UK...
Philip
Associate Principal Consultant
Philip is a senior IT professional, experienced in leadership positions such as IT Director / Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He has a particular focus on technology strategy, architecture and consultancy. Adapta clients have included...
Jon
Fractional CIO Associate
Jon is a dynamic technology leader with over 15 years of experience in scaling operations and delivering large-scale, complex digital transformation projects. Combining deep...
Mark Luckins
Principal Consultant
Mark advises senior leadership teams to help them navigate the world of digital technology. He helps charities and third sector organisations determine the right digital, data and technology strategies to enable their mission. In his career, Mark has held various technology leadership roles and has achieved numerous certifications (ITIL, CISSP, PRINCE2, MCSE); academically, he holds a degree in “Operations Research” (better known today as ‘data science’). He helps charities grow the right organisational capabilities to support their current strategic priorities as well as generate value in the longer term. He advises on the specialist staffing and suppliers required to deliver as well as staff and SLT skills more widely. Mark often acts as a fractional “digital technology director” advising senior leaders on digital transformation agendas, major technology investments or simply how to make data and technology provide more value. Mark also regularly helps our clients to kickstart innovation or major new projects, or conversely to turn around stalling or failing change processes. Mark has extensive experiencing working across third sector organisations including marketing, fundraising, beneficiary/member service provision and corporate (finance, HR, IT/facilities). Mark has worked in large international charities (Plan International); the public sector (Houses of Parliament); small international charities (Marine Stewardship Council); UK charities (Crisis) and the education sector (ICAN). He managed teams of over 30 and has built teams from scratch. He has delivered major multi-million projects (CRM, website and data architecture) as well as smaller projects; and he is regularly involved in innovation and helping to save money and reduce overheads. He prides himself on providing commercially realistic, rightsized advice appropriate to the maturity of the organisation.
Andrew
Technology Strategy and Operations Associate
Andrew has 30 years' experience in senior technology roles and has spent the last 15 years driving change and delivering strategies at some of the largest and best-known names in the not-for-profit sector including Comic Relief, British Red Cross, and Cancer Research UK. As CTO at Comic Relief, he unified the Digital, Data & Technology teams, delivering technology to support diversification of income streams and measurement of social change. At Cancer Research UK he led a radical shift to innovative infrastructure to support the rapid growth of scientific systems and tools. At British Red Cross he transformed the management of a huge end-user computing estate to deliver a simplified, integrated post-pandemic work environment. Prior to his work in the charity sector, Andrew spent 12 years in the pharmaceuticals sector as European IT Director for Novartis Biopharmaceuticals and as Director of Global Finance systems at GSK. He played a leading role in the integration of GSK’s Head Office systems during the merger of GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beecham. An excellent lateral thinker, Andrew uses a collaborative approach to find innovative solutions and to deliver change via close working partnerships with business leaders, partner organisations, and staff. His focus is on building trust and confidence for senior management teams that their technology strategies and solutions are supporting delivery their vision. A keen golfer, Andrew also enjoys spending time watching cricket and attending live music concerts of artists ranging from Bach to Boy Genius. Andrew is also, pro-bono, a director and CTO of Trickle, a start-up which will use open banking to deliver an effortless charitable-giving platform.
Philip
Associate Principal Consultant
Philip is a senior IT professional, experienced in leadership positions such as IT Director / Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He has a particular focus on technology strategy, architecture and consultancy. Adapta clients have included Asthma UK, Cranstoun, Earthwatch, Enham Trust, the Labour Party, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, Lymphoma Action, the Mental Health Foundation, NSPCC, PCS Union, Pony Club UK, SignHealth, the Royal Society, the Trussell Trust and the Woodland Trust. Commercial experience included senior management roles at Sopra Steria and its public-private joint venture Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL), 2012-2016. Before that (2003-2012), Philip provided IT leadership as a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice (CTO) and the National Offender Management Service (CIO). Earlier, as Technical Director, Philip led the European professional services team for Software.com (later known as Openwave), specialising in email software, following a similar role with HP Consulting. He has travelled widely and worked overseas in the Americas, Europe and Asia, including having lived for three years in India as a British Council officer. Philip has significant experience at board level in both commercial and voluntary organisations, as non-executive director, charity trustee and chairman. Philip was previously Chair of Trustees at Eduserv, a not-for-profit IT services business. Philip has held numerous voluntary roles within the Church of England and the United Reformed Church, from local to national levels. He has advised both the Alzheimers' Society and the Church of England on IT strategy, information security, programme delivery and organisational design, on a voluntary basis. He has also been a school governor in both the UK and in India, and served as the chair of trustees for Hands of Compassion, supporting primary education in Zambia. Philip read Natural Sciences and Mathematics (MA MMath) at the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIoD FBCS MIET).
Jon
Fractional CIO Associate
Jon is a dynamic technology leader with over 15 years of experience in scaling operations and delivering large-scale, complex digital transformation projects. Combining deep technical expertise with strategic commercial insight, Jon excels in aligning technology solutions with business goals to drive growth and operational excellence. He has successfully led IT infrastructure transformation projects, cloud migrations, and strategic product development initiatives. His work includes establishing robust ICT governance frameworks, optimizing IT service delivery, and steering cloud transitions to Azure, enhancing scalability and security. Previously, Jon founded and led Octopus Travel Matrix, a global SaaS company in the tour and events industry, guiding it from startup to a profitable exit. His entrepreneurial leadership encompassed product development, DevOps, and global business operations. As CIO of Aerartis, Jon ensured compliance with rigorous industry standards (ISO, IATA, FCA) and played a pivotal role in securing venture capital funding, leading investor presentations, and scaling service operations to support rapid growth. Jon is also the CEO and Owner of Octopus Computers, where he transformed a regional IT support provider into a leading Managed Service Provider (MSP). Under his leadership, the company secured key partnerships with Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Dell, and HP, delivering over 400 successful infrastructure and migration projects and supporting clients in achieving critical compliance certifications. Jon's early career includes significant operational achievements in the automotive sector as Operations Manager at Auto-Kit International, where he streamlined production efficiency and secured major contracts with industry leaders like Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin. Jon is recognized for his ability to bridge the gap between technical execution and business strategy, making him an invaluable asset to organizations seeking transformative growth through technology.
Alison Seabrooke
Chief Executive, Bank Workers Charity
“Adapta helped BWC to quickly articulate its technology vision into a suite of workstreams and, provided support for each of them. Adapta were flexible and responsive throughout, adjusting their support to meet BWC’s needs.”