Mayor of London appoints first chief digital officer

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has appointed former Camden Council cabinet member Theo Blackwell as London’s first ever chief digital officer.

Blackwell, Camden’s cabinet member for finance, technology and growth, will be responsible for making the best of new technology in London, driving digital transformation of public services and better data-sharing. He will also take control of Khan’s pan-London collaboration plans for connectivity, digital inclusion, cyber security and open data.

London already has more than 47,000 digital technology companies, employing approximately 240,000 people. It is forecast that the number of tech companies will increase by a third and a further 44,500 jobs will have been created by 2026.

Khan, said: “I am determined to make London the world’s leading ‘smart city’ with digital technology and data at the heart of making our capital a better place to live, work and visit. We already lead in digital technology, data science and innovation and I want us to make full use of this in transforming our public services for Londoners and the millions of visitors to our great city.

“I am delighted to appoint Theo Blackwell as London’s first chief digital officer, and I know he will use his experience working in the technology sector and developing public services to improve the lives of all Londoners.”

Blackwell said of his appointment: “The new chief digital officer post is an amazing opportunity to make our capital even more open to innovation, support jobs and investment and make our public services more effective. The pace of change over the next decade requires public services to develop a stronger relationship with the tech sector. Our purpose is to fully harness London's world-class potential to make our public services faster and more reliable at doing things we expect online, but also adaptable enough to overcome the capital's most complex challenges.”