National technology adviser Liam Maxwell is reportedly standing down from the role to join Amazon Web Services (AWS).
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph the move has been confirmed by unnamed sources in the Cabinet Office, although the DCMS are currently declining to comment.
Details of his new position or when he will take it up are as yet unclear, although it has raised the question of whether he will be involved in AWS’s business with the public sector, and highlighted the questions around senior civil servants moving to private sector companies that sell to public authorities. This is governed by rules on new jobs and business appointments for crown servants.
Maxwell took a lead role in developing Conservative Party policies on government IT procurement and digital development when it was in opposition, and has been a prime figure in shaping the Government’s approach since joining the Cabinet Office after the 2010 general election. In April 2016 he became national technology adviser working across the Cabinet Office and DCMS.
AWS has been making ground in the UK public sector. The new review of the market for software and information systems from analyst TechMarketView identifies the company as a rising force, now at 24th in the rankings of suppliers.
It has made most of its sales to central government where it has done deals with the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, Cabinet Office and HM Revenue & Customs.
