Image source: Newham Council
Newham Council has appointed Amit Shanker as chief digital officer with a brief to lead its digital transformation.
Shanker will head up the digital, data and technology teams within the council, with responsibility for every aspect of residents’ and staff’s digital experience.
His background has largely been in the private sector to date, having held senior roles at large companies including HSBC and Nokia and in recent years co-founding two start-ups, but he also had a stint last year as head of department for digital intelligence and analytics at the Financial Conduct Authority.
Newham has prioritised improving residents’ digital experience as part of its Building a Fairer Newham plan.
Applying best thinking
Its chief executive, Colin Ansell, said: “(Shanker’s) appointment is an important step within our reorganisation of the council to meet the ambition of ‘Building a Fairer Newham’ and applying best thinking in digital to get things done for the benefit of residents and against our overall ambition for the borough.”
Shanker commented: “This is a very exciting opportunity to bring the best of private sector learning into local government with chance to have fundamental impact on the way in which residents interact and access services.
“The London Borough of Newham is the most diverse and dynamic borough in the UK and I am looking forward to delivering improvements that are part of the journey to transforming resident experience, improving outcomes and delivering lasting value for money to the council.”
