Spencer Stuart and Qedis Host 'The Strategic Role of the CIO', a Dinner for Female IT Leaders!

LONDON, January 29 - On Wednesday 27th January, Qedis and Spencer Stuart were proud to co-host
'The Strategic Role of the CIO', a dinner for female IT leaders.

The event was held at the Spencer Stuart offices and was a great success,
enabling senior female IT professionals to network with each other and share
their perspectives on the increasingly strategic role IT organisations are
playing in modern businesses and the implications for IT leaders of the
future.

The participants represented a number of organisations from across the
public and private sector, including the BBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Eli
Lilly, Network Rail and Marks & Spencer.

Victoria Garnell, who heads up the Marks & Spencer Strategic 2020
Transformation Programme, commented "It was great to meet fellow female
professionals and understand their journeys and experiences both leading in
IT and increasingly beyond. The resulting debate was both thought provoking
and inspirational with topics ranging from our responsibilities as role
models to encourage young women to consider IT as an exciting career choice
to the growing opportunity for IT to drive the growth strategy of our
various businesses. An evening well spent!"

Said Olof Pripp, joint global head of Spencer Stuart's Information
Officer Practice, "As the leading search firm for the Chief Information
Officer function, we were pleased to bring together the very elite of UK's
female CIOs. We have witnessed an increase in demand for top female
Information Technology talent, and this successful event highlighted the
richness, growing presence and impact of this group. There is no doubt that
this unique and talented group of female IT executives will be represented in
the next round of CIO appointments to both UK management and non-executive
boards."

Said Vicki Shillington, Professionalising IT Lead from Qedis whose focus
is on the CIO transformation agenda, "As fewer than a quarter of IT
professionals are women, and fewer than 10 per cent of them are Managers,
Qedis is proud to have co-hosted this networking event. The discussion
focused on what can be done to encourage young females into the industry and
promote their career progression. On-demand and social networking
technologies are challenging IT organisations and changing how they are
perceived across the industry. The skills required to move IT beyond the
traditional focus of service provision, and towards becoming strategic
advisors to the business, is becoming increasingly vital."

Qedis - changing the way the world thinks about consulting

About Qedis

Qedis is an employee-owned management and technology consulting company
delivering strategic and tactical business solutions to FTSE 250 and large
private companies, Local Authorities and Central Government. Qedis is a
member of Highland Worldwide, an international network of consulting
businesses.

Qedis offers a full range of consulting services including Technology
Strategy; IT-enabled Business Transformation and Change; Portfolio, Programme
and Project Management; and Strategic Sourcing, Procurement and Selection.
Our largest clients include Marks & Spencer, ITV, The Home Office, RSA and
Associated & News Media. Qedis is an approved supplier to Government via the
Buying Solutions ICT Consultancy framework as well as an accredited SFIA
partner company.

For more information, please visit Qedis online at www.qedis.com.

About Spencer Stuart

Spencer Stuart is one of the world's leading executive search consulting
firms. Privately held since 1956, Spencer Stuart applies its extensive
knowledge of industries, functions and talent to advise select clients -
ranging from major multinationals to emerging companies to nonprofit
organizations - and address their leadership requirements. Through 51 offices
in 27 countries and a broad range of practice groups, Spencer Stuart
consultants focus on senior-level executive search, board director
appointments, succession planning and in-depth senior executive management
assessments. For more information on Spencer Stuart, please visit
www.spencerstuart.com.

Editors Note: Photos and interviews available

Qedis' office is located at Amadeus House, Floral Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DP. Telephone +44(0)207-812-6460. For Further Information Please Contact: Gemma Ruggiero, marketing at qedis.com, +44(0)77-2540-0751; Laura Cummings/Guy Potvin, SpencerStuart at BrunswickGroup.com, +44(0)20-7404-5959