Neil Hampshire
Chief Information & Digital Officer
Ocean Spray
Neil Hampshire is the Chief Information & Digital Officer for Ocean Spray. After 30+ years in IT, he was described as a "technology veteran" when joining his current role. He has lived in 5 different countries and moved intercontinentally 8 times during his career. A fun fact about Neil is that until the age of 19, he had an ambition to be Britain's first Astronaut.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I have been fortunate to work at many large companies, primarily in CPG and retail industries. This has provided opportunities to live and work all around the globe. I have been involved in many global, digital transformations, especially ERP, which positions me well to lead Ocean Spray Cranberries through our current evolution and beyond.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
The IT function needs to be business first, technology second.
What is the greatest challenge CIOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
Executing such a far-reaching digital transformation requires the whole organization to be involved and committed. Making sure we have the correct focus and priority across the company is a major change management and communication task.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?
Learn about your business and build strong relationships with your peers.
How do you measure success as a leader?
Success for me is across 3 dimensions – business performance, portfolio delivery and people development. Of these 3, people development is the most impactful across your career and can leave a legacy at your company and indeed other organizations to which talent is exported.
What is the value of being a member of the Evanta community?
Meeting and learning from talented and experienced leaders, many of whom are struggling with (or have solved) similar problems.
Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
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