Press release

Andy Nelson appointed Chief Information Officer

Announcement of the appointment of a new Chief Information Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, today announced the appointment of a new Chief Information Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Andy Nelson, currently Chief Information Officer at the Ministry of Justice and Government CIO, will succeed Philip Langsdale.

Mr Nelson joined the Ministry of Justice in September 2009 where he created and embedded an improved IT service. As Government CIO he has re-invigorated the IT profession across Government and been responsible for the development of the first Government G-cloud solution.  Prior to joining the Civil Service, he held a number of IT and business change posts in RSA Insurance, GE Capital, Asda and in the consulting business.

Permanent Secretary for Work and Pensions, Robert Devereux, welcomed the appointment.

He said:

I am delighted to welcome Andy Nelson to the Department as we make our welfare reforms a reality, including the imminent start of Universal Credit, the Personal Independence Payment and the Benefit Cap.  Mr Nelson’s wealth of experience prior to him joining the Civil Service, together with his recent role in the Ministry of Justice and as Government CIO place him in a unique position to help us as we enter a critical period in the transformation of the welfare system.

Mr Nelson said:

I am delighted to be taking on the role of DWP CIO and look forward to working with the Secretary of State, Robert Devereux and the team at DWP in delivering the transformation of the welfare system.

Notes to Editors:

Biography of Andy Nelson

Following graduation from Oxford, Andy Nelson has spent almost 30 years in IT and change management, including seven years with Andersen Consulting, four years with Price Waterhouse (Management Consultancy Division), four years with Asda, three years as the CIO for GE Capital Global Consumer Finance UK Limited, and four years as the Group Director for Strategic Change and IS at RSA Insurance. At RSA he was brought in to be part of the new Executive Team and had responsibility for Business Strategy, Information Technology and the Global Operational Improvement Programme where he helped to achieve a 9% improvement in overall business performance and 20% reduction in operational expenses. He has also worked as an independent consultant on a number of occasions.

Andy joined the civil service as the Chief Information Officer for the Ministry of Justice in September 2009 and was appointed Government CIO in  April 2012.

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Published 6 February 2013