Mike Bracken, Executive Director of Government Digital Service (GDS) named first-ever U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year

buzzz worthy. . .

NEW YORK and LONDON, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Bracken, Executive Director of Government Digital Service (GDS), was named today as the first-ever U.K. Chief Digital Officer of the Year by the CDO Club, the world's largest network of Chief Digital Officers. 

The award was given to Bracken after his keynote presentation, "Digital by Default: Two Years On," at the inaugural UK CDO Summit on Wednesday 29 October 2014 at the BBC in London, England (http://CDOSummit.co.uk).

Mike joined GDS in July 2011, and since that time, he and his team have encouraged over 100 digital and technology experts to join HM Government to help lead the digital transformation of public services.

Notably, recent Chief Digital Officer hires have included the U.K. Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Work and Pensions, Student Loans Company (SLC), and the Surrey County Council, among others. 

In addition, GDS's responsibilities include building and maintaining the consolidated GOV.UK website, which brings government services together in one place. 

GOV.UK was recently described by O'Reilly Radar as "the default for how government should approach their online efforts in the 21st century."

The Award was presented by CDO Club founder David Mathison, who remarked: "Mike is an inspiration to all digital leaders tasked with transformation, regardless of sector. The work by his team at GDS provides a case study for the rest of the world on how to transform public sector services to a "digital by default" model, by building and championing a digital culture that puts the user first and delivers the best, low-cost public services possible. We therefore recognize Mike and his team with this inaugural UK CDO of the Year award."

Prior to joining Cabinet Office, Mike worked as Director of Digital Development at Guardian News & Media.

This is the first-ever CDO of the Year award given in the U.K. 

The first-ever CDO of the Year award was given in the U.S.A. in February 2013 to Teddy Goff, who served as Digital Director at Obama for America in 2008 and 2012. 

The second award was given in April 2014 to Rachael S. Haot, former Chief Digital Officer of New York City in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, and currently serving as Chief Digital Officer of New York State in Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration. 

ABOUT THE CDO CLUB

The CDO Club is the world's largest network of Chief Digital Officers. Its goal is to provide its members with breaking news, original research, career development support, networking opportunities, and inspirational events such as the Chief Digital Officer Summit.

ABOUT THE CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER SUMMIT

The Chief Digital Officer Summit addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from digital, social, and mobile media. We convene meetings that include some of the best digital strategists and practitioners on earth, in an intimate, open, collegial, and supportive environment that encourages learning, knowledge-sharing, and networking.