Richard Corbridge has spent his digital management profession turning good concepts into manufacturing providers. After working for a number of the UK’s largest personal and public sector organisations, together with the NHS, Boots, and the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP), Corbridge embraced a recent problem in 2024, when he grew to become CIO at property specialist Segro.
Corbridge says the function gives an incredible schooling, even for an skilled govt like him. “Taking this function felt like a superb probability to study extra,” he says. “The chance throughout the trade, and particularly at Segro, is large as a result of it’s a place that has nearly been pleased with not adopting an excessive amount of know-how.”
The place additionally gave Corbridge the possibility to work alongside Paul Dunne, Segro’s managing director for operations, digital and buyer, whom he’d labored with at Boots. Corbridge was director of innovation after which CIO for the excessive avenue chemist between 2019 and 2023, earlier than spending nearly two years as chief digital data officer at DWP. He joined Segro in November 2024.
“The property trade is a relationships trade; it’s a individuals trade,” he says, speaking about what he discovered when he joined the agency. “What this function is testing, in all probability greater than ever earlier than, is my expertise of attending to the enterprise language, attending to worth first, and ensuring that you just’re telling the tales in a manner that isn’t technology-led.”
Embracing challenges
Corbridge recognises that transferring between sectors and organisations impacts your digital management strategy.
“It was one thing I used to be aware of once I left the NHS for Boots,” he says. “Friends, mentors, colleagues and coaches would say the personal sector goes to be lots quicker, much more ruthless, and would contain much more watch-your-back sort situations, however that didn’t come to bear in actuality.”
“Creating effectivity by know-how both creates revenue for a non-public organisation or creates effectivity and places a refund within the financial institution for a public sector organisation”
Richard Corbridge, Segro
Corbridge says organisations differ in methods and buildings, however some vital consistencies additionally permit profitable CIOs to maneuver seamlessly between sectors.
“One of many stuff you study is that creating effectivity by know-how both creates revenue for a non-public organisation or creates effectivity and places a refund within the financial institution for a public sector organisation,” he says.
“And if effectivity and development are the 2 watchwords for digital leaders, then you possibly can apply the rules to what you’re attempting to do, whether or not it’s about making revenue for shareholders and taking care of clients, otherwise you’re making certain taxpayers’ cash is spent properly and attaining the targets you need to do.”
Reflecting on the initiatives he’s overseen throughout his profession, Corbridge says he loved taking his healthcare venture expertise and its deal with making smart bets to the personal sector in his function at Boots, the place he labored with round 600 IT professionals. He additionally loved returning to the general public sector and making use of his expertise of fast-paced change at Boots to DWP, the place he labored with 5,500 colleagues.
“Now at Segro, I’ve acquired 35 individuals working for me, however in an property of property throughout 9 international locations, a really massive amount of cash within the organisation itself, and large worth,” he says. “So, there are completely different priorities, however, curiously, the themes inside these priorities in all probability stay comparatively comparable from a CIO standpoint.”
Main change
Crucially, transformation – which Corbridge describes as creating change and delivering worth – is a part of his remit at Segro, which he suggests is a smart strategy. It’s actually a change from his earlier function at DWP, the place Corbridge labored with a director common of transformation who was separate from the digital division.
“At Segro, making a distinction with know-how, and dealing with our enterprise to make a distinction, is underneath my possession,” he says. “After 12 months on this function, my workforce is making a distinction due to how we’re utilizing know-how, each from a enterprise and a worth completion standpoint.”
Corbridge says the overall course of journey for transformation at Segro entails three buckets that can maintain his workforce’s priorities by 2026: implementing new know-how alongside trusted companions to simplify complicated enterprise processes; taking advantage of enterprise knowledge property; and becoming a member of up level options to ship enterprise advantages.
“We’re attempting to not find yourself simply doing AI [artificial intelligence] for its personal sake, and we’re wanting on the orchestration that we might do with completely different know-how options,” he says, referring to the programs and providers that can allow transformation.
“Typically that could be agentic AI, however generally it’d simply contain placing the info in the best place on the proper time so individuals can have it.”
For instance, Corbridge refers to his imaginative and prescient of a workbench, which might give the agency’s asset managers entry to the knowledge and insights they should provide clients new alternatives to take care of their buildings in the best method and to assist the corporate take advantage of from its current shopper portfolio.
“That strategy feels fairly completely different from what a few of our friends are doing, the place they’re taking a look at massive ERP [enterprise resource planning] substitute or deployment programmes,” he says.
“We took the choice not to try this and to go course of by course of. It’s about how we simplify the method, get probably the most out of it, after which deliver know-how to bear on that course of, becoming a member of it up as an orchestration layer, as an alternative of getting a lot of level options.”
Making progress
Corbridge addresses every of his transformation goals in flip. First, simplifying complicated enterprise processes. For this purpose, companions IBM and HCL will play a vital function.
“We [will] sit down with our two most forward-possible companions to see what they’ve completed on a check and study foundation,” he says. “Firstly of January, they started with three processes every, reviewed the inherent complexity of these processes, and can now make some know-how simplification suggestions.”
Corbridge says this course of will assist his organisation perceive how its know-how companions may help cut back complexity, in addition to potential timelines, prices and long-term worth technology. Deadlines had been saved purposefully tight to check the companions, and the outcomes look promising: “I’d go so far as to say that I’ve not seen something prefer it in all of the completely different companions that I’ve labored with.”
Open Field Software program is one other vital provider. This integration specialist manages Segro’s MRI property administration system, which Corbridge describes as the corporate’s operational spine. He’s working with Open Field to cut back complexity and improve simplicity, and is impressed with the output: “We actually have companions, not distributors.”
In relation to the second purpose of making certain knowledge helps correct selections, Corbridge says his director of information and AI will deal with two vital aims by 2026: establishing robust knowledge governance to ensure reliability, and getting correct insights to key individuals for well timed decision-making.
“Getting these parts proper units us as much as transfer quicker,” he says.
Lastly, Corbridge refers back to the purpose of becoming a member of up level options to create enterprise advantages. Right here, he factors to Sama, which is the Segro asset administration app. This bespoke resolution has been constructed by the corporate over the previous two years. The know-how workforce continues to roll out new month-to-month releases, functionalities and integrations to back-end programs.
“This strategy means we will seize knowledge as soon as, retailer it as soon as, and let others have entry to that knowledge,” he says. “Seeing one thing that has been constructed particularly for Segro is de facto thrilling as a result of it delivers how our enterprise needs to work and we will take care of the refined variations which might be wanted domestically in Germany, Czechia, or Poland, with out having to standardise every part.”
Adopting know-how
Together, Corbridge says these three transformational goals comprise his digital plan for Segro. He says it’s vital to emphasize that the organisation has a plan as an alternative of a digital technique.
I would like us to be seen as an organisation that’s adopting know-how, and it’s not a distraction to how we work with clients, the place our property are, or what our worth is, however that it’s truly including to that effort Richard Corbridge, Segro
“I don’t need to sit and write one other digital technique subsequent yr as a result of every part’s transferring so quick,” he says. “I need to get in there and get some supply and worth launched to our enterprise in order that we will construct pleasure and ship in opposition to individuals’s expectations. So, we’re going to deal with supply and worth this yr in opposition to these priorities, realizing that, after we get to the tip of the yr, I would like to have the ability to set the imaginative and prescient for 2027 and 2028 for the place we’re going to get to.”
Two years from now, Corbridge expects the agency’s core MRI system will create worth by delivering knowledge to individuals across the organisation. The purpose right here shall be to deal with standardisation and simplification by exploiting Open Field’s orchestration capabilities. He needs to make sure the highest 20 tech-enabled processes throughout Segro are so simple as attainable, supported by know-how, with knowledge captured as soon as and shared the place required.
Corbridge says the rise of consumerisation means individuals throughout the organisation have a a lot larger consciousness of know-how’s energy. Everybody has a smartphone, and many individuals are utilizing generative AI instruments corresponding to ChatGPT at dwelling, by no means thoughts at work. This technological exploration means non-IT individuals will more and more discover their very own options to enterprise challenges. Corbridge needs to work with the enterprise to hone the perfect of those concepts.
“Most significantly, I would like us to be seen as an organisation that’s adopting know-how, and it’s not a distraction to how we work with clients, the place our property are, or what our worth is, however that it’s truly including to that effort. And meaning lots to me. We need to present a transparent view of what know-how can truly do for this trade,” he says.
“There’s been an entire plethora of commentaries lately with consultants saying, ‘Eventually, the property trade is beginning to recruit CIOs. Eventually, the property trade is beginning to undertake digital and know-how.’ I would like Segro to be synonymous with that march of distinction.”
