I’m In Podcast Episode 60 | The Evolution of the Head of Technology Role

Episode 60 of our monthly podcast, sponsored by Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland, is now available to our members on our website.

Twenty years ago, the person responsible for technology in a hospitality business often kept the servers running, managed the hardware, and fixed things when they broke.

Today? That barely scratches the surface.

In this episode, our podcast host Phil Street FIH is joined by Stuart Derricott FIH, Mark Grant MIH and Avalon Smith AIH to explore the extraordinary evolution of the Head of Technology role, from technical custodian to strategic leader, risk manager, commercial collaborator and increasingly, a key voice in the boardroom.

The conversation explores data, AI, cyber security, sustainability, third-party partnerships and the danger of adopting technology simply because everybody else is talking about it.

Because perhaps the most important question isn’t: “What technology should we buy?” It’s: “What problem are we actually trying to solve?”

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the Head of Technology role has evolved over the last 20 years
• Why technology has moved from a support function to a strategic business discipline
• The growing importance of data in commercial and operational decision-making
• Why the best technology leaders focus on outcomes rather than feature lists
• The difference between using technology to save labour and using it to change how labour is deployed
• Why Heads of Technology increasingly need a seat at the table when strategy is being created
• The importance of collaboration between technology, operations, commercial, finance and external partners
• Why humility may be one of the most important characteristics of the modern technology leader
• The dangers of adopting AI (or any technology) simply for technology’s sake
• Cyber security, business continuity and the growing responsibility for technological risk
• How independent and smaller hospitality businesses can make better technology decisions
• The environmental and energy implications of increasing technology and AI adoption
• Why the future Head of Technology may have revenue, commercial and even greater legal responsibility.

Why Our Guests Said, “I’m In!”

Stuart Derricott FIH:
For Stuart, the IoH is a meeting of minds. A place where operators, technology providers and the wider hospitality ecosystem come together on an equal footing to share knowledge, challenge thinking and understand one another’s perspectives.

Mark Grant MIH:
Mark sees hospitality as a reflection of society itself, people from every background and walk of life united by the fundamental human experience of welcoming and being welcomed. The IoH provides a place to participate, challenge, network and actively contribute to that community.

Avalon Smith AIH:
Initially attracted by the IoH’s webinars and events, Avalon found a genuinely welcoming community where networking feels open rather than cliquey, creating opportunities to meet, learn from and collaborate with people from across the industry.

Outstanding Quotes From This Episode

• “What I’m hearing here is that an overarching trait of a modern Head of Tech is, ironically, being a human collaborator” – Phil Street
• “The best Heads of Technology are the ones that include everybody and admit they don’t know everything” – Stuart Derricott
• “The question is not what tech do you want. Why do you want it?” – Mark Grant
• “Use it to complement what you’re doing. It will make it easier and free you up to do something else” – Avalon Smith
• “If there’s no benefit to putting AI in, don’t do it” – Stuart Derricott
• “The people-technology relationship will always be there. You’ve got to treat them both with the same respect” – Mark Grant

The Head of Technology is no longer simply the person you call when something stops working. Increasingly, they’re helping decide what the business does next. And as technology becomes more powerful, more connected and more autonomous, perhaps the greatest skill required won’t be knowing everything about technology. It will be knowing the right questions to ask.

Members can follow the link below to listen to this episode now! Everyone else will have to wait for the episode to drop, wherever you get your podcasts, on 10 September! Listening to this podcast counts toward your CPD activity.

If you have any feedback about the show or would like to be a future guest, please contact Phil Street at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org.

Members can listen to Episode 60 now.