OS hires Vodafone insight boss as first chief data officer

Ordnance Survey has hired its first chief data officer in the organisation’s 225-year history as part of plans to extract greater value from its services and overhaul how it works with both business and the public sector.
Caroline Bellamy joins OS from Vodafone, where she has been working since 2008 in various leadership roles in the UK and Germany. While at Vodafone, her work included leading, defining and executing the transformation of business intelligence, big data and analytics in the UK and Germany, and defining global blueprints.
Prior to Vodafone, Bellamy worked for Centrica, Sainsbury’s and DunnHumby.
Her appointment marks the latest in a series of major changes to the organisation, which transformed from a trading fund to a Government Company (GovCo) in April 2015 in a move intended to expand the amounts of geospatial data available for open use.
While OS is perhaps best known for its maps, it also provides a raft of premium datasets and addressing solutions for marketers, including AddressBase and Code-Point Open to support operational and insight work, as well as OS MasterMap Topography Layer, OS MasterMap Integrated Transport Network Layer, and OS VectorMap Local.
BT is one of its biggest commercial customers, and is half way through a five-year £23m deal to use a raft of location-based OS data products and services for its Openreach division, to boost everything from call centres to address management.
Bellamy will be responsible for ensuring OS data is optimised as a strategic asset by unlocking valuable insights for the public sector and commercial value. She will also develop and implement an enterprise-wide data architecture and strategy to enhance OS’s digital future and ensure the successful delivery of services and insights to its British and global customers.
Bellamy said: “Data and information are my passion. OS is a globally respected brand and its data is an incredible strategic asset. The organisation still has ambitions to do more and be better, which is an extremely attractive proposition. I’m delighted to now be a part of that and to have the opportunity to engage with OS’s national and global partners and build upon OS’ credentials as a global leader in geospatial and associated data.”
OS chief executive Nigel Clifford, added: “Caroline brings tremendous knowledge and experience to OS, and we’re thrilled she has joined our team. OS data has always been of huge significance, but we are increasingly aware that with the transformative potential of digital technology our data is more important than ever.
“Caroline’s understanding of data and technology and her record of accomplishment in creating a business mindset that can extract extra meaning and value from it will be invaluable to OS and our public and private customers. For OS this is an appointment that expands our expertise and underpins our relevance to government, business and communities.”