CIO Profile

Paul Coby

IT director | John Lewis

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Paul Coby tops the CIO50 rankings for the second time. He's been a regular on the list of the most influential CIOs - number one in 2007 and featuring in the top 10 in 2008 and 2009.

Coby is responsible for overseeing the John Lewis IT division and supporting the John Lewis website, which accounts for about one-fifth of the retailer's revenue.

Coby joined John Lewis in March 2011 after completing 10 years as CIO of British Airways, where he was in charge of the management of all IT across the BA Group. He helped the company achieve a 54 per cent reduction in IT costs and implemented technologies such as self-service kiosks and the britishairways.com website, enabling people to book their flights online.

Before BA, Coby, a Norwich City fan, was in the civil service and reached the level of private secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport.

Coby is also chair and president of the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, which has a turnover of $1.5bn and operates in 200 countries around the world. Beyond work, Coby is passionate about Roman military history.