Barney Smith, CEO, Bristol is Open

Barney is a Smart Society Leader with particular experience in Sustainable Development, Innovation and Technology.

After a many successful years implementing economic, social and environmental regeneration whilst maintaining his interest in technology, Barney went onto a more diverse set of roles:

• Head of Knowledge Management and Innovation at the Countryside Agency, where in 2001 Barney implemented online communities for knowledge transfer and collaboration;
• As Chief Information Officer at Natural England after sealing a major outsourcing deal (TCO circa £450m) in 2006, he went onto lead a move to virtual working & a shift in the IT estate to support the successful achievement of an ambitious target to reduce corporate CO2 emissions by 50% in just 3 years;
• As Interim Head of IT at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2010 he sponsored the Green IT programme across the Department and delivered financial savings in excess of 25% in year.

More recently, Barney has been leading 2 major initiatives:

• Programme Director at Bristol City Council to implement an ambitious integrated, multi-partner City Operations Centre;
• Interim CEO of Bristol Is Open – a Joint Venture Company between Bristol City Council and University of Bristol delivering a world leading smart city R&D testbed.

In his spare time, Barney sails, explores the countryside and volunteers in the community – for instance as a Chair of a local Outstancing Special Educational Needs school.

Barney studied at Cambridge University (MA) and Imperial College (MSc), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Barney Smith