{"id":613504,"date":"2023-03-02T08:49:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/02\/cio-interview-clare-lansley-cio-aston-martin-formula-one\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T08:49:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:49:39","slug":"cio-interview-clare-lansley-cio-aston-martin-formula-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/02\/cio-interview-clare-lansley-cio-aston-martin-formula-one\/","title":{"rendered":"CIO interview: Clare Lansley, CIO, Aston Martin Formula One"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Clare Lansley, CIO at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula<\/a> One<\/a>, reflects on the role of the modern IT leader and says she\u2019s lucky enough to be in her dream job: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve been an F1 fan all my life, courtesy of my parents. I was indoctrinated at an early age.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she\u2019s a motor racing enthusiast, it\u2019s not just the sporting environment of the role that appeals. Lansley, who joined Aston Martin F1 in July 2022, also enjoys the fast-paced nature of the industry. As someone who\u2019s already worked in senior IT positions for Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren<\/a>, the characteristics of the sector match her own working style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the fact that it\u2019s dynamic and that you need to keep an open mind because ideas can come from anywhere,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter whether the ideas come from a newly appointed graduate all the way up to the CEO. The whole concept of collaboration \u2013 because you\u2019re all pulling together for a common goal \u2013 really appeals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Success on the track is reliant on a combination of people and systems off it. Lansley says that inherent sense of connectedness \u2013 allied to her love for the sport \u2013 made taking the opportunity to lead technology at Aston Martin F1<\/a> an easy decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite frankly, when you work in corporates, they can be siloed,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a hierarchy, they\u2019re slow to transform, and I wanted to get back into something that is pacier \u2013 somewhere you can genuinely affect change quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/i>Leaving the starting grid<\/h3>\n

As CIO at Aston Martin F1, Lansley reports to the group chief commercial officer and manages an internal IT team of 40 people. After six months in the role, she\u2019s beginning to enact her programme for digital transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy focus right now is getting embedded within the team and getting things set up for success,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m not doing much globetrotting. But moving forwards, I want to get out to races, so that I can understand the duress our kit is going through and how can we make our processes slicker at the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not always in the marketing suite. I like to be down in the garage because that\u2019s what I\u2019m responsible for. The engineers are at their desks because that\u2019s where they add value, so I need to be going to their place of work, interacting with them\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Clare Lansley, Aston Martin Cognizant F1<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lansley isn\u2019t your traditional CIO \u2013 and in more ways than one. She acknowledges she\u2019s a woman in what\u2019s commonly perceived to be a man\u2019s game<\/a>. As well as turning that perception on its head, Lansley wants to enact a step change in IT leadership style. Rather than being stuck in the datacentre, she wants to spend more time engaging with the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest assured, I\u2019m not always in the marketing suite,\u201d she says. \u201cI like to be down in the garage because that\u2019s what I\u2019m responsible for. The engineers are at their desks because that\u2019s where they add value, so I need to be going to their place of work, interacting with them. And I think that\u2019s a very different approach to perhaps what\u2019s happened previously in F1.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Lansley has held senior management positions in the motor industry before, this is her first CIO role. She recognised from the outset that this was the kind of IT leadership opportunity she craved \u2013 especially given Aston Martin F1\u2019s long-term ambitions and the role that technology is expected to play in that journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came in for an interview, I began to understand the growth and what needs to happen with technology to transform it and use it as an enabler for the broader team. Obviously, everything\u2019s to do with tech in this industry \u2013 from designing the car to starting the car \u2013 so you\u2019ve got a huge journey to go on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of transformation that needs to happen to make this a championship-winning team is really appealing. And given that I\u2019ve got a delivery background, doing the planning and driving the agenda to make sure tech-led transformation happens and gets executed at the right time is a great combination.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Moving up the rankings<\/h3>\n

Aston Martin F1\u2019s direction of travel changed in January 2020, when billionaire Lawrence Stroll invested \u00a3182m in the motor company. The following year, the Racing Point F1 team was rebranded as Aston Martin F1.<\/p>\n

An ambition was established for the team to be competing for podiums in the sport within five years. Last year, the team finished seventh in the constructors\u2019 championship. Lansley says the journey towards long-term success will continue at pace during 2023.<\/p>\n

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\n <\/i>Aston Martin F1\u2019s journey towards long-term success will continue at pace during 2023
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of learning already,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously been a fair amount of investment since Lawrence bought the team. A lot of new talent has been acquired and there\u2019s been a fair amount of process change internally. But time is totally of the essence in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lansley says there\u2019s no hiding from the requirement to deliver great results quickly. \u201cIt\u2019s demanding,\u201d she says. \u201cAs well as making sure the basics are in place \u2013 so that means the reliability and the performance, which is a given \u2013 my day job is to transform faster and innovate smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of that process, Lansley is seeking out digital innovations \u2013 either internally or from trusted partners \u2013 that can help her team move up the grid. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for a competitive edge,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to harness the power of data. We need to leverage technology to give us an edge on the circuit, whether that\u2019s from a simulation and design perspective or in terms of establishing what trends the data is showing us. It\u2019s all about anticipating the future based on the data that we\u2019ve already got.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Overcoming obstacles<\/h3>\n

Lansley\u2019s technology ambitions are shaped as much by the rules and regulations of the sport as they are by the people leading the team. Her strategy is closely related to the requirements of the FIA cost cap<\/a>, which limits the amount teams can spend on cars. Dealing with these regulations means considering carefully how the team\u2019s IT budget is invested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re asking questions like, \u2018Can we do some smarter spending?\u2019 From an IT perspective, we\u2019re asking, \u2018Can we rationalise?\u2019 You\u2019re always trying to make sure your legacy estate is minimal and tidy. And because applications and tools date so quickly, we\u2019re asking, \u2018Are we giving the best value to our business partner?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as ensuring existing systems are cost-effective and efficient, Lansley\u2019s team is also exploring how it can take advantage of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a>. She says AI can help the team to analyse images, whether that\u2019s from the wind tunnel or the track, and they can use data to make smarter predictions about car performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some seriously hard-core tech available, which means you have to have some high-level talent to use and consume it,\u201d she says. \u201cBut the data it gives you means you can leapfrog some of your test and development processes significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aston Martin F1 creates massive amounts of information. Lansley estimates her team manages about 400TB (terabytes) of data. Changes outside the sport bring further complications. Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine meant the country was dropped from the race schedule. However, Russia might be back on the race map one day. The IT team would then need to make historic race data \u2013 such as timings and weather conditions \u2013 available at pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big challenge of mine is that we\u2019ve got all this data. I need to ask, \u2018Do we need it and, if so, where do I put it?\u2019,\u201d she says. \u201cManaging data to make it available quickly is key. But we\u2019ve also got to manage the cost. As I mentioned before, the cost cap is driving a huge amount of choices from a technical perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Delivering great performance<\/h3>\n

AI is also helping the company to ensure its IT operations are as effective as possible. Lansley is using Juniper\u2019s Mist AI platform<\/a>, which uses a combination of AI, machine learning and data science to optimise user experiences and simplify operations across the network.<\/p>\n

She says the technology\u2019s self-heal properties are particularly important. Mist AI, for example, will try to heal a wireless access point that\u2019s struggling. If it can\u2019t, the platform sends an alert to IT. When the team swaps the failing device, Mist AI automatically pushes the configuration for the old network straight to the new device.<\/p>\n

\u201cMist is using AI to help transform how we support infrastructure,\u201d she says, before adding that automation means her talented staff can spend more time making a difference to the team rather than focusing on operational concerns. \u201cIt means I\u2019m hands-off and my people can concentrate on value-adding activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cWe\u2019re not an IT team that sits downstairs. That model of working is long gone. We want to be considered an integral partner of the team because we make great stuff happen\u201d
\n <\/figure>
\n Clare Lansley, Aston Martin Cognizant F1<\/strong>
\n <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lansley says F1 has unique requirements around reliability and performance. Any technology has to deliver great results quickly and consistently. She says the industry-leading features that Mist AI offers provide the business with the innovation it craves and the operational insight it needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re looking to capitalise on,\u201d she says. \u201cThe fact that the platform gives me access to everything on one dashboard \u2013 and I can go straight down to it, it can self-heal and I can investigate issues remotely \u2013 means I don\u2019t have to send somebody off down a corridor to go and check a device.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Taking the lead<\/h3>\n

Lansley says the capacity to give her staff more time to make game-changing decisions for the business is her number one priority going forwards. Her aim is to empower her team, improve efficiency and embrace innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be pushing boundaries. You\u2019ve got to have a motivated team and they\u2019ve got to go after something good. We\u2019ve got some really sexy software and fantastic concepts going around the business. Being able to partner with our business colleagues to unlock the power of technology is where we want to be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be sat next to the aerodynamicists helping them. We\u2019re not an IT team that sits downstairs. That model of working is long gone. We want to be considered an integral partner of the team because we make great stuff happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Blythe Coby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clare Lansley, CIO at Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One, reflects on the role of the modern IT leader and says she\u2019s lucky enough to be in her dream job: \u201cI\u2019ve been an F1 fan all my life, courtesy of my parents. I was indoctrinated at an early age.\u201d While she\u2019s a motor racing enthusiast, it\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":613505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32956,22316,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-613504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-clare","8":"category-interview","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}