Steve Wright
Group Data Privacy & InfoSec Officer, John Lewis Partnership
Consumers enthusiastically engage with digital assets only when they derive real value and when they implicitly trust brands. Increasingly, consumers are demanding control over what they see (Digital), when they see (time), how they see it (Channel) and they determine if they want to share their personal data with our brands (privacy). In the new data driven ecosystem Consumer Privacy and Digital Security are integrated (e.g. two sides of the same coin) and are undoubtedly the key ingredients for stronger business growth through digital channels. John Lewis Partnership has itself launched various digital and data initiatives, which aim at bringing great brand experiences to customers based on deep insights on customer needs. The commonality between all digital initiatives is the need for data governance, best practice, personalised customer engagement, and leading market innovation in digital has lead to the recent appointment of a new Data Privacy & InfoSec Officer – Mr Steve Wright.
With over 20 years’ experience, designing, developing, managing and delivering transformational data governance, privacy and security programmes, Steve’s vast experience as a pragmatic and charismatic leader, ideally places him as the ‘trusted advisor’ to the Board on all privacy and security related matters. Steve is also a published author, a non-exec director and is regularly invited to speak at industry events, trade associations and thought leadership working groups, working towards continually finding new ways to increase trust and transparency in respect of consumer services, business functions and product vendors.
Steve believes that consumer data, cyber security and privacy must come together as they share common objectives, legal obligations and principles, and therefore require the same or common satisfactory safeguards and assurances. From a business perspective, this can be achieved by building ‘digital trust and assurance programmes’ based on the fundamental principles of transparency, trust, accountability, protection, integrity, confidentially and availability, accompanied by clear policies and delivered through comprehensive training, integrated procedures and a robust compliance regime.
This is where Steve’s role as Data Privacy & InfoSec Officer at John Lewis PLC is particularly relevant because John Lewis PLC’s digital ambition will create greater functionality, connectivity and personalisation. Steve’s role is to work collaboratively and integrally with the business, to help steer and shape the digital conversation and leverage the power of data analytics, while also ensuring that the business remains compliant with laws around the world but still competitive, and acts in a moral and ethical way in relation to the rights of the individual.
His role as Trusted Privacy & InfoSec Advisor (plus the Data Protection Officer), is essentially about making John Lewis PLC’s digital strategy a reality. This work involves proactively communicating with Data Protection Authorities from Europe and around the world and regularly training lawyers, marketers, HR and R&D personnel to ensure that they understand and know their responsibilities.
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