JUDGE’S NAME Neil Crockett
Innovation will be the heartbeat of the UK's economic and social success in a post- Brexit and post-Covid world
CATEGORY Innovation
AREA OF INTEREST Digital Innovation
As Chief Digital Officer at Rolls-Royce PLC, Neil Crockett was a pioneer in developing cutting-edge power solutions. These days, he uses the passion and insight for digital innovation gained from his leadership experience to help organisations going through changes in strategy, culture and execution. As well as his time as CDO at Rolls-Royce, Neil was the founding CEO of the Digital Catapult and held several European and UK leadership roles during a 15-year career at Cisco. Mr Crockett is currently a Trustee at Barnardo's, the UK’s largest children's charity, and a Director at CatalystNI, a not- for-profit organisation driving knowledge economy innovation in Northern Ireland. Elsewhere he is a Board Advisor at MonolithAI, an exciting AI start-up for engineers, and a Fellow at Be The Business, a not-for-profit organisation accelerating productivity within UK SMEs.
WHAT SPARKSYOUR INTEREST ACROSS QUEEN’S AWARD APPLICANTS THISYEAR? The diversity of the innovations; the companies; the sectors - the innovation approaches was even higher than last year. I was also really encouraged with the growing number of companies that are harnessing data science and AI within their product innovations and offering their products as a service. WHAT’SYOUR TOP TIP FOR A COMPANYTHAT IS THINKING OF APPLYING FOR A QUEEN’S AWARD? It really is not that difficult to apply, especially when you weigh it against the benefits! My main tip would be to make sure you use simple language and include powerful customer examples - why your innovation is different and better for customers and is more than just a better "me to" offering. DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A QUEEN’S AWARDSWINNER, AS YOU SEE IT It places you in a group of innovators that the UK is promoting as its best. How cool is that, and what an amazing way to motivate employees, impress investors and convince customers at home and abroad. Also I believe just going through the application process (and feedback) can help a business structure, mature and benchmark its own innovation process and plans. DESCRIBE A FEW FEATURESYOU BELIEVE MAKE BRITISH BUSINESSES SUCH A GLOBAL SUCCESS • A reputation for innovation and creativity in solving complex problems, • Getting on the ground to build close collaboration with customers in order to spot market opportunities early, • A reputation for service - which is going to be increasingly critical as more products are offered as a service, • Trust in quality and an ability to deliver, • Increasingly the UK's reputation as a leader in data, cyber security and AI innovation.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TO BE A JUDGE FOR THE QUEEN’S AWARDS? The Queen's Awards are a combination of something I passionately believe in and which I can bring value to - getting involved was an easy decision! Innovation will be the heartbeat of the UK's economic and social success in a post-Brexit and post-Covid world, especially in my view the up-and- coming generation of innovators harnessing the explosion of new digital technologies and data science breakthroughs. We need high-profile programs like the Queen's Awards to encourage, reward and promote the UK's best. WHY DO THE QUEEN’S AWARDS MATTER TO BUSINESS? It offers a lot and we need to get more businesses involved. The first and most obvious point is that for businesses establishing themselves, the Queen's Award is a hugely prestigious, recognised and established global brand to endorse your business for a five year period. But it goes much deeper than that. The Award opens the door to a powerful network of new supporters and contacts, the shared pride of the Award will motivate your employees, is a validation that will impress investors and last but certainly not least, is a recognition that will help convince customers - especially export customers. WHAT DOYOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A QA JUDGE? It is a privilege to see how diverse and vibrant innovation is across the UK. There are so many types of innovations, in so many different sectors, across every size of business and monetised in so many ways. It is also fantastic to see that often the innovations with most impact are simple ones based on a deep understanding of what a customer needs rather than what deep R&D can make possible. I also really enjoy and value the insights and learning I take away from the rich and robust (but always constructive) discussions on the judging panel.
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