Adrian Gracie
Chichester,West Sussex
Summary
A results-driven individual with more than 30 years working as a Senior Consultant, Chief Architect and Director of Architecture in the CMT sector. Specialising in enterprise architecture, technical leadership, complex solutions, bids and proposals, technology strategy, governance and legacy transformation. An encouraging and empowering manager with talents for team building, leading and motivating, as well as excellent customer relations, aptitude and relationship-building skills. Carries an impressive track record in collaborative, cross-functional teamwork within high-pressure environments.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
3
3
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Director of Architecture
Arqiva Ltd
Winchester, Hampshire
2020.09 - Current
- Line managed team of 50 employees.
- Managed daily operations by overseeing and managing programme and project portfolios, financials, key performance indicators and employee performance.
- Supervised and developed high-achieving staff, providing orientation, training, mentoring and direction.
- Developed strategic partnerships and relationships with customers and suppliers.
- Comprehensive understanding of communications, media and technology industries; strong awareness of the external technological environment, markets, competitors and associated products and services
- Comprehensive demonstrable experience of CMT industry frameworks, TOGAF, ITIL, TMFORUM
- Led bids, complex solutions and proposals - analysis of internal and external customer requirements, developed well structured, compelling propositions and proposals to meet customers’ needs
- Business Case creation - experience of creating and developing (and Impact Assessing) business cases and managing projects and programmes against it
Head of Architecture
Arqiva Ltd
2018.01 - 2020.09
- I joined Arqiva to lead the IT Architecture team, to mobilise and deliver what was the faltering Systems and Tools Transformation Programme
- I swiftly formed a plan to address the activities required to meet the business directive for a new enterprise architecture, including the definition of principles and an Arqiva specific architecture framework
- I formed an enterprise architecture team with appropriate Arqiva architects bolstered with EA practitioners from outsource partners used at Three and O2
- My team used EA planning techniques to develop a high-level aspirational vision of the capabilities and business value to be delivered as a result of the proposed enterprise architecture
- Numerous solution iterations and options were produced with contrasting investment and benefit profiles
- I obtained approval for a statement of architecture work to develop what became described as Option X, which largely remains the scope of today’s Transformation Programme
- My team and I held a pivotal role in the technology selection, technology partner and system integrator evaluation and selection process
- I used industry best-practice, methodologies, frameworks and industry accelerators, TOGAF, TMFORUM, Gartner, and ITIL to create the foundational enterprise architecture and the EA management suite
- I designed and implemented an enhanced technical governance process to ensure ongoing architecture and solution integrity, adherence with the business and IT strategies and to ensure IT investments are leveraged to their maximum by encouraging reuse of replicable solutions
- I formed a team of enterprise architects covering the four necessary disciplines of business, application, data and technology architecture
- I introduced the domain architect discipline and refined the accountabilities and responsibilities of the solution architects and their alignment to the headline programme priorities in the IT portfolio.
Chief Architect
Hutchison 3G Ltd
2016.06 - 2018.01
- Following the European Commission decision against the O2 acquisition, Three UK developed a five-year business strategy focused on growth underpinned by an enterprise wide Transformation Programme
- I repurposed and led an enterprise architecture team creating a target enterprise architecture and an IT strategy to drive a radical simplification of the IT estate reducing systems by 70% coupled with a strategic shift to the public cloud for IT applications and infrastructure, putting 85% in public cloud
- I managed the team who analysed, evaluated and selected technology suppliers, developed and produced a target data, application and technology architecture with extensive use of TOGAF and TMForum best practices and accelerators
- My team created the business case and I led the RFP evaluation process for system integrators and technology suppliers
- I designed, implemented and managed the technical governance process for the delivery programme
- Mid-point of delivery I restructured my team to focus on strategy, placing thought-leaders into a newly formed enterprise architecture centre of excellence to build long-term technology roadmaps ensuring business and technology were aligned.
Chief Architect
Hutchison 3G Ltd / Telefonica O2 UK
2015.06 - 2016.06
- I was appointed as Head of Architecture and Chief Architect responsible for Integration planning which would combine Telefónica UK's O2 and Hutchison 3G UK's Three, creating a new market leader in the UK mobile market
- I selected and led a team of enterprise architects responsible for strategic driven analysis, definition of the target enterprise architecture, technology partner sourcing strategy, migration strategy and close collaboration with programme and project managers developing implementation plans
- In May 2016 the European Commission blocked the proposed acquisition of O2 by Hutchison under the EU Merger Regulation.
Chief Architect
IBM UK Ltd / Telefónica O2 UK
2010.01 - 2015.06
- At the Programme outset I was responsible for the evaluation, recommendation and selection of multiple business and operational support systems to underpin O2’s emerging IT strategy, a green-field IT stack supporting the entire consumer and business segments
- I selected and led the enterprise architecture team, creating the target enterprise architecture blueprint, migration and transition strategy, defined and implemented technical governance
- Each financial year, through close collaboration with the client and the application of enterprise architecture planning I managed technology change and enhancements programmes in excess of £50m per year, managing and coordinating widely distributed teams of enterprise, domain and application architects across over 100 concurrent programmes and projects.
Education
Higher National Diploma - Information Technology
Brighton Univerity
1989.01 - 1991.01
GCE ‘A’ Level - undefined
1988.01 - 1989.01
10 GCE 'O' levels, 1 GCE 'A' level - undefined
1980.01 - 1987.01
Skills
30 years of technical leadership experience as lead consultant, chief architect and director in the CMT sector
Significant experience in enterprise, domain and solution architecture
Strategy and governance
Led several enterprise-wide legacy and digital transformations
Contract negotiation and management
Developed enterprise architecture blueprints, roadmaps, principles, policies, standards and guidelines
Skilled negotiator and persuader
Custom
- Prince2 Foundation
- IBM Application Architecture
- IBM Enterprise Architecture
- TMForum FrameworX
Languages
English
Native
Timeline
Director of Architecture
Arqiva Ltd
2020.09 - Current
Head of Architecture
Arqiva Ltd
2018.01 - 2020.09
Chief Architect
Hutchison 3G Ltd
2016.06 - 2018.01
Chief Architect
Hutchison 3G Ltd / Telefonica O2 UK
2015.06 - 2016.06
Chief Architect
IBM UK Ltd / Telefónica O2 UK
2010.01 - 2015.06
Higher National Diploma - Information Technology
Brighton Univerity
1989.01 - 1991.01
GCE ‘A’ Level - undefined
1988.01 - 1989.01
10 GCE 'O' levels, 1 GCE 'A' level - undefined
1980.01 - 1987.01