Jadu has announced the appointment of Professor Mark Thompson, to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director to support the company's vision, strategy and growth.
The new position officially started on the 1st of October 2023.
Professor Thompson is closely associated with the push for the adoption of open standards and the drive for common digital platforms within public services. Joining Jadu, the leading digital platform within the public sector, further supports this vision. Jadu recently released a statement announcing its mission to become the world’s most accessible digital platform, a strategy which Thompson is passionate about, shares and supports.
“As more and more people access services using forms of digital media, accessibility has become increasingly essential in ensuring that no-one is left behind”, says Professor Thompson. “As someone who has spent many years studying and implementing the adoption of digital platforms across public services, I have long admired Jadu's vision and commitment in this regard, and am accordingly delighted to be joining Jadu to contribute to its vision and strategy for the next exciting stage of its journey.”
Using digital thinking to redesign public services is a topic Thompson is also passionate about. This is a strategy that Jadu has led with since it began over 20 years ago and continues to drive forward, therefore the two working together is an ideal match, given the company’s growth in public services both at home in the UK, as well as in the United States and Australia.
“We’ve been working with Mark for some years on a number of strategies to deliver real value to digital public services,” says Suraj Kika, Jadu CEO and Founder. “When Mark first conceived the ‘Lego Brick’ reusable and open digital platforms approach a few years ago, we worked with him to found the ‘Jadu Library’ and make digitising public services easier and more open. It changed the industry and the way local authorities think about digital in the local context - and paved the way for low code platforms to become ubiquitous in Local Government.”
Thompson is well known within the public sector and has worked with a number of policy-makers across central government (departments, ALBs/NDPBs), and local government (councils, health, social care, housing, blue light), and blends the roles of academic, practitioner, and policy commentator. He has also co-authored the book Digitizing Government as well as Manifesto for Better Public Services.