Travers Smith LLP has announced today the recruitment of Oliver Bethell as the firm's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Oliver joins the firm in September from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where he led the team responsible for technology strategy and underlying IT architecture.
Oliver started his career at IBM before moving into project management in law. He has experience of leading teams responsible for strategy and change and most recently worked with front line service delivery teams.
As CTO, Oliver will be responsible for the delivery of all technology services within Travers Smith, from the IT Service Desk and the smooth running of the business systems, through to implementing new technology change.
The Travers Smith IT team is currently led by IT Director Ann Cant, who has been with the firm for 21 years and will be retiring in early 2019. During Ann's time at the firm she has overseen significant changes in the technology used by both lawyers and business services staff including the move to a completely virtual desktop to support the firm's approach to agile working, increasing email security with the introduction of new software Check Recipient and, most recently, overseeing the rollout of a new firm-wide document management system.
Oliver commented: "I am really excited to be joining Travers Smith. Ann has grown an incredible team and I am looking forward to working with them to build on what is already a very impressive year of technology change at the firm. Technology is so important to the success of a business and I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to grow and add new capabilities in order to meet the changing demands of the firm and its clients."
Travers Smith Managing Partner, David Patient, commented: "Over the past few years we have invested heavily in our IT infrastructure and are very grateful for Ann's support in rolling out these projects, which have been vital for us to provide the best service possible for our clients. I am delighted to be welcoming Oliver to the firm in September and working with him to build on the fantastic work that Ann has done to date."