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The stories of the pioneering people behind IT

This expanding database contains more than 200 oral histories recorded by the Archives of IT team. They tell the extraordinary story of how the Tech industry has transformed our lives, in the words of the people who made and are making it happen.

You can filter interviews by subject area below or use the Search button at the top of the page. If you know who you are looking for, use our A-Z list here.

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Dr Stephen Castell

Dr Stephen Castell has worked in all four corners of the IT industry.  He was worked on the computing side and in telecommunications.   He has worked as a user implementing complex systems and as a vendor of information products and services.  He spent years advising UK venture capitalists on what were and what were not the best companies to invest in.  Finally he has spent decades as an expert witness in numerous legal disputes between vendors and users when the IT system supplied did not fit the expectations of the buyers.  This gives him a unique insight into the failures of IT.

Mandy Chessell CBE

Mandy Chessell CBE  is a software engineer, who is recognised with multiple honours for her key role in the technology which is at the heart of business critical operations around the world. She was awarded a CBE for services to engineering and was the first woman to be awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Mandy was influenced to be an engineer by her father, a naval architect, and was inspired to join IBM by a speaker outlining the excitement of technology visiting her school when she was 14: she has been at IBM for 35 years.

Mandy encourages the entry of other women to IT and, while reluctant to demand special treatment, she does observe and oppose attitudes that still limit their advancement in a male dominated industry.

David Clarke MBE

David Clarke spent nearly thirty years involved with IT systems, firstly in the supply side and then from 1995 to 2002 as a Chief Executive in the Virgin group of companies, and then Trinity Mirror plc, both companies being highly reliant on the use of IT based systems for their success. David became Group Chief Executive of the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, in May 2002 and was widely acknowledged as having transformed BCS into the customer-service oriented professional institute for the IT and Communications profession that it became. David was awarded an MBE for services to the IT Industry in the 2011 New Years Honours.