Digital Jersey appoints former Chief Minister as Chairman

Friday 16 June 2017

Jersey's first Chief Minister, Frank Walker OBE, is to take over as Chair of Digital Jersey at the end of this month, when Paul Masterton steps down.

As well as being a long-serving local politician, Mr Walker was previously Managing Director of the Guiton Group, and now serves on a number of company boards, including Andium Homes.

He also chairs Jersey Choice Ltd., a company that exports Jersey-grown plants to the UK, and acts as trustee for the Sanctuary Trust.

Tony Moretta, CEO of Digital Jersey, commented: "We have been extremely lucky to have our current Chair Paul Masterton, who was instrumental in setting up the Hub and developing the organisation from its infancy. He will be sorely missed. We are grateful for all the fantastic work he has done and wish him well in his new roles.

"We are, however, delighted to welcome Frank back, following his time chairing the initial working group that was to become Digital Jersey. At a time when Jersey is facing many challenges which will impact the digital economy, from skills shortages, to eGov and the potential changes that Brexit will bring, Frank's political and business experience will be invaluable to us."

Mr Walker added: "It is a privilege to be succeeding Paul Masterton, who has done a great job in leading Digital Jersey this far. I have long believed the development of Jersey into a world leading digital community is essential to our future economic success and since my time chairing the initial working groups which ultimately led to the formation of Digital Jersey, I have taken an active interest in the organisation and the industry members.

"We have some incredibly innovative and smart businesses and people in the technology sector here in Jersey, and it is clear that we need to support their growth and help all of us in Jersey to become lead players in our use of IT. With the continuing conflict between the need for economic growth and the need to control the population, productivity is key and only state of the art IT throughout our business sectors and in Government can deliver it.

"Digital is vital to our future and I look forward to the opportunity of helping to build upon the progress already made."