Dale Heenan
Technology and finance, qualified in both.
Currently Director of IT, a UK water services group · since 2025
- Years in technology leadership
- 20+
- Sectors delivered in
- Six
- Board & trustee service
- 2016–2024
- Qualified
- CISSP · CIMA
Where the work was done
Every role since 2004, in order, with the dates and whether it was permanent or a contract, grouped by era. Most engagements between 2016 and 2025 were interim or contract, so the tenures are short by the nature of the work; the water group is a permanent appointment. Exact dates are in the CV, on request.
2023 – present
- current
Director of IT
A UK water services group · Water & Utilities
- Accountable for group IT across a UK water services group
- Appointed December 2025 — current role, so the outcomes are not yet mine to claim
- contract
Head of IT
A £37m Series B advanced manufacturer · Manufacturing
- £37m Series B-funded advanced manufacturing company (aerospace, technology and defence customers)
- 17% reduction in Microsoft licensing and cloud costs (£64,000 saved) within first six weeks
- Board-level technology strategy, infrastructure scaling, ERP capability, and cyber compliance
- contract
Senior IT Manager (Interim IT Director)
A global industrial filtration business · Manufacturing
- Led global IT and Cyber Services (UK, Ireland, US, India) during cross-border merger
- Delivered global IT service desk, SAP payment automation saving 100+ Finance hours
- 21% improvement in supplier performance within three months; IT budget reduced by 14%
Technical Founder
Independent Innovation Project · Innovation
- Dementia-assist technology: hardware/software solution for remote family support
- Full-stack prototype design and build
Head of Delivery
A global investment group · Manufacturing
- Senior IT and Change authority across global investment group (UK, Ireland, US, Singapore)
- Led ERP migration across 26 companies; introduced AI to £3bn portfolio
- IT separation of £100m business; won the group Staff Innovation Award 2024
2016 – 2022
- contract
Head of IT
A major UK visitor attraction · Leisure & Hospitality
- Senior Leadership Team member; established technology innovation hub generating £450,000 profit in year one
- Improved user satisfaction by 32%; delivered fully integrated website (ERP, CRM, EPOS, stock, ticketing, property)
- 9,800 acres, 1m+ annual visitors
- contract
Senior Programme Manager
A FTSE100 wealth manager · Financial Services
- £11m Financial Crime, AI, and Cyber Security programme across FTSE100 business
- 40,000+ accounts remediated holding £1.2bn in assets
- 90% throughput improvement through agile transformation; recovered red-rated Brexit programme
- contract
Head of IT Operations
A UK life and pensions group · Financial Services
- Digital re-platforming safeguarding £700m in client assets
- £50m acquisition merger; 85,000 clients converted to online-only digital-first strategy
- ISO 27001 audit and FCA regulatory reviews managed
- contract
Director of Information Services
A UK university · Higher Education
- Executive IT leadership during organisational restructure
- User satisfaction driven from 32% to 89%; founded cross-functional IT forum
- Office 365, SharePoint migration, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications
2004 – 2016
Head of Technology Services | Senior Project Manager | Full Stack Developer | SOX Analyst
Earlier Career · Public Sector
- Head of Technology Services (Public Sector)
- Senior Project Manager (Public Sector and Military)
- Full Stack Web Developer
- SOX Reporting Analyst
The Work
Six programmes across financial services, manufacturing, hospitality, and the public sector — each with defined scope, personal accountability, and a measurable outcome.
The Practice
Seven domains, one integrated capability — deep technical credibility, commercial acumen, and governance experience in the same conversation.
Innovation & Emerging Technology
Google Certified Generative IT Leader; introduced AI to £3bn portfolio; Staff Innovation Award winner at a global investment group.
IT Strategy & Technology Roadmapping
Board-approved multi-year technology strategies aligned to business growth, operating model, and risk appetite.
Enterprise Transformation & ERP
End-to-end transformation including ERP across 26 companies, digital re-platforming, M&A integration.
Cyber Security & Governance
CISSP-qualified; delivered ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, PCI DSS, and NIST frameworks.
Commercial & Financial Leadership
CIMA-qualified management accountant; proven IT budget reduction (14–17%) and board-ready reporting.
People Leadership & High-Performing Teams
Built IT functions from early-stage through enterprise scale; consistent satisfaction and SLA improvement.
Board & Executive Stakeholder Engagement
Seven years a non-executive director and five chairing a charity I founded; C-suite reporting across FTSE100, PE-backed, and public sector.
Built and Deployed — Not Just Advised
Hands-on AI implementation across manufacturing, financial services, and leisure. Each deployment is in production, with a measurable outcome — and the work is certified: Google Generative IT Leader.
5 weeks → 5 days
AI Legal & Taxation App
New Group company formation
Global investment group
+7%
AI-Driven Pricing Tools
Gross margin improvement
Advanced manufacturing
+11%
Machine Learning Operations
Advanced manufacturing
200+
Robotic Process Automation
Cross-border merger
Automated
BI Geographic Dashboard
Leisure & hospitality
Proprietary
eSignature Platform
Independent build
Dementia-Assist Technology
Hardware and software enabling remote family support for dementia patients. Designed and built independently — no commercial brief, no budget, no team.
Seven Years on the Other Side of the Table
Overseeing a function is not the same discipline as running one, and the two seats below taught opposite halves of it. Both are a matter of public record and can be checked against the register.
At the solar company the staff ran the operation and the board’s work was to decide on the strength of reports it had not written — quarterly performance, the accounts, the returns due to the people whose money was in it. Knowing which question to put to a report you cannot verify yourself, and when a problem is management’s to solve rather than the board’s, is a different habit from the one that makes a good IT director. The charity taught the other half: I wrote its business case and set it up, then had to stop being the person who built it and start being its chair.
2016 – 2024 · seven years
Company 09663536
Non-Executive Director
Swindon Common Farm Solar Community Interest PLC
The community investment vehicle behind Swindon’s council solar bond — the first of its kind by any council in the country, funded by local investors. Staff ran the operation; the board approved the offer document, the annual accounts and the returns paid to investors, allocated the community benefit fund, and held the operator to quarterly generation against forecast.
2017 – 2022 · its first five years
Registered charity 1171371
Founder and Chair of Trustees
Swindon Community Library Trust CIO
Wrote the business case, secured the funding and set the charity up end to end, then chaired it from registration through its first five years. Operates as Liden Library & Community Hub and continues under its current trustees.
Technology, Security, and Finance — in the Same Conversation
CISSP for the security side, CIMA for the commercial one. I was a member of the BCS for fifteen years and a Fellow for ten, and in 2026 put that subscription into CIMA instead — the commercial half of the job is where I wanted the depth.
Fellow of the BCS (FBCS)
Chartered Institute of IT
Fellow 10 years, member 15 · to 2026
CISSP
ISC2
Member of CIMA
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
- CIMA Advanced Diploma (MCS) — CIMA
- CIMA Diploma (OCS) — CIMA
- Google Generative IT Leader — Google
- MSP Foundation & Practitioner — AXELOS
- PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner — AXELOS
- ITIL Service Management — AXELOS
- Pg Cert Internet Systems — University of Portsmouth
- Future Leaders Academy — IDeA
The IT Leader Who Covers All the Ground
20+ years experience
FTSE100 to Series B
UK & International
Twenty years in technology, the last decade of it leading IT functions and the programmes that reshape them: FTSE100 financial services under FCA supervision, advanced manufacturing for defence and aerospace, a cross-border merger across four countries, a university, and now a water services group.
The record leans towards the unglamorous half of the job. Separating a £100m business’s IT without interrupting either side of it. Migrating ERP across twenty-six companies. Taking a red-rated programme back to green in three months. Finding fourteen to seventeen per cent of cost in estates that had already been told they were lean.
CISSP for the security side, CIMA for the commercial one. I was a member of the BCS for fifteen years and a Fellow for ten, and in 2026 put that subscription into CIMA instead — the commercial half of the job is where I wanted the depth.
Seven years of board service taught the part an executive career does not. At the solar company, accepting a replacement generator that would hold investor returns down for five years, on an analysis the board could not re-run itself. At the charity I founded, stopping being the person who built it in order to chair it. Both are on the public register.
Let's Talk
I'm open to conversations about senior technology leadership roles, advisory appointments, and strategic projects. All enquiries are treated with discretion.