Bio
Lynne Capie is Chief Strategy Officer at Switch Digital and Founder of Soteria.
At Switch, she provides communications consultancy and is responsible for developing business growth.
At Soteria, Lynne works with organisations to manage crises and develop crisis communications to maintain and build trust.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to become involved in the digital sector?
Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to have my own business. I’ve worked in hospitality, offshore banking and offshore law and have always been involved in business development, communications and crisis management. I’m fascinated by human behaviour and how businesses are led for commercial success. From a very early point in my career, I recognised the value of tech in helping to measure, record and manage interactions and behaviours to improve business development, communications and financial performance. I set up my business, Soteria, as I understood the importance of connecting the technical cyber response team with the stakeholders responsible for decision making in the management of crises. At Switch, as a digital consultancy, we analyse the data to help our customers understand their position in their respective market places to design data driven campaigns and strategies for our clients. Decision making should in the main be data driven, but I believe the best leaders use data alongside their intuition.
What excites you most about being the head judge for next year’s TechAwards?
Seeing all the incredible work underway in Jersey’s thriving digital and tech community! There are so many people setting up businesses and doing amazing and meaningful work, and the TechAwards is a great opportunity for us to showcase this.
In your opinion, what are the most important qualities a judge should have for an awards ceremony like the TechAwards? How do you try to bring these qualities into your day-to-day work?
I think curiosity is really important. As judges we need to understand the big picture; how these businesses and organisations are using tech to solve problems and make life better for Islanders.
I am fascinated by people and their stories – what makes them tick – and I’m passionate about how we in Jersey can harness the power of digital technologies to become a more advanced Island community.
What do you think makes Jersey’s digital sector unique compared to other regions?
We are uniquely placed to collaborate and have a thriving business community who are mostly open to new ideas. Over the last 12 months the word “productivity” has become a little overused, but we all recognise we need to work smarter and use technology and AI to expedite more efficient process driven work, to allow us to think bigger and create better.
How have you seen Jersey’s digital landscape evolve over the past few years? Are there any changes or trends that have surprised you?
The aforementioned opportunities that AI and technology present need to be balanced with a strong and focussed cyber security culture. I am still surprised at the lack of investment and somewhat laissez faire attitude towards cyber security in many aspects of Jersey life. A big part of my work is to raise cyber security awareness. There are brilliant entrepreneurs and businesses in Jersey, using digital technology to support organisations, businesses and charities to improve what they do for their customers and stakeholders. Jersey is uniquely placed to show other jurisdictions how RegTech can be used to maintain regulatory excellence whilst reducing manual processes for teams and organisations. As a leading international finance centre, we should remain at the forefront of RegTech and FinTech innovation.
What key traits or characteristics do you look for in an award-winning project or individual?
We are looking for individuals and businesses who truly understand their target audiences and market place, who have taken the time to understand the challenges faced, and the things that detract from profitability and operational excellence. We want to showcase organisations and businesses using new and market leading technologies and digital tools, that are helping to solve these problems and are delivering real value for their clients and the community.
Are there any specific challenges you see Jersey’s digital sector facing, and how can these awards help highlight solutions or successes?
I think we all understand in times of economic uncertainty that there will be a tendency to be more risk averse: this cannot stand in the way of people who have brilliant ideas and it cannot detract from continuous innovation. I have the utmost admiration for people who stick with their ideas and business who continue to innovate. The TechAwards has showcased incredible examples of this over the past six years. I am really looking forward to working with my fellow judges to highlight the brilliant digital innovation and excellence as part of this year’s Digital Jersey TechAwards.
Who or what inspires you in the digital industry, either locally or globally?
I am fortunate to work alongside brilliant tech and digital businesses and entrepreneurs. My business partner at Switch, Damon, was voted Digital Leader of the Year in the first ever Digital Jersey TechAwards! I am also privileged to work alongside Nihon Cyber Defence, a global cyber security company who protect governments and businesses from the impact of cyber attacks. I am continually blown away by the way this business leads in the field of cyber security, bringing together talented specialists and using powerful digital technologies to protect and defend their clients. There are, however, a number of unsung technical heroes that I work with in cyber security; people who have trained for years and use technology for good. This is where diversity, in the truest sense of the word, enables outstanding results. You need to bring together experts in their respective fields who can leverage their respective expertise, skills and lived experience to achieve the best result.
If you could give a piece of advice to aspiring tech leaders in Jersey, what would it be?
Keep going. Resilience is one of the most important characteristics when it comes to leading a business. I think the power for me is in community and accessing the relevant specialists and experts throughout. Digital Jersey has been incredible in supporting my business growth, introducing me to a vast array of talented tech leaders. Jersey punches above its weight when it comes to digital leaders; in my experience they have been incredibly generous with their time and insights, so I would implore leaders to get in touch with Digital Jersey, who can help connect them.
What role do you think innovation and creativity play in digital success? How important is it to balance these with technical skills?
So important! Technology can help us do many things, but it is our creativity and thought process that needs to inform how that technology should be used. This sector moves quickly, so we need to be agile and our thought process needs to keep up with technological advancement, but if a product or service doesn’t meet the consumer or client needs, or doesn’t solve a problem for individuals, organisations or our community, what are we developing this for? For me, the really good stuff happens when all of the specialists are in the room with a clearly defined objective and a desire to collaborate to achieve the best outcome.
