Professor in Management Practice

David Harding is a noted advisor, speaker, management researcher, author, and teacher on business and technology leadership and transformational change.

David is founder/ owner of The Harding Method, a CIO advisory consultancy and Professor of Management Practice at the University of Bedfordshire.

He coaches, advises, and trains business and technology leaders in progressing aspirations for growth, digital maturity, and role effectiveness. Exploiting these experiences, David brings new, current practitioner perspectives to post-graduate course design, delivery, and assessment.

Prior to his current roles, having delivered programmes on lean manufacturing in the automotive, defence and aerospace sectors, David worked for several global consulting firms. As Programme Director, often working in highly regulated environments and under intense public scrutiny, David initiated, shaped, delivered and assured large ($m), highly complex, multi-country flagship IT programmes across HM’s UK Government & FTSE 100 organisations.

David has authored Chief Information Officer Performance and Effectiveness (2023) and Effective Chief Information Officer Role Behaviours (2023). He has presented his research on Chief Information Officer (CIO) effectiveness to various academic and industry bodies (including the British Academy of Management and IDGs CIO.com). He maintains an online presence, writing articles on digital transformation and digital maturity for the New Statesman’s Tech Monitor.

Other References

• David's LinkedIn profile
• David's CIO advisory practice: The Harding Method

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy – PhD, A New Model for Chief Information Officer Effectiveness in Digital Enterprises – Cranfield University
• Master of Science in Engineering (Research) – MSc, ‘The Lean Wing’ - Warwick University
• Bachelor of Engineering - BEng (Hons) Engineering – The University of Central England
• Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute - FCMI
• European Engineer - Eur Ing, Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales d'Ingénieurs (FEANI)
• Chartered Engineer – CEng, The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
• Chartered IT Professional – CITP, The British Computer Society (BCS)

Teaching Expertise

• Guest Tutor – MSc Change Management (Programme Management), Cranfield University
• Associate Apprentice Tutor – Senior Leadership MBA/ MSc Degree Apprenticeship, Cranfield University
• Apprentice Tutor - BSc Organizational Transformation, The London Institute of Banking & Finance

Research Interests

• Technology Leadership – Role Effectiveness and Development
• Business and Digital Transformation

Projects

• Growth Curve
• Transformation Through Growth
• Help to Grow

Publications

• Harding, D.J., & Fan, I.-S. (2024). A new CIO Self-Assessment Framework in Digitally Maturing Environments (under review)
• Harding, D. J., & Fan, I.-S. (2021). Perspectives on the Chief Digital Information Officer Role: A Study of UK CIO Job Adverts. (BAM 2021 Conference). https://scholar.google.com
• Harding, D.J. (2021). Becoming data-driven: Lessons from the Metropolitan Police Service. Tech Monitor. Available at: Becoming Data Driven at the MPS (Ac. 12/07/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2021). Four fundamental issues that contribute to CIO turnover. Tech Monitor. Available at: Fundamental Issues of CIO Turnover (Ac. 01/06/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2021). Who is leading digital transformation? Not CIOs, job ads suggest. Tech Monitor. Available at: Who is Leading Digital Transformation? (Ac. 03/05/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2021). A data-driven approach to digital maturity. Tech Monitor. Available at: Data Driven Approach to Digital Transformation (Ac. 05/04/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2021). Why digital transformation challenges long-held beliefs about strategy. Tech Monitor. Available at: Why Digital Transformation Challenges long held beliefs (Ac. 02/03/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2021). What does digital transformation actually mean? Tech Monitor. Available at: What does Digital Transformation mean?(Ac. 01/02/21)
• Harding, D. J., & Fan, I.-S. (2020). Perspectives on the UKs Chief Information Officer Role: A Comparison of Advertised UK CIO Job Role Requirements with CIO Assessment Literature. NVivo Virtual Conference 2020. NVivo Virtual Conference 2020 (Ac. 04/08/21)
• Harding, D.J. (2020). From CIO to Business Leader. CIO 2020 Summit. Available at: IDG CIO Summit 2020.
• Harding, D.J., Fan, I.-S., 2017. Environmental Modelling of the Chief Information Officer, in: UKAIS 2017: Ubiquitous Information Systems: Surviving & Thriving in a Connected Society. Paper 14. Oxford, UK, pp. 1–27. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ukais2017/78
• Harding, D. J., Burrows, N. (2004). KPI and Contractor Reporting for the Railway Industry. Logistics and Transport: Focus. Volume 6 Number 4. ISSN 1466-836X. https://www.researchgate.net
• Harding, D. J. (1999). Business Improvement through Measurement: Measuring the Airbus Wing. IEE Seminar proceedings. UK ISSN 0963-3308. No. 1999/154
• Harding, D. J. (1999). The Pressure of Change. Manufacturing Engineering. Institution of Electrical Engineers. Vol. 78, No.5. ISSN 0956-9944
• Harding, D. J. (1999). The Challenge of Change – The Measurement of People, Process and Product. Manufacturing Engineering. Institution of Electrical Engineers. Vol. 78, No.4. ISSN 0956-9944
• Harding, D. J. (1997). The Challenge of Change – Supply Chain Relationships. Managing Industrial Innovation Seminar. Published by The Teaching Company Directorate, Seminar Proceedings Vol. 7, No. 9. ISBN 1 901255 10 7

Contact Details

E: David.harding@beds.ac.uk