{{Short description|British business executive and founder}} '''Stephen Allott''' (born 1958) is a British business executive and the founder of the Cambridge Computer Lab Ring.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2025-02-24 |title=Stephen Allott |url=https://www.cst.cam.ac.uk/people/sa333 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=www.cst.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>
== Career == In 1995, on leaving McKinsey & Company,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-03-21 |title=Universities challenged |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4816236.stm |access-date=2025-10-15 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Allott joined Micromuse where he oversaw the expansion of the London-based network management software provider.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=IBM to acquire Micromuse for $865 million |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ibm-to-acquire-micromuse-for-865-million/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> Following its IPO on the Nasdaq in 1998, Allott was appointed President of Micromuse and a main board director in addition to his role as Chief Financial Officer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} BUSINESS {{!}} E-commerce needs e-reform |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/679133.stm |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> During his tenure, the company's market capitalisation reached a peak of $15.2 billion (adjusted for UK inflation in 2026), the record for a UK origin organically grown software company.[https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1036425/000103221001501518/d10k.txt]
In 2002, Allott founded the Cambridge Computer Lab Ring, named after the Cambridge Ring (computer network) project led by Maurice Wilkes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Computer Laboratory: Careers |url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/intro/overview/node6.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116202718/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/intro/overview/node6.html |archive-date=2012-01-16 |access-date=2025-10-15 |website=www.cl.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> According to the University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology, as of May 2026 there were 371 companies founded by the department's graduates and staff.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samols |first=Jan |date=2018-01-23 |title=The Hall of Fame |url=https://www.cst.cam.ac.uk/ring/halloffame |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=www.cst.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, these were valued at $160 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=James |date=2025-05-15 |title=How Beauhurst Measured the Impact of Cambridge University Computer Science Companies |url=https://www.beauhurst.com/blog/cambridge-university-cs-companies-impact/ |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=Beauhurst |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Allott delivered the 2006 Cambridge University Hughes Hall City Lecture '<nowiki/>''From Science to Growth - what exactly is the mechanism by which scientific research turns into economic growth?''' where the term "People Centric Approach" was first coined.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Funding technology: Britain forty years on |url=https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/funding-technology-britain-forty-years-on-/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-03-21 |title=Universities challenged |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4816236.stm |access-date=2025-10-13 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In 2011, Allott was appointed as the first Crown Representative for Small and Medium Enterprises by the Cameron-Clegg coalition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government opens up contracts to small business |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-opens-up-contracts-to-small-business |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> During his tenure, the SME share of central government procurement spend, including direct and indirect spend, rose from 6.8% in 2010/11 to 27% in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Commons - Government spending with small and medium-sized enterprises - Committee of Public Accounts |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmpubacc/882/88206.htm |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=publications.parliament.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-09 |title=Government's spending with small and medium-sized enterprises |url=https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/governments-spending-with-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/ |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=National Audit Office (NAO) |language=en-GB}}</ref> Allott led the business development of the UK Government G-Cloud Marketplace, the Cabinet Office initiative for online procurement of cloud services.<ref>{{Cite news |title=G-Cloud framework's latest booster has Allott to give |url=https://www.theregister.com/2015/08/21/crown_rep_moves_to_gcloud/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250815164342/https://www.theregister.com/2015/08/21/crown_rep_moves_to_gcloud/ |archive-date=2025-08-15 |access-date=2025-10-13 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-24 |title=Interview: Stephen Allott |url=https://www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/article/interview-stephen-allott |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Civil Service World |language=en}}</ref>
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
==External links== * https://www.cst.cam.ac.uk/ring
{{Authority control}} Category:British business executives Category:English business executives Category:Living people Category:1958 births