Hello, I’m Richard McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). Today is my first day in this role under DIO’s new strategic business partnering arrangements.
I’m proud to take on the leadership of DIO and delighted to have the opportunity to take the organisation forward on the next stage of its journey.
DIO’s new integrated leadership team starts work today and comprises a mix of private and public sector managers. Speaking for those of us coming from the private sector, we’re genuinely excited to be here - finally working with our new colleagues to improve the way the Defence estate supports its customers.
The needs of the Armed Forces and other key stakeholders across Defence are at the heart of what DIO does. Through this new partnership – involving Capita, working with URS and PA Consulting - we aim to enhance the delivery of the services and strategic input provided by DIO in order to do what the nation asks of them, while also providing value for money for the taxpayer.
It’s great to be able to finally get to work after spending the last three months developing our understanding of the challenges faced by DIO. My team and I have been out and about, meeting DIO staff across the country. Given the sheer scale and scope of the Defence estate and related infrastructure, this has been a big task and it’s not over.
We’ve already met with the leaders of each Service – Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force – as well as the other major parts of Defence. This has led to a further round of site visits to understand how providing facilities and services work in real life. It also allows us to build our understanding of the challenges faced by our customers across Defence and develop new ways of working.
Our intention is to achieve true collaboration between the DIO and its customers, encouraging them to work with us in tackling the challenge of using limited resources and the Defence asset base in the best possible way – both for our Armed Forces and the wider public sector and taxpayer interest.
My team and I are hugely enthusiastic about the future and the potential that this exciting new partnership brings to further improve the way the Defence estate and related infrastructure is provided and run. This is important as the work of DIO is critical to ensuring our military capability and mission readiness, at a time when Defence is still in a period of great change. We are determined to ensure that the DIO remains at the forefront of this transformation agenda.
Today is just the starting point of a journey that will run for the next ten years. We’re ready and raring to go and looking forward to helping DIO to better serve its customers and enable strategic change.
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