Robert Shilston Email Address

Group Chief Technology Officer

Blenheim Chalcot is a financial services company that founded in 1998.

I am an engineer at heart. I care when things don't work as well as they should, or fail to meet their full potential, which I know happens when people don't have the right skills or are missing clarity of what they're trying to achieve. When faced with a challenge, I seek to truly understand the desired outcome, and to establish what is known for certain and what is a belief or cultural norm. Within that space, I then guide and deliver effective solutions.As a personable individual, I lead others gently and clearly. I encourage collaboration and communication, seeking pragmatic solutions that can be delivered today over perfection delivered tomorrow.With an entrepreneurial background I have experience in the diverse range of activities required to successfully running a company. I have developed an understand of both business and technology, and can effectively communicate concepts to people not familiar with them.I always want to learn and achieve more. I've a long-held interest in computers and their integration with other systems, putting me at the cutting edge of product, data and tech innovation. Hand-made hardware in the mid 90s enabled me to create the UK's first remotely steerable webcam, then later I built the first UK Google Maps mashup for consumers which pushed the bounds of open data policy, created the first significant HTML5 application and most recently exploited serverless computing for rapid product development with Next FT.Outside work, I'm a keen gardener and photographer. The interest in photography and engineering led me research human perceptions of image blur and how this can be modelled. I successfully defended the resultant PhD thesis (at University College London) in February 2012.