Darren Wray

Darren Wray has a diverse work experience that spans over several years. Darren began their career as an Assembler at Philips in 1991 before moving on to work as a Support & Development Engineer at SEC Direct. In 1992, they joined East Sussex County Council as a Networks & Desktop Support Manager, where they stayed until 2002.

Darren then worked at Sussex Enterprise as an ICT Business Adviser, collaborating with small and medium-sized enterprises to provide ICT advice and assist in performance/business strategy development. During this time, they exceeded personal targets and led a regional task force to prioritize broadband installation for Sussex SMEs.

In 2003, Darren became a Director at MAD Rock Promotions Ltd, where they created a retail website and drove rapid growth through marketing campaigns. Darren then founded and directed 1066 Custom Cycles Ltd, growing turnover from zero to £150K in the first year and creating a successful retail website.

From 2005 to 2008, Darren worked as an IT Manager at McPherson & Partners, where they reported business cases for investment and negotiated contracts for support and maintenance. After that, they joined Rother District Council as a Business Development Manager and Deputy Head of ICT, overseeing a team of 25 personnel and an annual budget of £1.5M.

Darren then joined Croydon Council in 2011 as an ICT Business Partner & Projects Manager, and later became the Head of ICT (Acting). In this role, they led a team of 60 personnel and managed an annual budget of £15M to deliver ICT service delivery and project management for a user base of 3,500 staff. Darren successfully delivered an ICT work stream for a multi-site building rationalization project worth over £2M.

Most recently, Darren has been working at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council as the Head of IT, managing the IT department and leading their team to provide IT services and support to the organization.

Darren Wray completed their BTEC National Diploma in Computing Technology from Hastings College of Arts & Technology in 1988-1989. Prior to that, they attended Hillcrest from 1982-1988 and studied English, Physics, Computing, Maths, English, History, and Geography at the GCSE level.

In addition to their formal education, Darren Wray has obtained several certifications throughout their career. These include the SNOW License Manager User certification from SNOW in January 2018, MSP Foundation (Managing Successful Programmes) from PeopleCert in August 2017, ITIL Foundation certification in February 2011, TMB Certified (Technology Means Business) certification in March 2004, SFEDI Accreditation in June 2003, NVQ Level 4 in Management (Degree equivalent) in January 2002, Microsoft Certified Product Expert (Powerpoint 97) in September 2001, Certified Netware Engineer (3.x & 4.x) in September 1998, Microsoft Certified Product Specialist (Windows 95) in April 1997, and IBM Authorised Warranty Service Engineer in November 1989.