Ofcom plunders Amazon Alexa for CTO hire

UK communications regulator Ofcom has moved to beef up its digital economy expertise with the appointment of Amazon veteran Sachin Jogia as Chief Technology Officer.

Jogia has spent the past nine years at Amazon, where he’s currently General Manager for Alexa Smart Home International. That means he should be clued up on the broader role of the digital economy in the comms sector. He will join Ofcom in October and doesn’t seem to be replacing anyone as there is currently no CTO listed.

“I’m delighted to welcome Sachin to Ofcom,” said Ofcom Chief Exec Dame Melanie Dawes. “His experience as a technology leader, having developed new products for one of the major global platforms, will be invaluable as we take on the new challenge of regulating online safety. This appointment shows that Ofcom’s mission can attract the very best talent and I’m looking forward to working with Sachin to build new teams and skills as we secure a safer life online for everyone.”

“I am honoured to join Ofcom to lead their technology organisation at a time when it is more important than ever to ensure children, vulnerable people and adults are protected while using the technology they take for granted every day,” said Jogia. “The online safety bill is such an essential and pioneering measure, which will help technology flourish in parallel with implementing the right safeguards. I look forward to partnering with all tech platforms to secure greater accountability, while enabling innovation to thrive across the sector for UK citizens.”

So it looks like Jogia has essentially been appointed chief digital censor, nice. If they were looking for a poacher-turned-gamekeeper then Google or Facebook might have been better sources, but maybe the idea is to use Alexa devices to gather evidence of thoughtcrime or something like that. Still, at least we’ll be safe.