Orchestrating Identity appoints David Rennie as Chief Trust Officer
Orchestrating Identity has appointed David Rennie to the newly created position of Chief Trust Officer with a focus on guiding organisations through the challenges of compliance, liability, and trust in digital settings.
Focus on digital trust
Rennie is one of very few professionals in the UK holding the title of Chief Trust Officer. He will support both businesses and public bodies in understanding and managing the complexities associated with digital trust, especially as more transactions and interactions take place in digital environments.
Rennie's appointment comes as organisations face growing expectations around secure and reliable digital identity processes. With more than 20 years of experience across public and private sectors, his previous roles include positions at the Home Office Identity Cards Programme, GOV.UK Verify, IDEMIA and the Open Identity Exchange.
Executive perspective
You can count the number of Chief Trust Officers in the UK on one hand, and it's a role that remains conspicuously absent in FTSE 100 boardrooms. That's a problem in light of the transition to a smart data economy. If organisations want to take advantage of the inherent opportunities, they need to codify what trust really means in the digital world. Trust is not just about security, it's about reliability, neutrality, and the ability to handle sensitive information in a consistent, policy-compliant way. In creating this role, Orchestrating Identity has sent a message to businesses that trust is a C-Suite issue.
This statement from David Rennie, Chief Trust Officer, shows the strategic intention behind the new role and highlights the lack of similar positions among major UK companies.
Certification achievements
The appointment coincides with Orchestrating Identity receiving dual certification from the Kantara Initiative as both an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) and an Orchestration Service Provider (OSP). The company is now one of six organisations recognised under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) for both categories of service provision. The DIATF sets standards-based rules for digital identity practice in the UK market.
Orchestrating Identity is also distinguished as the only provider of a fully open-access, IDSP-agnostic orchestration platform. According to the company, this reduces the risk associated with a single point of failure concerning DIATF compliance. The platform is designed to facilitate secure data sharing and credential verification while adhering to regulatory requirements relevant for tasks such as Right to Work and Right to Rent checks, as well as age verification.
Compliance pressure on businesses
Right now, the burden of compliance falls on businesses that are just trying to get on with what they do best. They end up paying for peace of mind with siloed providers, and without always understanding the ecosystem they're stepping into, leading to inflated costs and unnecessary risk. "In time, I predict many large enterprises will build their own trust platforms and we'll see more Chief Trust Officers emerge. However, we believe all businesses should be able to work from a level playing field, regardless of their size and resources. By offering a low code, unified Trust and Identity Orchestration (TIDO) platform, Orchestrating Identity provides a simpler, safer way forward. Any business can interact, transact, and handle precious identity data, knowing they're compliant with the right policies and provide onboarding experiences that people actually trust.
This full quote from Rennie details some of the problems businesses face and Orchestrating Identity's approach for addressing them, emphasising accessibility and compliance for all types of organisations.
Market context
The increasing importance of digital identity in both public and private sectors has brought trust and regulatory adherence to the forefront of technology management. Orchestrating Identity's certifications and the establishment of the Chief Trust Officer role indicate efforts to align operations with changing standards and stakeholder expectations.
