Through the lens of the metaverse | techUK Exploring the Future of Work Series

James Dunn

Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy, DXC Technology

James leads the Government and Regulatory Affairs function at DXC Technology. With 130,000 people in over 70 countries, DXC helps leading organizations run their mission-critical IT systems and business operations. James is focused on demonstrating DXC’s capabilities to drive digital transformation especially in the UK public sector, where DXC has decades of experience. He joined DXC after five years in the UK Civil Service, leading teams working on trade negotiations, crisis management, and social policy. His current work seeks to understand how advanced technologies can be used to address the challenges facing government today. In previous roles, James spent five years leading policy teams in the charity sector with a notable focus on access to education and technology. Outside of work, James volunteers on a number of boards including Disability Sports Wales. He is especially motivated by removing barriers to participation in any walk of life.

Laura Foster

Head of Programme - Technology and Innovation, techUK

Laura is techUK’s Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation.

She supports the application and expansion of emerging technologies across business, including Geospatial Data, Quantum Computing, AR/VR/XR and Edge technologies.

Before joining techUK, Laura worked internationally in London, Singapore and across the United States as a conference researcher and producer covering enterprise adoption of emerging technologies. This included being part of the strategic team at London Tech Week.

Laura has a degree in History (BA Hons) from Durham University, focussing on regional social history. Outside of work she loves reading, travelling and supporting rugby team St. Helens, where she is from.

Paul Henninger

Partner, Head of UK Connected Technology and Global Lighthouse, KPMG

As Head of Head of Connected Technology, Paul leads all UK Technology teams including technology advisory, data & analytics, cloud & application engineering, automation, and our enterprise platforms teams across major platforms including SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Coupa and others In his Global role Paul leads a data, analytics, engineering and automation capability that develops and delivers data-centric solutions to a wide of business problems. He works with clients, alliance & university partners, and teams across the firm to understand how data-driven & digital technologies become business technologies. This takes the form of fully formed AI and ML solutions, data, analytics & digital strategy and transformation programmes and implementations, and problem solving with technology in many forms.

With more than 25 years of experience across the analytics & technology sector, working for and starting up major technology innovators prior to a transition to consulting, Paul is focused on driving real, positive change. Paul’s recent client work includes leading the technology and business model transformation for post-merger integration of two major financial infrastructure firms and for the support for the rapid deployment of vaccination programmes and regional COVID-19 workforce surge response. He has led the development and launch of a set KPMG Products for ESG, contract and commercial analytics. Over the course of his career, Paul has worked across a wide-range of industries including retail, technology, financial services, manufacturing and government. He is frequently sought out as a subject-matter expert and advisor by leading organisations working on policy, R&D initiatives and educational programmes related to the adoption and development of data-driven technologies.

Ash Ramrachia

Co-founder & CEO, Academy

Ash Ramrachia is the Founder and CEO of Academy. Previously, Ash served as Chief People Officer at $7bn tech unicorn The Hut Group. He scaled THG from 50 to 5,000 people by pioneering new approaches to skills and talent development, building one of the most diverse and high performing teams in Europe.

: @https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-ramrachia-09886

Sofia Tirini

Policy Manager, Compliance and Market Access, Access Partnership

Sofia is a Policy Manager at Access Partnership, working in the Compliance and Market Access team. She is an expert in anti-corruption and compliance, and she gets regulatory markets access for digital technology companies around the world. She also supports companies with their regulatory compliance processes and is an avid member of the Metaverse Policy Lab. Before joining AP, she worked many years for multinational companies, think tanks, and in the anti-corruption division at the OECD. She has extensive experience in the international field, organising regional and international campaigns, raising awareness and building capacity with governments and key stakeholders. She is an Argentinian lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires and holds a Master’s degree in Corruption and Governance from Sussex University.

Sian Wilson

Executive Director - Commercial and Partnerships, The Skills Network

With over 21 years of experience in the Edtech industry, Sian joined The Skills Network in February 2022.

Experienced in growth, strategic business development, strategic skills strategies, customer experience, marketing and brand, Sian works with customers, colleagues, and partners to further the reach and impact of FE and HE.

As a member of numerous social cause groups, Sian advocates for inclusive skills opportunities for all, driving forward accessible learning and skills opportunities throughout the sector and beyond.

: sianwilsonmyers/
: @SianWilsonMyers