AI Vision to Value Conference: Delivering the UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan

Vinous Ali

Deputy Executive Director, Startup Coalition

Vinous brings over a decade of experience of Westminster and tech policy to the Startup Coalition. Vinous joins Startup Coalition from Public First where she built the technology practice and then spearheaded the company’s US expansion. She formerly led techUK’s domestic policy work after years working at the heart of Westminster as a political adviser. Vinous sits on the Board of Trustees of the Good Things Foundation and has undertaken a fellowship at Cambridge University’s Centre for Science and Policy.

: vinous-ali
: @vinousali

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Max Beverton-Palmer

Head of Public Policy, NVIDIA

No bio provided

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Ed Bithell

Head of Strategy and Sovereign Partnerships, Fractile

Ed Bithell is Head of Strategy and Sovereign Partnerships at Fractile, a UK scaleup building chips and systems to unlock huge scale and performance improvements in frontier AI inference. Before joining Fractile, Ed worked as a civil servant and diplomat, and as an analyst specialising in trade, industrial policy and emerging technologies.

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Allan Bosley

Director,  Public Affairs, Ark Data Centres

No bio provided

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Tess Buckley

Programme Manager, Digital Ethics and AI Safety, techUK

Tess is a digital ethicist and musician. After completing an MA in AI and Philosophy, with a focus on ableism in biotechnologies, she worked as an AI Ethics Analyst with a dataset on corporate digital responsibility. She then supported the development of a specialised model for ESG disclosure requests. Currently, at techUK, she focuses on demystifying and operationalising ethics through assurance mechanisms and standards. Her primary research interest lies in AI music systems and technology's impact on differently abled folk. Her overarching goal is to apply philosophical principles to make emerging technologies both explainable and ethical.

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Victoria Colllins

Member of Parliament (MP) for Harpenden & Berkhamsted (UK)

Victoria Collins is the Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024. She currently undertakes the role of Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Science, Innovation & Technology).

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Heather Cover-Kus

Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK

Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.

Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat.  She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.

Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.

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Sue Daley OBE

Director, Technology and Innovation, techUK

Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work at techUK.

This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy. She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame. A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK Sue is co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.

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Julian David OBE

CEO, techUK

Julian David is the CEO of techUK, the leading technology trade association that aims to realise the positive outcomes that digital technology can achieve for People, Society, the Economy and the Planet.

He leads techUK’s 100+ strong team representing 1,100+ British based tech companies, comprising global and national champions and more than 600 SMEs and ScaleUP companies. techUK is the voice of the tech industry in the UK with 21 member led programmes covering all of tech from ‘Chips to Clicks’ and addressing 11 market sectors from Defence and Central Government, through to Health, Consumer Electronics and Financial Services.

In 2021 techUK launched TechSkills, the employer-led accreditation organisation that aims to improve the flow of talent into the digital workforce and open up access for all to high value tech jobs.

Julian represents techUK on a number of external bodies including the Digital Economy Council, the National Cyber Security Advisory Council and the Department of Business and Trade’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group. He is member of the NTA Advisory Board of DIGITALEUROPE and is a member of the Board of the Health Innovation Network the South London Academic Health Science Network.

Julian has over thirty years of experience in the technology industry. Prior to joining techUK, he had a series of leadership roles at IBM including Vice President for Small and Medium Business and Public Sector. After leaving IBM he worked as a consultant helping tech SMEs establish successful operations in the U.K. His personal interests include Football (West Ham, Balham FC and Real Madrid) and Art.

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Alex De Ville

AI Innovation Fellow, i.AI

No bio provided

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Benedict Dellot

Technology Policy Principal (Generative AI), Ofcom

Benedict is a Technology Policy Principal at Ofcom, where he leads a number of Ofcom’s AI-related projects and policy areas. This includes the regulator’s approach to regulating the use of generative AI in the online safety regime. Benedict also oversees much of Ofcom’s research into the use of recommender systems by online services. Prior to joining Ofcom, Benedict was Head of AI Monitoring at the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, and previously worked at the Royal Society of Arts think-tank.

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Vikram Doraiswami

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom,

Vikram Doraiswami is India's High Commissioner in the UK  since September 2022. He has spent over 30 years in the Indian  Foreign Service, with foreign assignments in Hong Kong,  Beijing, New York (at the Indian Mission to the UN), and  Johannesburg in South Africa, where he was India's Consul General. He has had Ambassadorial assignments in Uzbekistan, and in the Republic of Korea, and as High Commissioner in Bangladesh. In India, he has served in the Prime Minister's Office, including as Private Secretary to the Indian PM (in the mid-2000s), and has headed Divisions dealing with SAARC, North America, Bangladesh& Myanmar, and had established a new Division for the Indo-Pacific in April 2019. His last assignment at headquarters was as Additional Secretary (international organizations). He speaks Chinese, some Korean and some French. 

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Sophie England

Policy and Partnerships - AI and Innovation Lead, Meta

Sophie England leads Meta's AI Policy and Partnerships in the UK, where she focusing on partnering through Meta’s open source models with the UK Government to advance AI's role in public service transformation. Since joining Meta in 2018, she has worked on high-profile policy areas ranging from online safety to the metaverse and now open-source AI. Most recently, she developed a first of its kind partnership between academia and government, launching the first open source fellowship programme.

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Carl Ennis

CEO, Siemens GB & Ireland

No bio provided

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Ashley Feldman

Public Policy Manager , Wayve

Ashley Feldman is the Public Policy Manager at Wayve, a leading provider of Embodied AI currently developing the Wayve AI Driver. He was previously leading UK and Ireland Public Policy at Tesla before joining Wayve in 2025. Ashley has significant experience of policy development in the automated vehicle sector having also led the Future Mobility work programme at techUK. He has a background in social sciences, having studied Urban Development at the London School of Economics before entering into the public policy sector.

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Paul Fleming

Senior Sales Director, EMEA, Autodesk

Paul Fleming serves as Senior Director for Autodesk’s EMEA AECO Mid-Market business and sits on the EMEA 
leadership team. 
He is responsible for shaping strategy, driving execution, and delivering commercial performance across a 
high-growth segment that supports Europe’s Built Environment—architects, engineers, contractors, and 
owner/operators—in modernizing project delivery with Autodesk’s platform and industry solutions.
Across his nearly 20-year tenure, Paul has helped enterprise customers connect data across the project lifecycle, 
improve collaboration, and scale digital transformation. He began at Autodesk in 2005 in the Buzzsaw (cloud) team 
and subsequently partnered with named accounts across EMEA on enterprise adoption of Autodesk’s agreements and 
strategic programs.
A Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng MICE), Paul holds an MEng in Civil & Structural Engineering from the University of 
Birmingham. As an Autodesk Sustainability Ambassador, he champions practical approaches to lowering carbon and 
improving outcomes—working with customers and internal teams to embed sustainability into decision-making and 
delivery.
Paul regularly engages with leadership groups and industry forums on topics including digital transformation in 
AECO, enterprise value realization, and sustainable construction practices.

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Caroline Garde

Senior Value Engineer, Freshworks

No bio provided

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Gwendoline Grollier

Partner & Co-Founder, T3

Risk Management expert with nearly 20 years of experience spanning Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Consulting. I help financial institutions turn regulatory challenges into opportunities for strategic growth.

As Partner & Co-Founder at T3, I lead a forward-thinking advisory firm specialising in Risk & Regulation, Responsible AI, and ESG. We help leading Financial Institutions and Tech companies design and implement next-gen risk frameworks that bridge compliance, innovation, and sustainability.

My background includes senior leadership roles at Credit Suisse, NGEN, Société Générale, and Crédit Agricole CIB. At T3, I enable clients to stay ahead of evolving UK/EU regulatory requirements, including Basel III, CSRD, and the EU AI Act.

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Lara Groves

Senior Researcher, Ada Lovelace Institute

Lara is a Senior Researcher at the Ada Lovelace Institute and has led work for Ada on AI accountability approaches and public participation, including research on the role of participation in research and development in AI labs. Before joining Ada, Lara worked as a tech and internet policy consultant, and has experience in research, public affairs and campaigns for think-tanks, political parties and advocacy groups. Lara has an MSc in Democracy from UCL.

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Dr Nicola Hodson

techUK Deputy President, Chair, IBM UK&I, IBM

Dr Nicola Hodson was appointed Chair, IBM UK and Ireland, in January 2025. Prior to taking on this role, Dr Hodson served as Chief Executive IBM UK and Ireland, a position she held for two years.

Dr Hodson is an accomplished technology industry leader with a deep understanding of the challenges facing the tech industry, as well as extensive experience in business and digital transformation. In 2023 and again in 2024, Dr Hodson ranked highly in Computer Weekly’s list of the 50 most influential people in UK technology, and in CRN’s 2024 A-List.

Dr Hodson held senior positions at Microsoft for 15 years, including as a global leader of the transformation of the Microsoft commercial sales, marketing and operations business and UK Chief Operating Officer covering its UK commercial and consumer business.

As Deputy President of techUK, the trade association for the IT industry, Dr Hodson has a wide breadth of experience and understanding of the tech sector, from large companies to start-ups, coupled with significant experience in the energy sector. She has extensive Board experience across multiple sectors, including Beazley plc, Drax Group plc, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). She has formerly served as a non-executive at Ofgem, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) group, as a governor of Bradfield College, and as a director of start-up Bramble Energy.

Dr Hodson previously worked in the IT and business services division of Siemens, at CSC (now DXC), as a management consultant for EY and in the nuclear industry at BNFL.

Dr Hodson holds an MBA and a PhD in Engineering. She is married with three sons and two stepsons, loves outdoor pursuits and is a keen motorbike enthusiast.

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Ben Lyons

Senior Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Darktrace

No bio provided

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Paul Maltby

Director of Public Services, Faculty

Paul is the Chief Digital Officer at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities where he is focussed on improving the Department’s digital services, working with local government to develop their digital capacity, and driving digital and data reform to the planning system and housing sectors. 
He previously led the government’s new data agenda as Director of Data in the Cabinet Office’s Government Digital Service, with responsibility for open data, data science in government, data infrastructure and data legislation.
He has a background in public service innovation and reform in government with spells in Leicestershire County Council, the Home Office and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. 
 

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Declan McDowell-Naylor

Group Manager - AI and Biometrics, Information Commissioner's Office

No bio provided

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Dan Morgan

Head of Public Policy & Government Relations , Tools for Humanity

No bio provided

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Kir Nuthi

Head of AI and Data, techUK

Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK. 

She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.

Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.

Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.

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Susannah Odell

UK Government Affairs Manager, Microsoft

Susannah Odell is UK Government Affairs Manager at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, Susannah was Deputy Director for Technology Policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), representing businesses of all sizes and sectors on policy matters, leading strategic projects on AI, cybersecurity, online safety, tech sector growth and Covid business support, and facilitating business engagement with the UK’s digital regulators. She also founded the CBI's Women in Technology Network. Susannah began her career at The Royal Society, where she focused on AI and data policy and facilitated international scientific and policy collaborations with the US and Japan. She holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

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Jonathan Orritt

Director – Data & AI, KPMG

An award-winning data executive with over 15 years’ experience leading Data and AI initiatives across the Public Sector, Financial Services, and Oil & Gas industries.

 

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Nimmi Patel

Associate Director for Policy, techUK

Nimmi Patel is the Associate Director of Policy at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre’s research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers, and governments. 

Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She also took part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme and is the Education and Skills Policy Co-lead for Labour in Communications.

: https://www.techuk.org/skills-talent-and-diversity-programme.html
: nimmi-patel1/
: @nimmiptl

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Dan Patten

Head of Government Affairs, UK & Europe, Scale AI

Dan is Government Affairs Lead for the UK at Scale AI. In this role, he covers policy and government engagement for the UK. Founded in 2016, Scale AI has become the leading provider of high-quality data and evaluations that serve as the foundational infrastructure for AI development. The company's services include training and improving AI models and developing applications for many of the world's leading generative AI companies, government agencies, and enterprises. Scale is also the world leading in paid AI opportunities globally.

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Jack Perschke

Co-founder and CEO, Great Wave AI

No bio provided

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Nick Reid

Policy Lead - Europe, Coreweave

No bio provided

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Riham Satti

CEO, MeVitae

Today we welcome Riham Satti to the podcast. She is exploring how Augmented Intelligence is making an impact on talent acquisition and HR, taking bias out of the hiring process with her business, MeVitae. Why also question why people seem embarrassed to use the term AI!

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Tim Smith

VP, Corporate Affairs , Multiverse

No bio provided

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Phil Smith CBE

Chair, Skills England

Phil is currently Chairman of IQE PLC, as well as Chairman of Streeva and Appyway. He is former Chief Executive and Chairman of Cisco UK and Ireland, and former Chairman of InnovateUK and Techskills. Phil is co-chair of the Digital Skills Council and a member of the Digital Economy Council. Additionally he is a Commercial Director of Be The Business, a founding associate of VOCL,  and a C-Level Board mentor for Critical Eye. He has an advisory role with Coventry University and is a member of the Corporate Advisory Board of the National Theatre. Phil was awarded a CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to Technology, Business and Skills and in September 2019 was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering where he chairs the Education and Skills Committee.

: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-smith-cbe-a233222

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Julia Willemyns

Co-founder , Centre for British Progress

No bio provided

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Ashley Williams

Head of Technology Group , Mischon de Reya

Ashley Williams is a Partner and Head of our Technology Group, specialising in cross-border technology transactions and data protection matters for multinational corporations and high-growth technology companies. With over half of his practice dedicated to international matters, Ashley brings deep expertise in navigating the regulatory and commercial complexities that global technology companies face across multiple jurisdictions.

Ashley has extensive experience advising on the roll out and implementation of mission-critical technology initiatives, including large-scale AI and machine learning deployments, enterprise cloud transformations, and global data governance strategies. He regularly leads multi-jurisdictional teams on complex technology transactions, helping clients structure and execute international technology partnerships, cross-border data transfers, and global product launches. As the AI practice lead at Mishcon, Ashley has a particular focus on advising clients on the launch of new AI products and services to market.  

His international practice spans advising US, European, and Asia-Pacific technology leaders on UK and EU regulatory compliance, including GDPR implementation, AI governance frameworks, and emerging technology regulations. Ashley's deep understanding of both the commercial imperatives and regulatory landscape facing global technology companies makes him a trusted advisor for organisations seeking to scale their operations internationally.

Ashley Williams is a leading lawyer in this field. He is practical, personable, and fiercely intelligent - a strong lawyer for every AI company to have on its side.

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