Building the Smarter State 2026: Delivering world leading public services

Liisa-Ly Pakosta

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Republic of Estonia

Liisa-Ly Pakosta is the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia. With a strong background in history, law, and public service, she has played a key role in shaping Estonia’s digital and legal landscapes. Her previous roles include Member of Parliament, Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, and Director General of the Estonian National Heritage Board.

A passionate advocate for equal rights, digital innovation, and cultural preservation, she brings both policy expertise and a human-centered approach to leadership. Liisa holds degrees in history and law and is currently pursuing her PhD in law at the University of Tartu.

Outside of her official duties, she is a mother of five, a devoted craft enthusiast, and an active promoter of sustainable living

Kalbir Sohi

Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), Government Digital Service, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

No bio provided

Sidsel Bülow Skovborg

Digitalisation Councillor (diplomat), Danish Embassy

 Sidsel is the appointed Digitalisation Councillor (diplomat) at the Danish Embassy with a responsibility for fostering govermnent to government cooperation on public sector digitalisation. 

She has a background as Head of Digitalisation in local governments for many years as well as chief consultant at KOMBIT, a municipally owned IT company operating critical IT infrastructure and joint solutions for the 98 Danish municipalities.  Most recently Sidsel has worked at the Danish national cluster organisation for digital technologies and innovation.

Denmark rank as the world leading digital public sector according to the UN E-Government Survey 2024.

97 % of the Danish population has a digital id, 4,9 million Danes receive digital post from public authorities and the public´s satisfaction with the services is high and it keeps increasing. Sidsel will talk about the Danish digital fundament, the collaboration with European countries and why digital government matters for coherence in the Danish society.

Heather Cover-Kus

Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK

No bio provided

Matthew Dutton

Chief Technology Officer, Home Office

Matthew Dutton is Chief Technology Officer at the Home Office, leading a team of over 1,500 with responsibility for technology strategy, assurance, architecture, software engineering, innovation, and automation.

He delivers across all missions including Migration, Borders, Passports, Civil Registration, National Policing, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Arms-Length Bodies.

Previously, Matthew was Portfolio CTO for Migration and Borders, overseeing technical architecture, cybersecurity operations, data assurance, and governance across services supporting over 50,000 users.

He is also the Senior Responsible Owner for Core Cloud, a programme modernising one of the largest cloud estates in government, and formerly led the Law Enforcement Community Network programme, transforming secure communications across UK policing.

Matthew holds an MSc in Cybercrime and a BSc in Computing, IT and Business. He is part of the Home Office crisis response cadre, trained in Gold and Silver command, and has led responses to major events and international crises. He also volunteers with Thames Valley Police as a Digital and Cyber Specialist.

Karl Hoods CBE

Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, and Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

Karl is an experienced Chief Information Officer (CIO) and has worked in the private, public and third sectors. He is currently the Group Chief Digital and Information Officer for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology at Integrated Corporate Services where he is responsible for the delivery of core services, digital transformation, innovation, knowledge management and shared services. 

Prior to joining BEIS Karl was CIO for Save the Children where he was responsible for the delivery of technology and digital services to support humanitarian, policy, advocacy, and fundraising activities. He has also held business technology leadership roles with web and sports media startups and led major change programmes for publishing leading publishers.  His career in startups fostered his interest in how emerging technology can be applied to business problems.  

Outside of work Karl is interested in education and sits on the boards of the Harris Federation, Bournemouth University, the Safe & Trusted AI Centre for Doctoral Training and King’s College London’s Department for Informatics Industry Advisory Board. In addition, he is on the global steering council for an international metaverse association. 

Karl is also a keen runner and has completed many marathons.
 

Madeline Hoskin

Chief Technology Officer, North Yorkshire Council and Government Digital Service

Madeline is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for North Yorkshire Council, leading one of England’s largest local government technology estates through significant modernisation and organisational reform. She leads the technology strategy, security, resilience, and governance, ensuring systems and services are robust, scalable and focused on residents and frontline delivery.

Madeline is recognised for her clear, pragmatic leadership in strengthening data foundations, addressing legacy technology, and guiding complex transformation across a newly merged unitary authority. She plays a national role in shaping the future of local government technology, contributing to cross‑government work on reusable components, modern architectures and the evolving Government Digital Service (GDS Local) approach as an expert Local Government advisor.

Alongside her technical leadership, Madeline champions inclusive, supportive working environments that enable teams to perform at their best. A regular public-sector speaker, she brings grounded insight into delivering modern, citizen‑centred services at scale in politically visible and operationally complex settings.

Masahiro Ihara

Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), GovTechTokyo

Masahiro Ihara is the Executive Director and CTO of GovTech Tokyo, an independent foundation partnering with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to lead the digital transformation of one of the world's largest cities. He shapes Tokyo's technological vision, focusing on a fundamental shift toward in-house software development and the promotion of Digital Public Goods. His mission is to bridge the gap between traditional bureaucracy and modern agile development to create more responsive public services.
With nearly 30 years of experience in the private tech sector, Masahiro has a proven track record of scaling high-performing engineering organizations. He previously served as Head of Development at Yahoo! JAPAN and Head of Engineering at Cookpad Inc. In 2015, he founded Bit Journey, Inc., where he focused on tools for team knowledge sharing and collaboration, and has served as a strategic technical advisor to numerous high-growth startups across Japan.

At Building the Smarter State 2026, Masahiro will share insights into Tokyo's unique approach to Tech Insourcing. He will discuss the challenges of building a dedicated engineering force within government, the strategic implementation of Generative AI, and how Tokyo is leveraging Open Source to ensure long-term digital sovereignty for millions of residents.
Outside of work, Masahiro is a dedicated ultramarathon runner who has completed several 100-mile trail races. He is also a passionate gamer who finds that the resilience required for such races and the strategic problem-solving honed through gaming are deeply connected to the long-term endurance required for large-scale digital transformation.

Liisa-Ly Pakosta

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Republic of Estonia

Liisa-Ly Pakosta is the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia. With a strong background in history, law, and public service, she has played a key role in shaping Estonia’s digital and legal landscapes. Her previous roles include Member of Parliament, Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, and Director General of the Estonian National Heritage Board.

A passionate advocate for equal rights, digital innovation, and cultural preservation, she brings both policy expertise and a human-centered approach to leadership. Liisa holds degrees in history and law and is currently pursuing her PhD in law at the University of Tartu.

Outside of her official duties, she is a mother of five, a devoted craft enthusiast, and an active promoter of sustainable living

Tiffany St James

Chief AI Officer, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

Tiffany St James is the Chief AI Officer for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. This role is the first public sector CAIO in the UK and the first regional public sector CAIO currently in post.

Tiffany is an award-winning AI and digital strategist and leadership psychologist, recognised for her pioneering contributions to digital transformation in government and public services. With over two decades of experience spanning central and local government, global organisations, and the private sector, she brings a unique blend of strategic leadership, technical understanding, and public impact.

Tiffany has trained over 10,000 professionals in practical digital and AI skills, delivered AI and digital capability programmes to more than 70 local authorities across the UK, and served as an AI leadership consultant to national and international organisations.

She authored the UK’s first State of the Nation report on AI in Adult Social Care across 23 councils in the North West, for NW ADASS, providing frameworks and resources now available to all local authorities. Tiffany also advises the Data for London Advisory Board at the Greater London Authority and has supported the development of AI and digital strategies across government bodies.

Her early public service work includes launching Directgov (precursor to GOV.UK) as its first Communications Director, launching DATA.GOV.UK in collaboration with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and serving as the UK Government’s first Head of Public Participation, a global first in digital policy co-creation. She led all digital communications for the Grenfell Response Team in Gold Command, designing the strategy and overseeing crisis communications delivery.

Tiffany previously held the roles of Chief Digital Officer and Director of Residents’ Experience at Lambeth Council, where she developed and implemented cross-council digital transformation strategies and governance for over 100 digital projects.

Tiffany’s previous work has also straddled digital transformation in both public and private sector through the consultancy she founded Transmute; socio-economic development, raising funds for international development projects in the Wellbeing sector through Vitalis Capital and as a global keynote speaker on technology for 15 years.

She has been recognised as one of 25 women who have shaped the British digital industry over the past 25 years and holds multiple national and international awards for her contributions to AI, digital strategy and leadership. In 2026 she was voted into the Government AI 100, Apolitical’s list of top global government pioneers globally.