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Anna Ashton-Scott is the Head of Skills at The Data Lab, with responsibility for education and training strategies aligned to the vision and purpose of Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data & AI. Anna’s team supports organisations and individuals - from senior leaders to career changers and early talent - to embrace the potential of data & AI, collaborating with higher and further education to ensure graduates are industry ready, and companies can access and retain talent in today’s rapidly changing world of work. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, Anna has held roles in external relations, knowledge exchange, researcher development, and has led the implementation of national industry-focused postgraduate internship and placement programmes.
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/annatscott/
Meeting the Demand for Digital Skills Thursday @ 10:25 AM
Brian is a writer, designer and producer. He is also a founder, CEO, non-exec director and games pioneer. He started his career in the games industry at the legendary Scottish studio DMA Design, as the writer for Grand Theft Auto before discovering a talent for communications and marketing.
Brian joined Rockstar Games in New York as its first Global PR Manager, before moving into the nascent mobile games industry with the pioneering Scottish publisher Digital Bridges.
In 2002 Brian founded Scotland’s first digital games agency, Indoctrimat, which worked with over 150 organisations in the games, mobile, digital, creative, education and public sectors across the UK and around the world.
Since 2009 Brian has lectured at Edinburgh Napier University, focusing on the transformative power of interactive media within the creative industries.
Brian founded the Scottish Games Network in 2004 which has grown from a purely social group to become the industry body for Scotland’s rapidly evolving games industry. In 2022 Brian created and directed Scottish Games Week, the first large-scale games event to focus upon the transformational capabilities of the whole games ecosystem.
Brian is now using the catalyst of SGW to create an entirely new ecosystem-wide cluster with the aim of making Scotland one of the world’s leading hubs for games education, creation and application. With the backing of the Scottish Government he is writing an Action Plan to increase knowledge and understanding of games at all levels of government, with the goal of making Scotland the UK’s first games ‘supercluster’.
In addition, Brian has established himself as an expert in the use of applied game technologies and ‘gamification’ techniques within our creative world. He's a regular contributor to the media, tech ecosystem and government, whenever they need to know more about this 'games thing'.
Closing Keynote Address Thursday @ 1:40 PM
Local Digital Index 2025: What is the data telling us about the nations and regions? Thursday @ 9:55 AM
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.
Fireside chat Thursday @ 12:05 PM
Professor Steven Drost is a three-time startup founder with one successful exit, one failure and one ongoing venture. Steven is a practitioner and mentor who loves learning and understanding, connecting people and ideas.
He has founded startups, raised funds, scaled and sold businesses, and worked with large corporations and state institutions. His current focus is economic development for the UK via building startup ecosystems.
Investment and Innovation: Supporting our Scale-ups Thursday @ 11:20 AM
Patricia El Jichi is an Investment Manager at Par Equity, an Edinburgh-based VC that invests between £1m to £6m at Seed and Series A stages, in technology and deeptech companies across the North of the UK. Her responsibilities include deal origination, due diligence, investment execution and monitoring follow-on funding and M&A requirements for portfolio companies. Before joining Par Equity, she invested in impact-driven tech start-ups and spinouts initially at Ada Ventures and later at SIS Ventures. Prior to VC, Patricia spent over a decade at international financial institutions such as Citigroup and J.P. Morgan, providing institutional service, advice and execution across asset classes to ultra-high net worth clients. Patricia is also a CFA Charterholder.
Investment and Innovation: Supporting our Scale-ups Thursday @ 11:20 AM
Michelle Ferguson is a highly accomplished leader with a distinguished career spanning the commercial and third sector, manufacturing, and consultancy. She is best known for her transformative leadership and commitment to fostering inclusive workplaces.
Michelle played a pivotal role in founding Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting Armed Forces veterans. Following this success, she took on the leadership of RBLI’s (Royal British Legion Industries) Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company operations in Aylesford and Leatherhead. Overseeing three factories across the UK, Michelle drove significant operational improvements while maintaining a strong focus on social impact, providing employment opportunities for veterans and individuals with disabilities in competitive markets.
Earlier in her career, Michelle revitalised St Andrew’s First Aid, transforming it into Scotland’s leading provider of First Aid Training. This success highlighted her ability to deliver strategic and operational excellence across diverse organisations.
Alongside her leadership roles, she has worked extensively with local and national governments across the UK, fostering collaboration on key issues such as employment, social enterprise, and sustainability.
Michelle is a Non-Executive Director of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, where she supports local businesses by sharing her expertise in governance and strategy.
In January, she took up the position of Director of CBI Scotland, where she represents and advocates for the Scottish business community. Combining her leadership experience, knowledge of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) matters, and interest in emerging technologies, Michelle is passionate about driving innovation and fostering sustainable economic growth.
A mother to two sons, Michelle balances her professional achievements with a love of travel and a keen interest in exploring how developing technologies can shape the future. Her reputation for transformative leadership and her ability to create meaningful social and economic impact continue to inspire businesses and communities across Scotland and beyond.
Investment and Innovation: Supporting our Scale-ups Thursday @ 11:20 AM
Seth is the UK CEO of Informed Solutions. Informed Solutions provides enterprise technology platforms and services that support large-scale digital transformation. The multi-Queen’s Award-winning data and AI-powered platforms and services we develop help make the world a safer, greener, healthier, and smarter place. They are used by millions of people every day in a connected converged world.
A strategic advisor to Government in England and Scotland, Seth has led successful national programmes on AI-related patient safety transformation for the NHS, modernisation and digital operation model development for the UK Health Security Agency, and AI-based clinical trial innovation for The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Seth is Vice Chair of techUK’s Public Sector Board, has been a national Council Member of the UK Association of Geographic Information, and is an active member of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee and Digital Leaders network.
Fireside chat Thursday @ 12:05 PM
Kate Forbes is the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency (which includes Dingwall, the Black Isle and the Great Glen). She is the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Gaelic in the Scottish Government.
Kate is from Dingwall, although she spent part of her upbringing in Glasgow and India. Until she was elected as MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Kate was employed as an accountant in the banking industry. Prior to that she studied History at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh.
First elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016, she was re-elected as the constituency MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch in May 2021.
Kate first joined the Government in June 2018, as Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy. She subsequently served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy from February 2020 to March 2023.
Opening Keynote Address Thursday @ 9:35 AM
Hollie heads up Tussell's account management team. Working closely with leading technology suppliers and government bodies, Hollie has years of experience in using data to drive better outcomes in public sector procurement. Outside of Tussell, Hollie is the Chair of techUK's Scale-Up Council, championing government policy initiatives to enable UK tech scale-ups to thrive.
Local Digital Index 2025: What is the data telling us about the nations and regions? Thursday @ 9:55 AM
Investment and Innovation: Supporting our Scale-ups Thursday @ 11:20 AM
Brian is a senior leader, digital strategist and transformation advisor with over 20 years' experience supporting executive teams to deliver ambitious digital change. He has held senior leadership roles across public and private sector organisations and has advised on national and cross-border digital initiatives throughout the UK.
Since joining Informed Solutions in 2023 as Transformation Director, Brian has played a key role in advancing large-scale digital transformation programmes in both public and private sector settings.
As Managing Director for Informed’s Scottish operations, Brian works with Informed’s leadership team to drive sustainable growth and prosperity through the creation of high-value digital jobs, the upskilling of local communities, and by helping Informed’s clients deliver lasting economic, social, and environmental benefit for Scotland.
Filling the Digital Infrastructure Gaps to Enable Growth Thursday @ 12:55 PM
Paul McKean is the Director of further education, skills and training at Jisc. Paul provides Jisc with strategic direction around its work in Further Education and Skills (FES). He works with colleagues across Jisc, funders from the four nations, sector bodies and learning providers, to ensure Jisc helps its members and their staff, utilise digital, data and technology. In addition, Paul leads the training team which supports FE and skills, HE and research members with their digital, data and technology CPD needs. While Paul has been an Association of Colleges Beacon award assessor for eleven years.
Paul was a returner learner who retrained in multimedia and web design, as a mature student. He became a FE lecturer, then FE manager. While at Bolton College, Paul wrote the college and council’s first e-learning strategies and led on a number of digital innovation projects including the development of the Maths Everywhere adult numeracy app, an ICT for communities project which included the development of Bolton Revisited and the first use of mobile learning in FE. He also set up the first FE TeachMeet.
Paul joined Jisc in 2014 and was responsible for their first FE and skills strategy and he has been leading the development of Jisc’s Digital Elevation Tool, an e-maturity self-assessment tool for FE providers.
Meeting the Demand for Digital Skills Thursday @ 10:25 AM
Jill Mckinney Director of Delivery & Head of Skills at Sunderland Software City and DSIT Digital Skills Council member , I’m passionate about making sure tech talent and industry connect in the right ways, helping people and businesses grow in the digital economy.
Meeting the Demand for Digital Skills Thursday @ 10:25 AM
Joanna Munnelly is the joint Head of Digital Policy at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. She leads strategic initiatives that shape the city-region’s digital agenda, working across public and private sectors to drive innovation, inclusion, and responsible technology adoption.
Meeting the Demand for Digital Skills Thursday @ 10:25 AM
Filling the Digital Infrastructure Gaps to Enable Growth Thursday @ 12:55 PM
Matt is techUK’s Head of Nations and Regions.
Matt is leading techUK’s work with members and stakeholders across the UK to increase the Local Digital Capital across the UK’s nation and regions, build communities and to ensure that digital technology plays a key part the post-COVID-19 levelling-up recovery.
Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked for several national education charities and membership bodies to develop their regional partnerships with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, and other stakeholders. He’s also worked with local authority leaders and other stakeholders to engage communities, work with elected members and improve public services.
He holds a BA in Politics from the University of York and an MA in International Relations from the University of Leeds. Away from work he’s a keen football fan and golfer.
If you’d like to find out more about our work in the nations and regions please get in touch with Matt:
Chair’s Opening Remarks Thursday @ 9:30 AM
Investment and Innovation: Supporting our Scale-ups Thursday @ 11:20 AM
With over 25 years in mobile and a decade specialising in technical and commercial strategy, Michael brings deep expertise in mobile networks and emerging technologies. He has a proven track record in strategy development, execution, and guiding major transformation initiatives.
Michael’s career spans leadership roles at Orange, T-Mobile, EE and BT where he delivered on network sharing agreements, energy management, strategic investment, spectrum strategy, and regulatory policy. As Head of Strategy and Principal Technology Partner, he advised executives on investment decisions and roadmap prioritisation, translating complex technical insights into actionable business outcomes.
At VMO2, Michael defines and steers the strategic direction of the mobile network, aligning technology with customer needs and business goals to evolve with precision, agility, and purpose.
Filling the Digital Infrastructure Gaps to Enable Growth Thursday @ 12:55 PM
Elizabeth has over 30 years’ experience working at executive leadership level, heading & advising on complex change and digital transformation programmes for globally recognised and respected organisations.
Elizabeth holds a variety of high profile industry representative roles including; Member of the UK Govt. Cabinet Office Small & Medium Business Panel, Chair of the Culture & Capability Working Group and Member of the Public Sector Procurement Innovation Panel, where she champions the creation of a diverse, innovative and competitive supplier marketplace.
Elizabeth is a UK Govt. Department for International Trade (DIT) Northern Powerhouse Export Champion, a Bank of England Agent, and ScaleUp Institute ‘Access to Markets & Finance’ Committee Member. Most recently, Elizabeth was appointed to the International Trade Policy Advisory Panel supporting the official negotiation teams of both nations on the Australian-UK Free Trade Agreement.
A woman in tech pioneer, Elizabeth was the first person to be an elected Director at leading technology trade associations in both the UK and Australia with techUK, where she was a Main Board Member for 8 years and serving two terms as National Deputy Chair of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). In February 2021, Elizabeth was invited to join the Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Elizabeth holds the title: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to International Trade and Digital Transformation.
Chair’s Opening Remarks Thursday @ 9:30 AM
The UK’s leading Summit for advancing ethical, assured and responsible AI amid a year of major technological and regulatory shifts.
