Tech and Innovation Summit 2025

Maria Maragkou

VP Commercial, Riverlane

Maria Maragkou is an engineer turned scientist turned business leader. She holds a PhD from Southampton University on solid state experimental physics and an MBA from Kedge Business School on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As VP Commercial at Riverlane, Maria is responsible for setting and delivering the company’s commercial strategy. She is passionate about translating scientific innovations into real products that can change the world and enjoys finding ways to navigate the uncertainty of deep tech ecosystems.

---

Professor Sir Ian Chapman

CEO, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Professor Sir Ian Chapman is the CEO designate of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), taking up post in August 2025. UKRI brings together the UK’s Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England, operating with a combined budget of more than £9bn per year.
Previously Ian was Chief Executive Officer of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), a position he held since October 2016. 
He has held a number of international roles in fusion, including currently chairing the International Atomic Energy Agency International Fusion Research Committee.
His research has been recognised with a number of international awards, including:

•  the Institute of Physics Paterson Medal in 2013
• the American Physical Society Stix Award in 2017
• the Royal Society Kavli Medal in 2019
• the Institute of Physics Glazebrook Medal for leadership in 2021

He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2013, became a visiting Professor at Durham University in 2015 and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022.
In 2023, he was knighted in the King’s New Year’s Honours, made an Honorary Fellow of the Nuclear Institute and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
 

---

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.

---

Rory Daniels

Head of Emerging Technology and Innovation, techUK

Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.

During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.

Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.

Today, Rory leads techUK's Emerging Technology and Innovation activity, working with many of the UK's most innovative tech companies to convene key stakeholders, work through key challenges and opportunities for industry, showcase best practice, and shape Government's thinking around future technologies, sectors and industries.

Focus areas include Robotics, Immersive, Web3, Metaverse, Photonics, Space, Gaming, Creative, Innovation policy, university spin-outs, and Futures & Horizon Scanning.

: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/

---

Laura Foster

Associate Director - 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.

---

Spencer Lamb

Chief Commercial Officer, Kao Data

Spencer Lamb | LinkedIn

---

Stewart Miller

CEO, The National Robotarium

Stewart Miller is an experienced business leader with a background in the aerospace sector. He took up the position of Chief Executive Officer at the National Robotarium in 2021 having previously been Chief Technology Officer of the UK Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, in addition to previously working in senior roles at major firms including Leonardo and BAE Systems.

Stewart aims to grow the reputation of the National Robotarium to help create greater inward investment and talent attraction to both Scotland and the UK, fulfil national potential for the development of robotics manufacturing, and deliver a thriving robotics industry that elevates the country’s standing in Robotics and AI on the global stage.

He is a member of the Scottish Government Industry Leadership Group for Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, an advisory board member of the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub, and a non-executive director of the Satellite Application Catapult.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-miller-21124813/

---

Jonathan Mitchener

Futurist & Innovation Lead for Horizon Scanning & Emerging Technology, Innovate UK

Jonathan joined Innovate UK (then Technology Strategy Board) in August 2011 as Lead Technologist for Information and Communications Technology (ICT), where he drove investment programmes and innovation amongst UK companies.  A first-class honours graduate in Computer Science from the University of Hertfordshire in 1988, he undertook a wide range of roles in more than twenty years with BT including R&D, systems deployment, and technology and management consultancy, before becoming their futurologist.  Subsequently he ran his own independent futures consultancy business helping clients across all sectors understand the impacts of future disruptive change on their organisations.   He has travelled extensively to speak to, inspire and provoke a range of audiences on technology topics, and has also written for many journals and magazines and appeared on radio and television.   He uses his wide experience to help advise organisations on successful innovation, and currently leads on emerging technologies and horizon scanning, as Futurist at Innovate UK.

---

Dr Jakob Mokander

Director or Science and Technology Policy, Tony Blair Institute

Jakob is an expert on technology policy, with an emphasis on artificial-intelligence governance and international innovation ecosystems. His work focuses on harnessing the power of emerging technologies while managing the associated risks.
Prior to TBI, Jakob developed the world’s first holistic framework to audit large language models, which has since been piloted and used by major AI labs. He also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey, helping Fortune 500 companies manage digital transformation, and at the Swedish Trade and Invest Council, where he was based in New Delhi to facilitate international research collaboration, innovation partnerships and technology transfer.
Jakob holds a PhD from the Oxford Internet Institute. He has been a visiting scholar at the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy
 

---

Ant Rowstron

CTO, ARIA

Ant is a computer scientist, engineer, and systems researcher with more than two decades’ experience at Microsoft, where he built and led interdisciplinary teams to pioneer disruptive technologies, advance robotics, and drive breakthroughs in AI hardware innovation.

---

Robert Simpson

Director of Business Development, Zoho UK

Robert is a senior business development and sales leader with over two decades of experience driving growth across global technology and consulting firms. Proven track record in leading high-performing teams, securing strategic enterprise accounts, and delivering scalable solutions across financial services, compliance, SaaS, and data management sectors. Demonstrated success in roles at Zoho, Solidatus, Corporater, Verint, BT, and Accenture, with deep expertise in go-to-market strategy, account management, and deal execution. Adept at navigating complex stakeholder environments. Known for strong leadership, commercial acumen, and a consultative approach.Holds an MBA from London Business School and an undergraduate degree from the University of St Andrews.

---