Tech Policy Conference 2026

Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Labour Party

Liz Kendall is Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with responsibility for the UK’s research, digital and technology portfolio. She has served as the Member of Parliament for Leicester West since 2010 and has previously held senior frontbench and shadow roles across a variety of portfolios.

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Kate Forbes MSP

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, Scottish Government

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.

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Ben Spencer MP

Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Conservative Party

Ben Spencer is the Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner since 2019 and brings a background as a practising NHS doctor to his work scrutinising the Government’s approach to research, digital and technology policy.

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Zia Yusuf

Spokesperson for Home Affairs , Reform UK

Zia Yusuf is Reform UK’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs and a former party chairman, with a professional background in banking and technology. In his role, he leads the party’s policy and public engagement on immigration, border security and policing.

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Victoria Collins MP

Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology, The Liberal Democrats

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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Bijan Bedroud

Senior VP and General Manager - Public Sector & Education, EMEA, Salesforce

Bijan leads the Public Sector & Higher Education EMEA organisation for Salesforce. He joined the company in 2019 to focus on tech adoption and impact with customers across public sector, education, and nonprofit organisations. He has over 38 years of experience in technology leadership roles and working in companies such as DoubleClick (Google), Vignette, Eloqua (Oracle), Adobe and Emarsys (SAP). Bijan is passionate about innovation and invests in and serves on the board of several technology start-ups. In 2021, he joined the Advisory Council of 'Innovations for Learning', a nonprofit organisation tackling literacy issues for children and adults.

 

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Theo Blackwell

Chief Digital Officer for London, Mayor of London

Appointed in 2017 as London's first Chief Digital Officer, Theo leads on London-wide digital transformation, data and smart city initiatives at City Hall.

His role involves:

• strategic leadership on the digital transformation agenda for London's public services, across the GLA group and the wider public sector
• convening on behalf of the Mayor, across London local government to support the take-up of innovative, technology, and data-led approaches to service delivery and public engagement
• developing and promoting partnership between the public, private and community sectors to enable and support the development of new public service-oriented technology and innovation.

About London’s new public digital infrastructure:

London’s new public digital infrastructure is a term describing core smart city work by the Mayor of London and partners to prepare for future innovation at a scale that can truly benefit Londoners.

As Chief Digital Officer for London, Theo’s approach builds strategic capability through better digital connectivity, collaboration and joined-up city data to address the challenges faced by the city, such as achieving Net Zero, as well as prepare for advances in AI and other emerging technologies.

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Liz Brandt

Co-Founder & CEO, Ctrl-Shift

Liz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ctrl-Shift. With over 25 years’ experience, she has a proven track record in business leadership, entrepreneurship, and strategic consultancy. She has advised global clients including Meta, JPMorgan Chase, O2, the Guardian, and Suncorp, helping them design and future-proof their digital products and services.

Her career spans consultancy, digital media, customer experience design, and strategic marketing. She has founded several companies, among them the mobile CRM business Zishi and Digital Public (now Transform), a public sector consultancy that created consumer-centric digital media services for government.

Liz has also worked with governments around the world to design frameworks for personal data portability. In the UK, she has advised the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Department for Business and Trade, where she sits on the government’s Smart Data Council.

Since its launch, Ctrl-Shift has led the way in shaping what is now known in the UK as the Smart Data Economy. The company has pioneered Smart Data-enabled services and continues to be recognised as a leading strategic advisor in the Smart Data market.

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Jack Cole

Policy Director, Digital ID Taskforce, Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office

No bio provided

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Victoria Collins MP

Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology, The Liberal Democrats

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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Simon Collinson

Head of Public Sector, Salesforce, UK and Ireland

Simon Collinson leads the Salesforce UKI Public Sector team, focusing on Central, Regional, and Local Government, as well as Defence, Health, and Blue Light. His passion is transforming public services for UKI Government.

His 8 year career in Salesforce has seen him hold EMEA leadership positions for Salesforce Travel, Transport business, and being an exec sponsor to a number of Salesforce’s key strategic customers. He also ran Salesforce Customer Success Group responsible for delivering mission critical implementations.

Prior to joining Salesforce, Simon worked for Oracle Consulting, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Consulting, and Bottomline Banking Platform in Sales leadership roles. He is Salesforce Women’s Network Chief Equality ally.

Outside of work, Simon has been a Prince’s Trust Mentor, a school governor for Holy Trinity School, and youth coach for Marlow RUFC.  

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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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Ed Davison

Senior Public Policy Manager, Uber UK

Ed works across a range of policy and regulatory issues, including leading policy and government engagement on autonomous vehicle regulation. Prior to joining Uber in 2023, he worked at the universities regulator, the Office for Students, where he managed regulatory work and ran the office of the Chair and Chief Executive. He began his career in teaching before moving into Government roles at the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education.

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Sheila Flavell CBE

President, techUK

Sheila Flavell CBE is a prominent figure in the technology sector, known for her extensive contributions to gender equality and digital skills development. She currently serves as the President of techUK and is the Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Board Director of FDM Group

: @@SheilaFlavell1

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Kate Forbes MSP

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, Scottish Government

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.

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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.

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Alvaro Garcia Delgado

Counsellor for Digital Affairs and Space Policy, European Union Delegation to the United Kingdom

Álvaro García-Delgado is Counsellor for Digital Affairs and Space Policy at the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom. Prior to joining the Delegation, Alvaro worked in antitrust and digital regulatory matters at the European Commission and as a litigation  lawyer in the U.S. and European offices of an international law firm.

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Dr Sarah Gates

Director of Corporate Affairs, Wayve

Sarah Gates is Director of Public Policy at Wayve, a London-based company pioneering AI technology to enable autonomous vehicles to drive in complex urban environments. Prior to joining Wayve, Sarah had a multidisciplinary background across a variety of science and technology roles. She began her career in academia, with a PhD at Imperial College London and has since specialised in science and research policy; in AI, data and emerging technologies, both in UK Government and industry. At Wayve Sarah works closely with government and our partners, focusing on the future regulatory framework for autonomous 
vehicles.
 

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Dr Nicola Hodson

techUK Deputy President, and 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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Matthew Houlihan

Vice President, Government Affairs, Europe, Cisco

Matt joined Cisco as Director for Government Affairs for the UK and Ireland in October 2015, a role which sees him developing and delivering Cisco’s government engagement strategy across the two countries.  Matt has recently built on this role to also lead Cisco’s Corporate Affairs work in the UK.  Matt chairs techUK’s Trade Group and represents the tech sector in the Trade and Investment All Party Parliamentary Group.

Previously, Matt worked for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in postings in Paris and in the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels.  Matt has also worked as an advisor to the UK’s EU Commissioner, in the Prime Minister’s EU advisory team and in various policy roles in the Home Office.

Matt holds a BSc in Sociology and an MSc in European Politics and Policy, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a diploma in Economics from the Open University.

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Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Labour Party

Liz Kendall is Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with responsibility for the UK’s research, digital and technology portfolio. She has served as the Member of Parliament for Leicester West since 2010 and has previously held senior frontbench and shadow roles across a variety of portfolios.

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Dr Siddartha Khastgir

Head of Safe Autonomy, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG)

Professor Siddartha Khastgir is the Head of Safe Autonomy at WMG, University of Warwick. With a research portfolio spanning over £17 million, he leads several collaborative R&D projects with over 100 industrial and academic partners globally. His research focuses on AI safety and proving the safety of autonomous transport across land, aviation and marine domains. He has been appointed as a member of the UK Govt’s Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Expert Advisory Panel to provide expertise and insight for the UK Automated Vehicles Act implementation programme.  

Siddartha is also the Director of Partners for Automated Vehicle Education United Kingdom (PAVE UK). PAVE UK is the country’s first initiative to deliver inclusive and accurate public awareness and education programmes to enable the public's trust and acceptance of Automated Vehicles. 

Siddartha represents the UK on various international standardisation and regulatory committees, including ISO, SAE and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on safety of self-driving vehicles. He has served as the lead author for three ISO standards. 
He has received numerous national and international awards for his research contributions, including the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list maker. 

Prior to joining WMG, Siddartha was with FEV GmbH in Germany, leading automotive software development series production projects. He has a PhD from WMG, University of Warwick, UK, and a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in Mechanical Engineering. 

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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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Kizzy Price

Vice President of Change and Business Excellence, Adecco Group

Kizzy Price has been a dedicated member of the Adecco Group for 21 years, beginning her journey as a Recruiter. After a decade in various Operational roles, she transitioned into Project Management, where she collaborated closely with the business to implement new strategies, processes, and technology solutions, one of which being Bullhorn. Together these projects have significantly transformed Adecco’s ways of working.

Kizzy’s expertise then took her to Northern Europe, where she focused on behavioural change and the adoption of digital tools by recruiters. Her formal training in Psychology made this role a perfect fit. Last year, Kizzy returned to the UK as VP of Change and Business Excellence, where she now leads large-scale change and continuous improvement programs, many of which are centered around technology improvements, digital tools, and AI.

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Doniya Soni-Clark

Associate Director - Policy Comms, techUK

As Associate Director of External Affairs at techUK, Doniya Soni-Clark works at the intersection of technology and government to drive forward UK tech policy. She brings over ten years of experience in building the coalitions needed to solve complex regulatory and technical challenges. Before joining techUK, Doniya held key roles at Multiverse and the Greater London Authority, following a career in public affairs.

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Ben Spencer MP

Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Conservative Party

Ben Spencer is the Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner since 2019 and brings a background as a practising NHS doctor to his work scrutinising the Government’s approach to research, digital and technology policy.

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Anna Thomas MBE

Co-founder and Director, Institute for the Future of Work

Anna Thomas MBE is Founding Co-Director of the Institute for the Future of Work. She was formerly a barrister from Devereux Chambers, specialising in employment and equality law and was appointed a Counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Anna was Head of Policy for the Labour Party’s Future of Work Commission and is a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research, RSA and IEO. Anna has advised the UK Government, Opposition, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, Trade Union Congress and WEF on I governance.

She is currently undertaking a DBA at Warwick Business School and has been awarded a scholarship for for Women in Leadership.

In the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours List Anna was awarded an MBE for her services to Research on the Future of Work.

: anna-thomas-969529138
: @FutureWorkInst

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Robin Tombs

CEO and Co-founder, Yoti

Robin is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor. As the CEO and Co-founder of Yoti, the digital identity company on a mission to fix the broken identity system, he’s grown the business to become one the UK’s fastest growing technology companies and provides identity and age assurance solutions to many of  the world's biggest online brands.

Before Yoti, Robin was Co-founder and Finance Director at Gamesys, one of the world's leading online gaming operators, which is where he first got involved in checking age and identity compliance with UK regulations. Prior to his career as a tech entrepreneur, Robin worked at PwC as a Chartered Accountant.

A passionate advocate for ethical technology and social impact, Robin channels his success into mentoring startups, creating opportunities for young people and supporting educational initiatives.

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Rahul Tyagi

Founder & CEO, SECQAI

Rahul leads groundbreaking British semiconductor and AI company SECQAI, which is pushing the boundaries of secure computation from the data centre to the edge. SECQAI's advanced AI inference capabilities ensure even the most complex models can be deployed efficiently, wherever they may be needed, paving the way for true agentic AI. Underpinned by the next generation of security features required for confidential computing, including memory safety and post-quantum cryptography, SECQAI's products are the secure backbone that businesses and critical national infrastructure need for the future.

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Antony Walker

Deputy CEO, techUK

Antony Walker is deputy CEO of techUK,  which he played a lead role in launching in November 2013.

Antony is a member of the senior leadership team and has overall responsibility for techUK’s policy work. Prior to his appointment in July 2012 Antony was chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), the UK’s independent advisory group on broadband policy. Antony was closely involved in the development of broadband policy development in the UK since the BSG was established in 2001 and authored several major reports to government. He also led the development of the UK’s world leading Open Internet Code of Practice that addresses the issue of net neutrality in the UK. Prior to setting up the BSG, Antony spent six years working in Brussels for the American Chamber of Commerce following and writing about telecoms issues and as a consultant working on EU social affairs and environmental issues. Antony is a graduate of Aberdeen University and KU Leuven and is also a Policy Fellow Alumni of the Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge University.

: @techUKdepceo

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Claire Wren

Director - Future of Transport Systems, The Department for Transport

Claire has been the Director of Future Transport Systems in DfT since the start of 2022. In this role she oversees regulation of vehicles including the development of the UK’s new AV framework. She also has responsibility for road safety and sponsors the three motoring agencies. Before joining DfT she worked in HM Treasury on a variety of growth policies including leading on the establishment of the (now) National Wealth Fund.

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Zia Yusuf

Spokesperson for Home Affairs , Reform UK

Zia Yusuf is Reform UK’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs and a former party chairman, with a professional background in banking and technology. In his role, he leads the party’s policy and public engagement on immigration, border security and policing.

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