Tech and Innovation Summit: Supercharging innovation into action

Sue Daley

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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Dr Tim Bradshaw

CEO, Russell Group

Tim has a wealth of experience working within higher education, business and government. He leads the Russell Group in providing representation, strategic direction, policy development and advocacy for the UK’s 24 research-intensive universities.

He worked at the Russell Group for four-and-a-half years – as Head of Policy for Research and Innovation, and later Director of Policy – before being appointed as Chief Executive. He joined the organisation in 2012 from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) where he was Head of Group, leading work on the Industrial Strategy, manufacturing, competitiveness, university-business collaboration and science and technology policy.

Previously, Tim was independent secretary to the Science Advisory Council at DEFRA and has worked for the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee as a specialist assistant and for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. He went to the University of Leicester and the Open University and has a PhD in geology and geochemistry. 

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John Kingsbury

CEO, Innovate UK KTN

Jon Kingsbury is CEO at Innovate UK KTN – which connects innovators and innovative businesses with the right, cross-sector opportunities to start, scale and grow.
 
Jon’s professional background is 20 years’ experience in senior commissioning roles in broadcasting and the creative industries. Prior to Innovate UK, he led teams at Nesta, the BBC and Channel 4 Television. As a commissioner, Jon provided funding for new initiatives such as NT Live, Digital R&D for the Arts and BBC Video Nation online. He was one of a small team that launched Channel4.com, way back before the days of on-demand TV.”

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David Bloom

Chairman, Kao Data

Having founded Kao Data in 2013, David served as a Board Member and in 2023 became the company's Chairman. David has a wide-ranging background with over 17 years’ experience in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry as an investor, founder and investment manager. He has personally overseen the deployment of more than £500m of equity investment.

A serial founder, David founded IPVision in 2007, and Goldacre in 2012, which is now part of the Noé Group. He is a skilled people manager, commercial negotiator, strategist, forecasting and budget manager and presenter.

David has a keen interest in education having been a youth director and school governor, he is also on the board of PaJeS, who provide services, support and strategy to schools across the UK, and is Chair of Jewish Interactive, the educational technology charity.

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Andrew J Scott

Founding Partner, 7percent Ventures

Andrew J Scott, serial entrepreneur turned Founding Partner at 7percent Ventures, early stage deeptech investors into more than 150 companies including Oculus, Universal Quantum and GensynAI.

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Dr Anna Valero

Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion, The London School of Economics and Political Science

Anna Valero is a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), Director of the CEP Growth Programme, Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion (POID) and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute, LSE. Anna is a member of the Steering Group of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, and was previously a Research Director for the LSE Growth Commission. Her research is focused on the drivers of productivity and innovation in firms and regions. She also works on UK policy more broadly, with a focus on identifying and realising sustainable and inclusive growth opportunities in the transition to Net Zero. Anna has held a number of advisory positions, including currently as a member of the Chancellor’s Economic Advisory Council and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s advisory panel. Anna obtained a PhD in Economics at the LSE in 2018. Previously, she worked at Deloitte, where she qualified as an ACA.

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Laura Foster

Head of Programme - 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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Rosa Wilkinson

Director of Policy, High Value Manufacturing Catapult

Rosa Wilkinson joined the High Value Manufacturing Catapult in September 2017 as Director of Communications.   She is now the Catapult’s Director of Policy.

Formerly Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Department for International Trade, previous roles included as Director of Innovation and Strategic Communication at the Intellectual Property Office and as Director of Public Policy for Lloyds TSB.  Her earlier career includes a variety of Whitehall policy roles including as Managing Director of the Government’s Small Business Service and Director of Manufacturing at the then Department for Trade and Industry. From March to the start of July 2020 she led communications for the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium.

Outside the Catapult, Rosa retains an involvement in her family’s industrial property business and is a Board member for the MTA and Chairs Make UK’s Technology, Innovation and Digitalisation Policy Committee.

A winner of a Windrush Achievement Award in 1999 and an equal opportunities officer in her early career, Rosa has a passion for promoting the truly diverse and inclusive workplaces that are a key component of business success.

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Professor Richard Jones

Vice President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement, University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has appointed Richard Jones as a new Chair in Materials Physics and Innovation Policy, joining Manchester from the University of Sheffield.

Richard is an experimental soft matter physicist. His first degree and PhD in Physics both come from Cambridge University. Following postdoctoral work at Cornell University, USA, he was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory, before moving to Sheffield in 1998. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, in recognition of his work in the field of polymers and biopolymers at surfaces and interfaces, and in 2009 he won the Tabor Medal of the UK’s Institute of Physics for his contributions to nanoscience.
He is the author of more than 190 research papers, and three books, Polymers at Surfaces and Interfaces (with Randal Richards, CUP 1999), Soft Condensed Matter, (OUP 2002), and Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life (OUP 2004).

He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Sheffield from 2009 to 2016, was a member of EPSRC Council from 2013 – 2018, and chaired Research England’s Technical Advisory Group for the Knowledge Exchange Framework. He has written extensively about science and innovation policy, and was a member of the Sheffield/Manchester Industrial Strategy Commission.
Richard will join the Faculty of Science and Engineering and contribute to the pioneering work in advanced materials that is currently being carried out at Manchester. The University is home to several major national materials research centres including the National Graphene Institute, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and the soon-to-open Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials research and innovation.

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Emma Panteli

Chief of Staff to the CEO and Head of Government Relations, Reaction Engines

Emma Panteli is the Chief of Staff to the CEO and Head of Government Relations at Reaction Engines, leading on engagement with government and strategic policy priorities. 
Emma has a vast range of experience working across the Aerospace and Defence sectors, as well as within Government. She was previously Defence Engagement Lead at Serco and was seconded into the Ministry of Defence as a Strategy Lead working with the Defence Engineering Champion Team and the Defence Suppliers’ Forum. Emma has also worked for ADS, the UK’s trade association for aerospace, defence, security and space and currently sits on their external affairs board. 
Emma is highly skilled in the policy landscape for Aerospace and Defence, as well as stakeholder management and strategic communications having also worked in the Cabinet Office where she led a cross-government digital upskilling programme. 
 

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Spencer Lamb

Chief Commercial Officer, Kao Data

Spencer Lamb is Kao Data’s Chief Commercial Officer and has over 17 years of experience in the data centre sector. Prior to this, he worked in telecommunications, where it became evident that data centres were needed, but not being provided to the quality of customers’ expectations, hence he embarked on a specialised focus in this area.

Spencer has worked within the start-up and scale-up stages of data centre organisations, providing colocation/hosting services. In 2006 he joined Infinity SDC Ltd, heading up their business development and sales functions, providing multiple megawatt (MW) designs, builds and operations for large scale financial institutions, global system integrators and telecoms operators.

Spencer successfully pioneered the UK’s first colocation public sector framework, deploying multiple high performance computing (HPC) installations for high intensity research applications.  Following this, in 2017 he joined Icelandic data centre venture, Verne Global, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and high-density colocation requirements, driving growth across their Keflavik data centre.

In 2020, Spencer joined Kao Data to lead the company’s go-to-market strategy, and develop its Harlow campus into one of the UK’s leading homes for scientific research and life sciences compute. More recently he has played a pivotal role in growing Kao Data into a multisite portfolio, establishing new vertical focuses around hyperscale cloud and financial services, and championing the sustainability and ESG focus of the business.

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Tom Wells

Deputy Director, Emtech, Futures and Projects, Government Office for Science

Tom leads the Government Office for Science’s Foresight and Emerging Technology programmes, and their work to build futures-thinking capability across government. Tom started his career as a sustainable chemist and has spent the years since at the margins between science and policy – as a campaigner, adviser on science & the media, and a science diplomat in India. 

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Sara El-Hanfy

Head of AI and Machine Learning, Innovate UK

At Innovate UK, Sara leads the work developing and implementing innovation strategies focused on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in order to deliver economic and societal impact for the UK. Working closely with industry, academia and governments, she works to identify and shape opportunities for business innovation with AI and data.

Sara is also an advisor for the UK Government All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI and a regular speaker at conferences.

As a keen STEM ambassador and mentor, she takes an active approach on diversity and inclusion throughout her work.
 

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Sophie Gray

Head of Business Solutions, Sales and Technical Sales, Microsoft UK

Sophie Gray is a dynamic leader at Microsoft UK, spearheading their Business Applications business and driving transformation in front and back office applications for enterprise organizations. With a strong background in architecture and engineering, Sophie previously led Microsoft UK’s esteemed Architecture and Engineering Community for Microsoft Data and AI. In this role, she also serves as the sponsor for Responsible AI, championing ethical and responsible AI practices throughout Microsoft UK.

Beyond her professional achievements, Sophie is deeply passionate about fostering Diversity and Inclusion within the workplace. She has played a pivotal role as the Chair of Microsoft's LGBTQI+ community, promoting a culture of acceptance and support. Additionally, Sophie has explored thought-provoking topics such as "Diversity in Data Science," recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives in driving innovation and excellence.

Sophie's unwavering dedication to driving business transformation, advocating for responsible AI, and championing diversity and inclusion make her a valuable asset to the Microsoft organization and a catalyst for positive change within the industry.

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Katherine Holden

Head of Data Analytics, AI and Digital ID, techUK

Chairing the session is Katherine, techUK’s Head of Data Analytics, AI and Digital ID. Prior to techUK, Katherine worked as a Policy Advisor at the Government Digital Service (GDS) supporting the digital transformation of UK Government. Whilst working at the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) Katherine led AMRC’s policy work on patient data, consent and opt-out. Katherine has a BSc degree in Biology from the University of Nottingham.

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Danielle Belgrave

VP of AI/ML, GSK

Danielle Belgrave is a VP of AI/ML at GSK. Her experience spans conducting machine learning research and leading teams across academia and industry focused on scientific discovery and personalising interventions in health. She has previously worked at Google DeepMind, Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK and Imperial College London. She has a BSc in business mathematics and statistics from the London School of Economics and a master’s degree in statistics from University College London. Her PhD was at the University of Manchester in Machine Learning for Healthcare.

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Adam Steel

Business Application Industry Director for Professional Services, Media and Telco, Microsoft

I am an experienced Sales Leader who is focused on creating clarity, generating energy and delivering exceptional results with the teams that I lead. A 15 year veteran at Microsoft, my current role is focused on our Business Application portfolio, which offers customers a fantastic opportunity to accelerate revenue generation, modernise customer service, optimise finance and innovate with low code technologies. Whilst also leveraging the latest cutting edge AI (co-pilot) capabilities to drive further productivity and efficiencies gains for our customers.

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Matthew Clark

Data Analytics Project Manager at RSM UK, Microsoft Ltd

Matthew is an experienced project manager with a background of a variety of analyst and data analytics roles. He leads RSM’s Analytics Automation and AI centre of excellence, rolling out new capabilities and driving data and analytics collaboration between service lines. He has also led on the development of the firms multi-year digital upskilling programme, enabling all of RSM’s staff to have a digital mindset. Matthew also works within RSM’s Consultancy practice as part of the Data and Digital Advisory team, where he helps clients to develop their own data strategy, focusing on leveraging technology to create improved digital experiences. 

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Laura Foster

Head of Programme - 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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Kate Marshall

Developer and Global Technical Ambassador Lead, IBM Quantum

Kate is a Software Engineer and the Global Technical Ambassador Lead for IBM Quantum. This is a worldwide team working directly with clients to help them understand the industry impact of quantum computing. Kate has a deeply technical background in Physics and passion for quantum theory, communication and computation. She originally started her career as a DevOps engineer and IT architect, but recently moved into a role that combined both of these passions and areas of experience. Outside of IBM Quantum, she is a member of the TechUK and British Computing Society (BCS) Quantum Working Groups and leads the Global Tech Advocates Quantum Working Group.”

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Monty Barlow

Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Consultants

Monty was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Consultants in January 2023 to lead the company’s mission to tackle the toughest, most business-critical, and societally important innovation challenges for its clients.

 

Working with some of the world’s biggest brands and most ambitious start-ups, Monty leads a global organisation of engineers, scientists, designers and consultants to deliver more than 500 scientific, engineering and design projects each year.

 

Previously Chief Technology Officer, Monty has been with Cambridge Consultants for 23 years and has been responsible for incubating new strategic technology groups to extend the company’s expertise in bleeding-edge technologies such as synthetic biology, machine psychology and quantum computation.

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Richard Parasram

Head of Delivery, Office of Quantum Technologies, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Richard is Head of Delivery at the Office of Quantum Technologies in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). His role is to make sure all the great stuff in the National Quantum Strategy gets done.

Previously he spent two years in the Prime Minister's Office, advising on delivery of Health and Social Care priorities. Before joining the Civil Service, Richard was a Principal Consultant in the Economics & Investment Strategy team at PA Consulting. Before that, he spent 6 years as a researcher at Imperial College, doing operational and strategy analyses for international transport organisations. He has an MEng in Civil Engineering from Imperial College.

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Richard Murray

Co-founder and CEO, ORCA Computing

Richard co-founded ORCA Computing in 2019. He is an accomplished business executive and
technologist with a PhD in quantum atom-optics and over 15 years of experience managing scientific
teams working on disruptive early-stage technologies such as quantum, AR/VR and other consumer
and industrial applications of photonics. Under his leadership, the company has grown to 35 people,
expanded globally and developed a roadmap focused on building a fault-tolerant universal quantum
computer. Previously, Richard worked for the UK government alongside Sir Peter Knight creating the
£270m UK quantum technologies programme. He was also pivotal in the early stages of the €1
billion EU quantum flagship programme.

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John Aloy

Head of Public & Third Sector Growth, Neos Networks

A highly experienced sales leader with a successful career of exceeding sales targets and leading high performing teams in the tech industry with a particular focus on supporting the Public Sector.    
John has nearly 30 years of experience in the telecoms sector having worked for brands such as Neos Networks, Vodafone, Telefonica, Virgin Media O2 and Azzurri (now Maintel) where he is held a wide range of sales roles from net new logo business development through to running a key accounts team delivering an annual revenue of c£75m.   
Commercially focused, John understands business needs and through consultation, can advise and guide organisations on market changes, current versus future requirements, data, and technology always keeping the customer at the heart. A few examples of John’s key achievements are:  
•    Created and owned the O2 Strategy and execution into key Government, Transport, Charity and Utility organisations, including Central Government, Devolved Government and Healthcare. This strategy being central to taking the Public Sector business from c£10m pa when he joined to over £150m at time of leaving 
•    Led the O2 response in supporting the NHS with its COVID-19 mobilisation resulting in one of the worlds first and quickest vaccine rollouts with nearly 3,000 sites rolled out in a matter of weeks 
•    Built the end-to-end sales and marketing strategy, with full sales enablement and go to market propositions for CitySwift including a full brand revamp and redesign of their commercial model  
•    Supported Transport for Wales on their journey towards bus franchising with a platform that allowed them to get the benefits of franchising without taking on the risk  
Passionate about equality, equity, and sustainability.  As a neurodivergent individual, John brings unique perspectives and problem-solving abilities that give meaningful competitive edge in today's rapidly changing business landscape.    

 

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Sophie Greaves

Head of Telecoms and Spectrum Policy, techUK

Sophie Greaves is Head of Telecoms at techUK, and represents the most innovative and impactful companies in the UK’s communications ecosystem, spearheading valuable policy work in telecoms security, adoption of advanced connectivity, and wider market development.

Sophie also oversees the Spectrum Policy Forum, the UK’s proactive industry-led sounding board on future policy and approaches on spectrum. The Forum is a cross-industry agent for promoting the role of spectrum in society and the maximisation of its economic and social value to the UK.

Prior to joining techUK, she completed a masters in Film Studies at UCL. Her dissertation focused on the commercial relationships and digital infrastructure of Netflix, its impact on the media industry, and how the streaming platform interacted with telecommunications regulators and ISPs. She was included in the 2023 Women in Trade Association Powerlist and recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist.

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Nanda Menon

No bio provided

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Chris W Silberberg

Research Manager, EMEA Telco Insights, IDC

Chris supports IDC's telco transformation research in EMEA, with a core focus on telco technology strategies for BSS/OSS, cloud, and AI/ML, and business strategies for talent, sustainability and structure. He is a research professional with more than five years' experience in the telecoms industry across IDC, Omdia and Informa. He started his career covering NFV/SDN and the future of broadband. He is a regular conference and webinar speaker, and has appeared at MWC, Digital Transformation World, AI Summit New York, Broadband World Forum, and Africa Com.

Chris has authored numerous reports on telecoms IT and network software, including on converged charging, partner management, talent management, and AI/ML. He has a bachelor's degree in ancient history from Durham University, plays the tenor horn in his local brass band, and hosts occasional pub quizzes for family, friends, and colleagues.
 

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Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE

Chris is Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer winning a total of 9 golds, 5 silvers and 1 bronze. He was also Director of Paralympic Integration, responsible for the organisation of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
Chris is a passionate advocate for the potential of technology and the benefits of diversity and inclusion. He campaigns for more accessible environments for disabled people and has conducted an independent review for the Government that made recommendations on opening up public appointments to disabled people.
In Parliament Chris sits on the influential Science and Technology Select Committee

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Mauricio Magaldi

Head of Product, Midnight , IOHK

  

Mauricio Magaldi is a digital transformation professional with over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry developed at firms such as Citi, HSBC, IBM and 11:FS. His experiences over the years range from Chief Data Officer to Business Architect to Board Advisor for early stage startups. At IOHK he’s the Head of Product for Midnight, where he leads a team of customer-centric advocates, and service and UX designers to take Midnight to market.

 

Mauricio also hosts BlockDrops Podcast, a weekly digest about Blockchain for business, in his native Brazilian Portuguese, and co-hosts the industry-leading podcast Blockchain Insider, and is the founding drummer of Brazilian metal outfit VersOver.

: linkedin.com/in/magaldi
: @twitter.com/0xmauricio

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Kate Loxton

Senior Associate, DAC Beachcroft LLP

Kate Loxton provides advice on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious intellectual property issues. She has a particular interest in brand protection issues encompassing trade mark infringement, passing off, online brand management and domain name disputes. Also, Kate assists clients with commercialisation of their intellectual property. She has extensive experience of drafting and negotiating IP licensing deals.

 

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Kristian Hall

Associate, Wiggin LLP

Kristian is a member of the digital commerce team at Wiggin, focusing on commercial and regulatory matters within the media, finance and technology sectors.
 
He completed a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Masters in International Economics and Finance at Newcastle University; and since joining Wiggin he has spent time on secondment at NBCUniversal.
 
Kristian has experience in providing detailed domestic and international regulatory reports in relation to dealing in cryptoassets, CFD and FX trading and exploiting audio-visual content; drafting numerous bespoke commercial agreements and standard terms; conducting commercial due diligence prior to private and public mergers and acquisitions; and advising on data protection issues.
 

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Rory Daniels

Chair and Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, 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, he is techUK's Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, covering dozens of technologies including metaverse, drones, semiconductors, future materials, robotics, blockchain, space technologies, nanotechnology, gaming tech and Web3.0.

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

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Alex Williamson

Development Manager, ITS Technology

As ITS Technology Group’s pre-sales technical manager, Alex Williamson is instrumental in ensuring the business can offer industry-leading products to a multitude of sectors. Alex has over 43 years of experience working in telecoms, including some of the industry's largest companies, including BT and BT Wholesale. With a special focus on the intricacies of dark fibre, Alex is set on developing a portfolio of Layer 1 services, specifically focused on how it supports devices from the Internet of Things and 5G Radio Access Networks – helping customers access the next generation of bandwidth-hungry technology that improves business services and influences lives for the better.

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Neesa Mangalaparathy

Senior Solutions Manager, UCL Partners

Neesa is Senior Solutions Manager at UCL Partners. She is responsible for supporting the commercial development and translation of ideas into the NHS, ensuring that they support specific health and system challenges. 

Before joining UCL Partners, Neesa was a Programme Delivery Lead for several national transformation programmes in NHS England including Extended Reality technologies, Automated Data Capture technologies and Electronic Bed and Capacity Management Systems. She has over 15 years of healthcare experience across academia, the voluntary sector, local and national NHS levels. 

Neesa is passionate about using digital technologies to deliver the best health and social care services and improve patient outcomes.
 

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Dr Ben Bennett

Director, HPC & AI Strategic Marketing, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

 Ben is an HPC and AI strategist working in the global HPC & AI Marketing team, based out of the UK.

In this role Ben focusses on the three to five-year horizon understanding customer’s problems and driving this into the Product Business Units to ensure that features and requirements are aligned as well as the appropriate messaging and event coverage is available to both sales and users.

Ben also works with HPE’s corporate affairs team to drive HPC content, and knowledge, into their work with the education, science, research, and industrial components of public bodies, both at a UK and European level.

Ben has over 30 years supercomputing experience in academia and industry as a user, as a supplier, and as a purchaser of High Performance Computers.

 

Ben holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Control Engineering looking at data structures in real-time parallel control systems used in flight control systems.

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Dr Melanie Garson

Cyber Policy and Tech Geopolitics Lead , Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Dr Melanie Garson is the Cyber Policy and Tech Geopolitics Lead at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Her work focuses on cyber policy, the geopolitics of AI, the internet, the rise of tech companies as geopolitical actors, data governance as well as the intersection of emerging tech, foreign policy and diplomacy. She is also an Associate Professor in International Conflict Resolution & International Security in the Department of Political Science at University College London where she teaches about cyberwarfare and the future of conflict in the digital age, as well as International Negotiation.

Melanie is an accredited mediator and has worked as a solicitor in the International Disputes department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She received her PhD from University College London, and holds a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Medford, MA).

 

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Laura Foster

Head of Programme - 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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Professor Kate Royse

Director of the Hartree Centre, UK Science and Technologies Facilities Council

Professor Katherine Royse joined the Hartree Centre as Director in April 2022. The Hartree Centre’s mission is to enable UK industry to adopt advanced digital technologies such as supercomputing, data science, AI and quantum computing for enhanced productivity, smarter innovation and economic growth.  
 
Prior to her current role, Kate was the Chief Digital Officer at the British Geological Survey. Her 24 year career at BGS has taken her from traditional field mapping to a focus on the development of novel digital techniques to gain insight and added value from BGS data assets. In 2017, she was recognised by the PraxisUnico Research Council UK Impact Awards for her novel approach to innovation and commercialisation of geoscience information. In 2021, she was awarded a Digital Leaders 100 award as local national champion in recognition of her leadership in digital transformation in the Midlands. 
 

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Dr Aidong Xu

Head of Semiconductor Capability, Cambridge Consultants

Aidong has more than 30 years’ experience in a diverse range of industries, including many leading semiconductor companies. He has managed large international engineering teams and brought innovative industry-leading products into global markets. All of which have achieved rapid and sustained business growth. Aidong holds a PhD in power electronics and power semiconductor and has many years’ experience in the venture capital industry, responsible for identifying, investing and building start-ups with disruptive technologies.

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Tarja Strahlman

Director of BD, Energy Transition & Environment, Faculty AI

Tarja is a Director of BD at Faculty's Energy Transition & Environment practice, uncovering ways to leverage AI to accelerate the energy transition. She is working with renewables developers, and others along the energy value chain, to apply AI to plan, predict and integrate increasingly complex generating assets within the energy system.

From her years working for Shell, she brings with her extensive experience in the energy sector, having worked with customers across heavy industries on improving efficiencies while reducing Total Cost of Ownership, as well as tracking and planning for Net Zero operations.
 

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Sarah Mackintosh

Director, Cleantech

Sarah is the Director leading the Cleantech for UK initiative, building up a coalition of cleantech and policy leaders to scale up sustainable innovation in the UK.

Before joining Cleantech Group, Sarah spent 11 years working for the UK civil service, primarily in energy and innovation policy and legislation. She began her career as a research associate working on carbon capture and storage.

Sarah has a degree in Environmental Science, a Ph.D. in Isotope Geochemistry and a Master’s in public policy.

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Shany Mizrahi Otero

Senior Sustainability Consultant, Fujitsu

Shany is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at Fujitsu, where she holds the positions of Sustainability Lead for the UK Manufacturing & Utilities sector, as well being the company’s youngest Account Sustainability Director. Shany focuses on merging her customers’ sustainability and corporate ambitions, and is passionate about the behavioural change elements needed for lasting sustainability transformation. 

Inspired by her upbringing in the beautiful but unjust Peruvian Amazon, she set out to study law at King’s College London followed by a master’s degree in Environmental, Human Rights and International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Since then, she has specialised in the intersection between technology, law, and sustainability. Shany started her career at the French software company, Dassault Systemes (DS), as a Public Affairs & Sustainability Associate, building DS’s relationship with Northern European governments and serving as their spokesperson for the sustainability impacts of ‘digital twin’ (3D modelling) technology.
 

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Simon Bennett

Head of Research & Innovation, AVEVA

With a background in Civil Engineering, Simon has 30 years’ experience in the software industry, having worked for a number of commercial off-the-shelf and enterprise software companies.
He has worked through Product Management, Product Strategy, Marketing and Sales Enablement in companies who serve the financial, airline, power, law enforcement and military sectors.
Simon joined AVEVA in 2008 to run Product Management for the Information Management Solutions, formed a new Sales Enablement function in 2012 and in 2018 lead AVEVA’s global technology research programme including research partnering with some of the worlds leading universities
Today, Simon is Head of Research & Innovation helping to accelerate the commercialisation of new technologies
 

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Weronika Dorociak

techUK

Weronika joined techUK as a Programme Manager for Sustainability in October 2023. Her role involves advocating for the tech sector in front of key policymakers and stakeholders. Weronika also leads the environmental and sustainability efforts within the Data Centres Group.  
Prior to joining techUK, Weronika worked in public affairs and government relations in the legal sector, focusing on innovation and ESG within financial services. She also spent 2 years working as a Caseworker at Parliament. She holds a BA in Politics & International Relations from Queen Mary University of London.  
 

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Rich Hampshire

UK’s lead for Digital Utilities, CGI

Rich has over 30 years’ experience in the utilities sector.  His focus is the role of “digitalisation” in delivering a just energy transition and accelerating climate action. He is a professional engineer by background and has spent his career working with organisations to implement transformational change. 
He is active in the leadership of a number of advisory boards and industry associations, including chairing techUK’s Smart Infrastructure and Systems utilities board, and is a regular speaker at utility events. 
Outside work, Rich is passionate about sport and coaches rugby.
 

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Laura Webb

Stakeholder Engagement Lead, CGI

Joanna Webb is Stakeholder Engagement Lead for the use cases workstream of the ESO’s Virtual Energy System programme; engaging and collaborating with industry and academia on use case projects that demonstrate the benefits of an ecosystem of connected digital twins, to enable more renewable energy and help GB energy to reach net zero. Joanna has a wealth of experience engaging with a range of stakeholders across technical and utility industries including energy, water, mobile communications, broadcast networks, education, internet and information technology.

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Jon Wetherall

Managing Director, CGA Stimulation

Jon has spent his whole career working with emergent and risky technology, from the first 3D accelerated computer games through to now Quantum Computers

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Professor Richard Harding

Business Development Manager, Hartree Centre | Science and Technology Facilities Council

Business brain for social gain.I am a digital enabler, and experienced Programme Manager and Business Development Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the health care industry. Leveraging capability of the Hartree Centre's AI, Quantum and HPC for the public sector and industry. Skilled in Business Planning, Coaching, Management, Healthcare, and Digital Innovation. Strong strategic innovation professional with a Master of Science (MSc) focused in Assistive Technology from Coventry University and an expert in Models of Technology Adoption and scale-up.

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Nicholas Russell

U.K. Advisor, Axiom Space.

Axiom Space is the commercial space industry’s only full-service orbital mission provider, conducting end-to-end crewed missions to the International Space Station. 

The UK Space Agency and Axiom Space have signed an agreement to explore a commercially sponsored UK Astronaut Mission. This agreement paves the way for UK astronauts to conduct scientific research in orbit, and to inspire millions of us here on Earth. 

To explore this opportunity, we are initially requesting ideas from the community through a Request for Information (RFI): 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/request-for-information-uk-space-agencyaxiom-space-astronaut-mission-projects-20242025/request-for-information-rfi-uk-space-agencyaxiom-space-astronaut-mission-projects-20242025 
 

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Sue Daley

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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Dr Carolyn Ten Holter

Research Associate, University of Oxford

Dr Carolyn Ten Holter is Policy Lead at the University of Oxford's Responsible Technology Institute (RTI). She specialises in responsible innovation approaches in a variety of novel technology domains, including autonomous vehicles, ICT sustainability, and quantum computing. She has a particular interest in policymaking and governance for novel technologies, and expertise in participatory and stakeholder-inclusive methods. She has expertise in law, librarianship & information science, marketing communications and business development, and her doctoral research focused on responsible innovation in quantum computing. She sits on the BCS Quantum Working Group.
 

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Sue Daley

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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Laura Foster

Head of Programme - 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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