The President’s Award was launched in 2023 to recognise the individuals who are working with technology to create meaningful, measurable impact - across people, society, the economy and the planet.
Every organisation has them:
- The innovator who finds solutions others can’t see.
- The changemaker who lifts communities.
- The quiet force making waves behind the scenes.
- The leader who uses tech for good.
The techUK President’s Awards puts those people in the spotlight - asking colleagues to nominate each other in four award categories, People, Society, Economy, and Planet.
What do we look for?
The awards recognise individuals who go above and beyond - whether they are:
- Protecting people online
- Helping UK SMEs grow
- Improving public sector efficiency
- Advancing healthcare
- Supporting vulnerable communities
- Driving digital inclusion
- Improving education or digital skills
- Championing sustainability
- Leading digital transformation, or
- Improving growth, productivity or efficiency across the economy
No project is too big or too small.
Our shortlisted nominees 2026
We are now halfway through the process. We had over 70 nominations this year, and the team has now shortlisted 3 individuals in each award category.
The 12 shortlisted nominees for the 2026 techUK President’s Awards are:
People Award nominees
Robin Tombs
Robin Tombs
Robin is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor, celebrated for his innovative contributions to technology and digital identity. He is currently CEO and Co-founder of Yoti, the digital identity company on a mission to fix the broken identity system.
Robin is leading the charge in changing how individuals securely verify their identities online and offline, fostering trust and transparency in an increasingly digital world. As a result, Yoti is one the UK’s fastest growing technology companies, providing identity and age assurance solutions to many of the world's biggest online brands.
Prior to 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.
Gamesys, founded in 2001 by Robin and Noel Hayden, returned over £1.3 billion to shareholders over 18 years up to its sale to Bally’s in 2021. Before Gamesys, the pair co-founded IDM, a web game business which they sold in 1999. Prior to his career as a tech entrepreneur, Robin worked at PwC as a Chartered Accountant from 1993 to 1997.
Robin is committed to driving the technology sector forward, and is a serial angel investor in companies such as Infinitesima, Vitesse, Syft (sold to Indeed), Credit Ladder, Marshmallow, Compucorp and Galaxkey.
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. He co-founded ZING with childhood friend Chris White in 2009, a charity that supports organisations helping young people to realise their potential.
Malik Haddad
Malik Haddad
Dr Malik Haddad is an Assistant Professor in Data and Computer Science and Programme Leader for the Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Level 7 and Data Science Level 6 Apprenticeship programmes at the Centre for Apprenticeships, Northeastern University London. He is also an active member of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Committee at Northeastern University London, a volunteer engineer at Chailey Heritage Foundation, and a volunteer associate member of the Portsmouth Parents Board — roles that reflect a career defined by service to vulnerable communities and a genuine commitment to inclusion.
Dr Haddad holds a BSc in Electronic Engineering (2006), an MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering with Distinction (2007), and a PhD in Intelligent Decision Making applied to Management and Engineering (2019).
Dr Haddad’s current research interests include intelligent decision making and Multiple Criteria Decision Making, assistive technologies and powered mobility devices, robotics and obstacle avoidance, AI and machine learning, Intelligent Systems and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI). Dr Haddad’s research pioneers the application of Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, and Artificial Neural Networks to assistive technology — developing first-generation intelligent collision avoidance systems and HMI that enable severely disabled powered wheelchair users to move safely and independently.
Dr Haddad is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the PMI, a Chartered Engineer (CEng) from the IET, and a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Fiona Dawson
Fiona Dawson
Fiona Dawson is Chief Technical Officer at Mayden, where she leads product strategy and development across the company’s digital health portfolio. A Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer (CHIO), BCS Fellow and FEDIP Leading Practitioner, Fiona is recognised for her expertise in healthcare technology, interoperability and digital transformation.
She is a Fellow of the British Computing Society and a Leading Practitioner within the Federation for Informatics Professionals and recently completed a Masters in Healthcare Data at the University of Cambridge. A long-standing advocate for digital inclusion, Fiona also leads collaborative work to tackle digital poverty and improve access to technology and digital skills.
She is a committee member of the BCS Digital Divide Specialist Group and co-founder of the Bath Digital Divide Collective, a non-profit focused on sustainable action against digital exclusion.
Society Award nominees
Clare Elford
Clare Elford
Clare is Chief Executive Officer, and co-owner, of Clue. Under Clare’s stewardship, Clue has become a leading investigation case management and intelligence platform. Clare has driven the development of a single platform, interoperable product that is at the centre of the investigation technology ecosystem.
Clare embodies Clue’s customer-centric culture and leads the work to collaborate with industry bodies and the Clue user community to push the boundaries of technical development to meet customer needs.
Dr Laura Bishop
Dr Laura Bishop
Dr Laura Bishop is a Human Factors Cyberpsychologist. With a PhD in human vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks and research in both human-robot and human-computer interaction, Laura is highly experienced on the psychological and societal impacts of technology.
At BSI, Laura supports the development of standards around the safe, secure and reliable use of AI, robotics and cyber systems, sitting on many national boards and committees including the AI All-Party Parliamentary Group Advisory Board. Within techUK, this includes the Emerging Technology Leadership Committee, Robotics Working Group and VAWG and RASSO Tech Working Group.
Outside of work, Laura volunteers her expertise to causes focused on protecting victims of domestic violence including SpringACT - a charity connecting human rights and technology to end global social injustices and the #endeyecheck campaign.
Over the next year, Laura will be supporting the UK Government as Socio-technical Aspects of AI Fellow as well as continuing as an Honorary Research Associate of Cardiff University.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- www.linkedin.com/in/lauramaybishop
Vishal Marria
Vishal Marria
Vishal Marria is the Founder and CEO of Quantexa, a global leader in Decision Intelligence solutions that help organizations make trusted decisions using contextual data, AI, and advanced analytics. Since founding the company in 2016, Marria has led Quantexa’s growth into one of the leading enterprise AI and data platforms serving financial services, insurance, and public sector organizations worldwide.
Under his leadership, Quantexa has become known for pioneering the use of entity resolution, graph analytics, and contextual intelligence to solve complex challenges including financial crime, fraud detection, customer intelligence, data management, and AI readiness. Marria has emerged as a leading voice on trusted data and human-centered decisioning, advocating for the use of contextual, connected data to enable more transparent, explainable, and effective AI. His work focuses on helping organizations strengthen operational trust, improve decision-making, and bridge the gap between human expertise and AI-driven intelligence at enterprise scale.
Economy Award nominees
Professor Sir Peter Donnelly
Professor Sir Peter Donnelly
Professor Sir Peter Donnelly FRS, FMedSci, HonFIA, is the CEO and co-Founder of Genomics. He has been a world leader in human genetics for over 20 years. Peter was one of the main players in what has been called the “Genetic Revolution”, the transformation in our knowledge of how genetics plays into all the common diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. He held leadership roles in many of the major international and national human genetics studies of this century, including the HapMap Project (the successor to the Human Genome Project) and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium.
Peter founded Genomics in 2014 to change how the world predicts, prevents, treats, and cures disease, powered by the extraordinary scientific discoveries on the genetic basis of human illness made by world-leading scientists and engineers. He wanted to bring the company’s innovation to partners who can join our mission to help people live longer healthier lives, as soon as possible.
Prior to Genomics, Peter was a Rhodes Scholar and became the youngest full professor in the UK at age 29. He has received numerous awards and accolades, and several of his papers are considered classics, with tens of thousands of citations.
Peter was Knighted in 2019 for this work in genomics and has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Human Genetics. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences, as well as an Honorary Fellow of The Institute of Actuaries.
His TED Talk on statistics has been viewed 1.5 million times, and Peter was ranked 4th on a list of Top 10 Inspiring Entrepreneurs.
Genomics has been listed on The Sunday Times 100 Tech, ranking Britain’s fastest-growing private technology companies, for two consecutive years, in 2025 and 2026.
Laura Burley
Laura Burley
Laura Burley is the Global General Manager of Government Relations and Public Policy at Xero - the small business platform trusted by over 1.32 million small businesses. At Xero, the mission is simple but powerful: to make life better for people in small businesses, their advisors and communities around the world. Laura's role is to ensure that mission shapes policy, and that the voices of small businesses are heard loud and clear at the highest levels of governments.
Laura has over twenty years of experience championing small businesses, technology, health and education in the political and policy arena. She is a proud campaigner bringing technology to life for the benefit of society and the economy - most notably in helping to campaign against late payments to SMEs. Her career has spanned the UK Parliament - where she worked for the Chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee - to the charity sector, where she led successful campaigns on behalf of Breast Cancer Care such as the abolition of prescription charges in England. Before joining Xero in 2022, she led the Government Aff airs team at The Open University, playing a pivotal role in advocating for lifelong learning initiatives and championing skills and apprenticeships policy for small businesses.
At Xero, Laura has most recently been at the forefront of leading the campaign to embed financial confidence in education. Xero's Financial Confidence Taskforce is calling on the UK Government to radically rethink how financial literacy and enterprise are taught - from the classroom to the workplace - so that starting and growing a business is an aspirational, viable path for everyone, regardless of background.
Laura is a founding board member of Women in Public Aff airs and is an Adviser at The Entrepreneurs Network.
- LinkedIn:
- www.linkedin.com/in/laura-burley-xero
Steve Chan
Steve Chan
Steve Chan is Co-Founder and CTO of Stealth Labs, a UK AI studio building production AI systems for government. Over the past 14 years he has led technical delivery on programmes across National Security, DSIT, DESNZ, the National Crime Agency, the FCDO and the Home Office, helping departments move beyond AI strategy decks to working software that actually ships.
Before Stealth Labs, Steve held senior engineering roles at Microsoft and BAE Systems, working on national security platforms and large-scale public sector services. He was named in Computing's Top 25 UK AI Leaders for his work bringing applied AI into Whitehall, and is a regular contributor to the conversation on what it really takes to deliver responsible, secure AI inside government.
At Stealth Labs he leads the technical practice, working alongside Co-Founder and CEO Sammy Harris to grow a team focused on shipping AI into some of the most regulated environments in the country. He cares about clean delivery, small teams, and building things civil servants will still be using in five years.
Planet Award nominees
Isobel Ashbey
Isobel Ashbey
Isobel Ashbey is a sustainability and deep tech specialist focused on the intersection of biodiversity, climate innovation and emerging technologies. Currently leading Biodiversity and Nature Tech initiatives at Cambridge Consultants, she works on developing technology-driven solutions that help address environmental challenges and accelerate sustainable innovation.
Originally trained as a physicist, Isobel combines technical expertise with a strong focus on ecological impact, holding a first-class Master’s degree in Physics from Durham University and a postgraduate qualification in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from The University of Edinburgh. She is particularly passionate about how deep technologies can support nature restoration, climate resilience and responsible innovation across industry.
Javier Benitez
Javier Benitez
Javier lives in Barcelona, Spain. He is Principal Innovation Manager at Colt Technology Services, driving innovation at Colt by exploring new ideas and technologies jointly with partners and customers to create sustainable revenue growth. His main areas of focus are Digital Transformation, Edge Computing, Network Virtualisation, Smart Applications and Next Generation Transport Networks.
Previous to his current position, Javier worked for 20 years in Colt’s Network Architecture & Engineering team designing Colt’s packet and transport Networks and Services and introducing SDN (Software Defined Networking) & NFV (Network Functions Virtualisation) technologies in Colt. He holds a Telecommunications Engineering Degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain, 1996) and a MSEE Degree from Stanford University (CA, USA, 1999).
Ray Knight
Ray Knight
Ray Knight is a senior sustainability leader at Atos, specialising in digital decarbonisation and sustainable IT transformation. He helps organisations embed data-driven approaches to reduce emissions through implementing new technology, delivering measurable business value. Deeply convinced about the role of digital innovation in achieving net zero, he also champions collaboration, and skills development.
Judging panel:
techUK has convened a stellar panel of industry leaders to judge the 2026 awards:
Sheila Flavell CBE
Sheila Flavell CBE
Sheila Flavell CBE is President of techUK, and both Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Board Director of FDM Group. She has spent 35 years operating within the international tech space. As a “woman returner”, Sheila is passionate about promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in today’s workplace. She founded the FDM Returners Programme in 2015, which has since helped over 550 men and women return to work after a career break.
As a prominent female tech leader, Sheila understands the importance of being a strong role model and mentor for women. She has been key in driving FDM’s global expansion programmes, as well as establishing the company’s listing on the FTSE 250 in 2017. Sheila continues to advise government committees on improving the digital skills shortage in the UK. Her work in championing gender diversity has helped FDM attain a zero gender pay gap consistently since reporting was introduced in 2017. She was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List, for services to gender equality in technology and services to graduate and returners’ employment.
If you wish to contact a member of the Board, please do so via [email protected].
Dr Nicola Hodson
Dr Nicola Hodson
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.
If you wish to contact a member of the Board, please do so via [email protected].
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE
techUK Board Member and President Emeritus | Chair Bletchley Park Trust & Chair Institute of Coding | Portfolio Non Exec Director, Business Mentor and Advocate for Inclusion.
"If we are to thrive in a digital future, we must ensure that all our voices heard when it comes to designing technology. If we do not, we will create a world that does not work for everybody.
And as we build this digital world, the need to stay safe is heightened as our dependency to live and work online increases. Competitive advantage will come from teams that look outwards not inwards and therefore businesses that build a culture of inclusion and maximise their security posture"
Voted the Most Influential Woman in IT 2015 and Included in World’s 100 most influential people in digital government 2019: Woman of the Year awarded by Women in IT Excellence 2019, 2020 Asian Tech Pioneer, named in 2021 Connected Britain’s Top 100 Influencers and Stroeous Award Winner: Global Positive Impact Leader of the Year 2021. Listen to her life and music choices on Desert Island Discs podcast March 2019.
Jacqueline was appointed as a CBE in the Queen’s Honours List of 2018 and was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree by the University of Bath in 2019.
If you wish to contact a member of the Board, please do so via [email protected].
Simon Wilyman
Simon Wilyman
With 25+ years of experience in the semiconductor and tech industry Simon is a strategic leader operating at the leading edge of technology innovation. His mission is to enable customers and partners success and to continually develop highly skilled and performing organizations.
Tricia Blatherwick
Tricia Blatherwick
Tricia Blatherwick is the Chief Commercial Officer at AutogenAI. She has spent over 30 years working for some of the UK’s largest IT and Outsourcing companies, generating sales in excess of £4bn. She holds a degree in English Literature and an MBA in Strategic Discourse - and is passionate about the power of language - including business language - to motivate, inspire and create change in the world. Having put in the 'hard yards’ of bid writing throughout her career, she also knows that the Proposal industry is way overdue for a technological breakthrough - which is the reason she joined the leadership team at AutogenAI.
With 5 kids, 2 snooty cats, and a dopey Labrador, Tricia thrives on creativity, stimulation, and intravenous caffeine.
If you wish to contact a member of the Board, please do so via [email protected].
Jay Chinnadorai
Jay Chinnadorai
Jay Chinnadorai is a Senior Board Advisor at Informetis Europe and Japan. Informetis is an AI based IoT solutions provider focused on the energy and smart health sectors. Jay is also Founder and Managing Director of Sumtotal, a strategy, product and business development consultancy. Sumtotal was established in 2004 and provides pragmatic and effective customer-centric solutions in the converging sectors of Smart Energy, IoT, Mobile and Digital Media solutions. In addition, Jay is a Crown Representative at the Cabinet Office.
Prior to founding Sumtotal, Jay was Vice President of Sony Europe responsible for different business units including Mobile Phones, Digital TV and Mobile Service Provider Business. Before joining Sony, Jay worked at Thomson Consumer Electronics as Marketing Director of its UK and Ireland Operations.
Jay has an MBA from Manchester Business School (MBA) and a BSc (First Class Hons) in Electronic Engineering from University College London. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors. He is also a Business Leader of the Marketing Society.
If you wish to contact a member of the Board, please do so via [email protected].
The award ceremony:
What winners receive:
The four award winners will:
- Be announced on stage at the techUK Annual Dinner (Tuesday 30 June) in front of 650+ senior industry leaders and government representatives.
- Be featured across techUK’s digital channels, including our LinkedIn account with over 70,000 followers.
- Gain opportunities for blogs, videos and speaking engagements at techUK activities.
This is national recognition in front of the UK tech community.
Media partner
Award timeline:
| Awards open for nominations | 23 March |
| Nominations close | 5 May |
| 'Meet the Judges' day | 3 June |
| Winners announced at techUK Annual Dinner | 30 June |
Quotes from our previous Award winners:
“Overwhelmed, proud, delighted, seen, I can’t believe it… techUK has unlocked so many avenues for me.”
“We’ve been members of techUK for a couple of years now. It really adds value to our organisation, it really, genuinely genuinely does.”
“I feel so proud to win this award. It’s such a special award and it recognises what we’re doing and how much heart the team have put into what we’re building to impact the economy. So, I’m really, really pleased.”
“I feel great. It’s been a special evening. I’m delighted to win the award. Sustainability and technology aren’t things that have sat naturally together in recent years. It’s an evolving space, and more than anything, techUK has given us a voice.”
“Amazing to win. It’s so exciting to have the work of the team recognised for what we’ve done. Delighted.”
“It feels fantastic. Absolutely amazing. Great for Access Elemental, it’s great for social prescribing, it’s great for the Access Group and for the community voluntary sector and all the people that we support."
“I think I was nominated because I’ve had the opportunity to represent the interest and power of an SME community and I think this is a celebration of the effect and power SMEs can have."
“Absolutely amazing. Super pleased. Love the fact that this award is peer judged in a techUK community where we’re all trying to do good. Amazing.”
"To be recognised as a company really making a difference in tech is wonderful. It’s incredible to have this room of experts at the cutting edge, really thinking about all of the implications of how tech can dramatically improve society.”
“I was nominated for the Society Award because of the software tools that Forensic Analytics provides to law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Done right, technology can absolutely have a fantastically beneficial effect for society. Being recognised by the tech industry for our work feels a little bit surreal!”
“I’m most delighted on behalf of my company, Plexal, because we’re on a real journey and real mission, and to be at the head of that charge is so exciting for me. A moment like this is recognition that we’re heading in the right direction.”
“I feel humble and proud because I feel techUK has recognised all the work that we have been doing with Climate Essentials in the past three years, and I feel super happy. Winning is amazing for me.”
For more information about techUK President's Award, please contact:
Alex Smith
Alex joined techUK in September 2021.
The techUK President’s Award is our opportunity to shine a spotlight on the amazing talent we have in the UK tech industry. We are always bowled over by the quality of nominations we receive each year, and we want to thank every techUK member who has put forward a colleague. Through each of the four awards: People, Society, Economy, and Planet, we recognise the positive difference individuals from techUK member companies are making through their work with technology. With over 1,100 members, techUK now represents over 1.1 million tech workers in the UK so our award winners truly are one in a million.
