Our board

Jacqueline de Rojas CBE

techUK President

[email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] of Coding

Non-Exec: Rightmove plc | Costain Group plc | FDM Group plc

Business Advisor & Mentor at Merryck

Advocate for diversity and inclusion in all its forms. Passionate about redressing the gender balance via advisory positions at @TheYouthGroupHG, @accelerate-Her and the @girlguiding association.

"If we are to thrive in a digital future, we must ensure that we have all of our voices heard when it comes to designing technology. If we do not, we risk creating a world which is for the few and not for the many."

In 2016 she entered the @Computerweekly Hall of Fame after being voted Computer Weekly's Most Influential Woman in IT 2015; she was listed on Debretts 2016 500 People of Influence and named in Europe’s Inspiring Fifty most inspiring female role models for 2017. She was presented with the 2017 Catherine Variety award for Science and Technology and the 2018 Women in Tech Award for Advocate of the Year acknowledging her contribution to diversity. Awarded the Digital and Technology Award at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards in 2019. Listen to her life and music choices on Desert Island Discs podcast March 2019.

Jacqueline was awarded CBE for Services to International Trade in Technology in the Queen's New Year Honours list 2018.

Happily married to Roger Andrews, they have three children and a baby grandson. Meditation and yoga is how she finds her balance...

Ashish Gupta

Corporate Vice President and Head EMEA, HCL Technologies

Ashish Kumar Gupta is Corporate Vice President, Head Europe and Africa (Diversified Industries) at HCL Technologies. Under his leadership HCL has grown to become one of the more recognized IT Services Providers in Europe.

In HCL his career has been focused on starting new businesses propositions and making these successful across India, US and since 2004 in Europe and Africa. Amongst the biggest of them was the conceptualization and execution of Remote Infrastructure Management Services that eventually led to the formation of a large Indian Infrastructure Outsourcing industry and HCL achieving a dominant leadership position in that industry due to Ashish’s pioneering efforts.

Ashish is widely respected as one of the more disruptive voices in Direct to Consumer, IT Outsourcing, Cloud and creating strategic partnerships with clients. He has spoken at many prestigious Industry platforms and continues to drive thought leadership for HCL. He has been instrumental in creating key alliances and partnerships including the Cambridge Service Alliance and HCL’s digital transformation partnership with Manchester United. In 2019, Ashish was nominated to the board of TechUK, and the World Economic Forum – Europe Regional Business Council focused on collaboration between Corporates and Start-ups and boosting digital education and upskilling.

An engineering graduate with a management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Ashish lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

He likes reading, hiking and innovation in business models. He is passionate about HCL contributing to society and is actively working to enable HCL to develop partnerships with organizations like the Prince’s Trust in the UK, and other geographies it works in, in Europe & Africa. In 2020, he was invited to be part of the Prince’s Trust Leadership and Technology Group.

Zoe Cunningham

Director, Softwire Technology

Zoe Cunningham is a Director of Softwire Technology, consistently selected as one of the Sunday Times’ top 25 Best Places to Work.

Zoe has won over ten awards for her technology work including being named as one of the 100 most influential people in Tech City and selected by the BBC as the Brightest Woman in Britain. In 2013 she accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron on his trade delegation to China.

Zoe is a keen technology communicator, fronting the technology and business podcast for the Haggerston Times and appearing as a guest presenter on BBC Click. Zoe has been interviewed on national and local TV and radio about technology, security and backgammon. She has appeared on news channels including Sky News, BBC 1, Channel 4, Al Jazeera, BBC World News and London Live.

Zoe also works as an actor, recently playing the lead role in Marianna Dean's award-winning short film Symptoms and an award-nominated role in seasonal short The Christmas Movie. Zoe has published three books, her most recent entitled "An Actor's Life" detailing her journey as an actor.

Tara McGeehan

President of UK Operations, CGI

Tara McGeehan was appointed President of CGI’s UK operations in January 2018. In May 2019, to capitalise on market synergies, the Australia Business Unit was added to the UK Operations, forming the UK and Australia Strategic Business Unit. As President, Tara leads a team of approximately 6,000 professionals and consultants who bring all of CGI’s end-to-end capabilities and industry and technology expertise to clients across these regions.

A CGI member for more than 17 years, Tara previously served as Senior Vice-President responsible for the North and Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Business Unit where she developed business across commercial and government industries, including high-profile digital engagements such as the UK smart metering program. With 20 years’ industry experience, Tara has a detailed understanding of these markets and their implications and opportunities for CGI’s clients.

Prior to joining CGI in 2001, Tara was a Senior Manager at National Grid. She has strong relationships with Directors and Senior Managers of many of the UK energy companies and is frequently asked to perform focused ‘health-checks’ on areas of their business to help identify and resolve problems.

As Senior Sponsor of the UK Diversity programme, Tara is passionate about diversity and encouraging young people and women to enter the technology industry. In 2014, Tara was recognized as a CGI Builder for her contributions to our business as a trusted thought leader who delivers on the most complex programs and for modelling CGI values internally and externally.

Tara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering with a focus on understanding the financial and practical considerations of business in an industrial context. She has been a loyal and often disappointed follower of both the Yorkshire and England cricket teams over several years.

Neil Sawyer

Commercial Channel & Education Director (UK and Ireland), HP Inc.

Neil manages the UK&I Channel organization at HP. which focuses on all aspects of HP’s Printing, Personal Systems, Mobility and Software Solutions portfolio.

This encompasses Distribution, Consumer Retail, Office Supplies, Commercial Resellers and System Integrators. In addition Neil acts as the lead into government for strategic relationships with Department for Education, NHS England and Cabinet Office.

Over the last 17 years, he has worked in a number of roles from an Operations, Strategy, Marketing and Sales perspective for HP, Samsung and Vodafone.

One of his keen areas of interest is how we look to promote and develop the digital skills of people today and in the future. He firmly believes this will make significant inroads into the future economic prosperity of the economy in Great Britain and Ireland.

Outside of work he is a keen runner, plays his fair share of golf (mostly in Ireland) and he enjoys live music.

Jacqueline Davey

Vice President Enterprise Industry Units & Commercial, UK & Ireland, IBM

Jacqueline Davey was born in 1966 in London. She holds a BA (Hons) Degree in English
and History 1988 and a BA (Hons) Law Degree 1998.

Jacqueline has worked for IBM for 30 years in a variety of roles. Her experiences are in driving sales and technical teams to achieve challenging growth objectives and in the management and development of long-term client relationships to increase revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction. Jacqueline joined IBM in 1988 initially as a secretary, and then moved to a technical role as a systems programmer, leading to subsequent roles in Marketing, Sales, Sales Management, European Operations and Business Leadership.

Jacqueline represents IBM as a member of the Board for techUK.

Her current role is VP Enterprise Industry Units & Commercial, UK & Ireland, responsible for all UK & Ireland clients except 8 significant Global Integrated Account Clients. She came to this role from the position of VP of Cross Sector Sales for GBS (IBM’s consulting business) with responsibility for building and executing a cross- Industry sales model to maximize IBM Consulting services sales, accelerating progression into High Growth consulting market opportunities and ensuring leverage of the breadth of the IBM portfolio and Routes to Market.

Prior to this Jacqueline was appointed as the first VP for Cloud in UKI, ensuring that IBM in UKI captured the significant growth available across all parts of the portfolio for Cloud related activity with our customers. She took this role on return from assignment in Madrid where she held the
position of VP of Sales & Transformation, Systems and Technology Group for IBM in Europe where she was responsible for driving sales execution and strategic transformation projects for IBM’s hardware business in Europe, based in Madrid. Her focus was on ensuring that coverage and route to market transformation was executed to ensure access to the emerging influencer and business partner models whilst maintaining strong market presence and high levels of customer satisfaction. In this role she delivered the creation and execution of strategic change to drive acquisition of new clients, share gain and competitive displacement.

Prior to this Jacqueline held the position of VP for the Business Partner Organisation, UK responsible for driving all IBM’s activities through Channel Partners, ISVs and Systems Integrators – serving both the Corporate and SME Marketplace. Previous roles include: Server Technology Group Director for x86 sales across North East Europe, Industrial Sector Director for 5 years accountable for IBM revenues, profits and customer satisfaction in major global industrial enterprises in the Region, leading a multinational team of Client Managers and Solution Specialists focused on these industries and UK and Ireland Services Sales Manager, responsible for all IT Related services sales in UK.

Jacqueline, her husband Simon and son Edward currently reside in Weybridge in Surrey having returned from a two year assignment in Madrid, Spain.

Jaspal (Jas) Bhogal

Director of UK Enterprise & Government Sales, Intel

Jas Bhogal is currently the Director of UK Enterprise & Government Sales and leads a senior sales team responsible for creating business value and providing innovative solutions, together with partners, to enterprise customers across multiple industry verticals, public sector and Government.

Jas Bhogal joined Intel in 2001 and has held a variety of sales management positions. Prior to joining Intel Bhogal held sales and management positions at Cap Gemini.

Jas Bhogal holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB Hons) and a Master’s Degree (MSc) in Business Information Systems and has also completed the International Executive Programme in General Management at INSEAD business school.

Tim Crofts

Vice President Business Development and Strategy UK, Leidos

Tim is an experienced Sales and Business Development leader, having amassed 20 years’ experience at IBM before joining Lockheed Martin IS&GS in March 2016 and moving into Leidos in August 2016 following the merger with LM. He now leads Business Development & Strategy for the UK business.

Working across a number of business development roles Tim has built strong relationships with key public sector clients in the UK he is adept across the full spectrum of Technology Services. Tim has distinguished experience of running large and complex technology based services deals as well as leading a large sales team to deliver pipeline, account growth and new business

Tim holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies from Napier University, Edinburgh. He was previously a member of the techUK Defence & Security Board, Chair of RISC working with the Home Office and was a participant on the inaugural CBI Leadership Programme in 2013.

He has 3 children: Oliver, Charlotte and Harry and enjoys coaching his son’s football team, gardening and cooking.

Richard Petley

UK Country Leader and Technology Regional Vice President, UK, Ireland and Israel, Oracle Corporation UK

Richard Petley is the UK Country Leader and Technology Regional Vice President, UK, Ireland and Israel. He is responsible for managing the teams in charge of the commercialization of Oracle Cloud solutions in PaaS and IaaS, and specialized solutions in analytics and security.

Petley has been with Oracle since March 2018 having joined from IBM, where he served as vice president of Cognitive and Industry Solutions. He previously led IBM’s software business in the UK and Ireland and the WebSphere group in Europe. Petley has worked in software sales, consultancy and management for over 15 years.

Petley holds an MBA from Henley Management School and a degree in English Literature from The University of Leeds.

Jessica Lennard

Senior Director Global Data Privacy and AI initiatives, VISA

Jessica is a Senior Director in Visa’s Global Strategic Initiatives team leading on Data and Artificial Intelligence. Her work focuses on responsible AI (policy, regulation and ethics); privacy, data protection and data sharing; and consumer empowerment. She has over ten years’ corporate affairs experience across highly regulated, technology-driven sectors including digital and cyber, data and AI, telecoms, cleantech and fintech. During this time Jessica has advised political parties, businesses (start-up to large scale global enterprises), consultancies, trade bodies, think tanks and NGOs.

Jessica sits on Data and AI committees at TechUK, UKFinance, the All Party Parliamentary Group for AI, and the World Federation of Advertisers. She is an enthusiastic member of campaigning group ‘Women Leading in AI’, which advocates for ethics, diversity and inclusion in AI. She previously trained as a capital markets solicitor at Linklaters, having completed an undergraduate degree in Law from Oxford University and a Masters degree in Political Theory from the LSE.

Zahra Bahrololoumi

Senior Managing Director – Technology United Kingdom and Ireland, Accenture

Zahra Bahrololoumi is a Managing Director and lead of Accenture Technology for the UK and Ireland which provides Application & Platform services to clients across all industry groups. She is responsible for developing the technology that powers innovation and transformation for Accenture’s clients. With a focus on artificial intelligence, cloud computing and platforms underpinning new applications, Zahra is passionate about technology’s potential to change peoples’ lives for the better.

Prior to this role, Zahra led Accenture’s global Fuels Retail practice and the Technology Consulting practice for Resources across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America (EALA). The majority of Zahra’s career has been in business and IT transformation projects in grocery retail, oil and gas, banking, healthcare and telecoms. She has pioneered a number of ‘firsts’ in the oil and gas industry, including patent-pending uses of cloud computing technology for energy industry divestments. She also created and led the Global Resources Blockchain Council where she advises utility, chemical and energy companies on how to generate value from Blockchain technology.

As Fuels Retail lead, she was an active speaker in industry and co-author of recent articles including “Charging Ahead: Reimaging the forecourt of the future,” which examines how emerging technology developments might improve Fuels Retail by 2030.

Zahra is Accenture Technology’s Inclusion & Diversity Lead for EALA and was previously the Human Capital & Diversity lead for UK&I. She has an active voice in the market on the topic of diversity and has written for and commented in leading publications, including Management Today, Forbes, The Telegraph and the Evening Standard. Zahra is on the board of advisors for Mind Matters – an initiative focused on mental health for young people.

Zahra is a member of the Accenture UK & Ireland executive leadership team and was recently appointed as a director on the Accenture UK board of directors.

Zahra is a member of the Technology Leadership Group (TLG) for the Prince's Trust working with leaders from across the Technology Industry in the UK to engage the Technology Industry in raising money and helping the Prince's Trust to support disadvantaged Young People in the UK to get into employment. In 2016, Zahra was named a “Women in IT”: “Woman of the year” finalist and was previously named by Management Today to their “35 Women Under 35” list. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in management science from Brunel University.

Wenbing Yao

Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships, Huawei Technologies (UK)

Wenbing Yao joined Huawei UK in 2008 and took up the role of VP Business Development and Partnerships in April 2018. Since 2017, Wenbing has been with Huawei Corporate Elite Program on end to end network transformation. Between 2012 and 2016, Wenbing was the Director of Strategy and Marketing, responsible for developing the mid and long term business strategy for Huawei UK; driving strategic business development in areas including 5G, IoT, Smart City, Big Data, Media and Broadcast, Data Centre IT and infrastructure; leading joint innovations with key telecom customers and organising market communication activities. Before 2012, Wenbing held various positions in a global account in Huawei, leading the solution marketing and industry and research collaborations team.

Wenbing received her Ph.D degree in Communication and Information Systems from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, P.R.China, in 2001. She was a lecturer in wireless communications at Brunel University from 2003 to 2008, and a research fellow from 2002 to 2003 in heterogeneous networking technologies and mobile healthcare systems.

Wenbing lives in Basingstoke, and is a keen badminton player and a dog lover.

Dr Nicola Hodson

Vice President of Transformation, Global Sales and Marketing, Microsoft

Nicola Hodson is the Vice President Global Sales & Marketing Transformation for Microsoft UK.

Her remit covers orchestrating the direction and success of the sales, marketing and services resources in each of the business groups, strategy and planning for the UK subsidiary, as well as leading the marketing teams responsible for promoting the company's consumer and commercial products and services.

Nicola has worked on transforming businesses throughout her career. Prior to joining Microsoft, Nicola was Executive Director at Siemens IT Solutions and Services, where she managed a range of IT and business process outsourcing contracts for customers in the Public Sector, Financial Services and Manufacturing industries in Great Britain and Ireland. Nicola joined Siemens in 2003 as Executive Director in charge of Sales, Marketing, Partner Management and Bid Management with responsibility across the portfolio. She also worked on a number of acquisitions and corporate projects, including major reorganisations, TUPE transfers, pension scheme changes and restructuring projects.

Prior to Siemens, Nicola led tBPO sales in the UK at CSC and sold a number of systems integration and consulting projects in the energy, FMCG, retail and manufacturing sectors. She has also worked for Ernst & Young Management Consulting selling and delivering a number of transformation projects in the energy and utilities sector.

Nicola is married with three sons and two stepsons, who keep her both busy and grounded in the hurly burly of busy family life. She loves outdoor pursuits including off road biking, skiing, tennis and swimming. When she does get a moment to herself as a keen motorbike enthusiast she enjoys riding her KTM Freeride, entertaining, listening to music or reading...

Paul Struthers

Managing Director UK & Ireland, SAGE

Paul Struthers has more than 20 years’ technology experience and leads Sage in its home market of the UK and Ireland. Previously, Paul led Sage in Canada for 3 years, before becoming EVP & GM, Medium Segment Cloud Connected Solutions, where he was responsible for driving a unified strategy for our Medium Segment customers, heading up the category leaders for BMS, X3, HR and Payroll. Before joining Sage, Paul spent 15 years at global software solutions company Amdocs, and prior to this managed the ERP consulting practice at RSA companies, where he also led and supported over 20 projects for small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and Canada

Aleyne Johnson

Head of Government Relations and Citizenship, Samsung Electronics

Aleyne leads Samsung Electronic's Government Relations, Citizenship and Sustainability work in the UK and Ireland.

The UK represents one of Samsung's most important markets, particularly in the development of the Internet of Things, and Aleyne is responsible for leading Samsung's policy development in this and all other areas.

As a promoter of the positive role of technology in society, Aleyne's remit also includes Samsung's education and citizenship programmes which aim to provide young people with technology skills through a UK-wide network of schools and colleges and with major cultural institutions, like the British Museum and Royal Albert Hall, and with charity partners, like The Prince's Trust and Apps for Good.

He is also a Board member of the UK Government's Child Internet Safety Council (UKCCIS), which focuses Government, industry and NGO work in the field of child on-line protection, and the Prince's Trust Technology Leadership Group, which helps give young people from difficult backgrounds a better start.

Prior to joining Samsung, Aleyne held roles in the technology and telecoms sectors with Vodafone and Orange for the last decade and, before that, in the financial services sector in the UK and Australasia. He also worked for the British Government.

He lives in West London with his wife and daughter and in his spare time plays both guitar and tennis very poorly.

Richard Checkley

Defence Information Director, BAE Systems

Richard was appointed as Defence Information Director on 1st January 2018. In this role Richard leads the Defence Information business delivering business & mission critical, highly secure and assured information systems and services across the group and direct to external customers.

Previously, Richard held a number of senior positions in the Company’s Defence Information business, including Falcon Programme Director, delivering the secure deployable broadband voice, data and video communications system into service for the British Army and Royal Air Force. Prior to this, Richard worked in the F35 Lightning II business in a broad range of leadership roles, working closely with Lockheed Martin, Northop Grumman and the US Customer.

Richard studied manufacturing at Coventry University and Engineering Business Management at Warwick University. Joining BAE Systems as a graduate engineer in 1994, Richard worked in a number of roles developing and introducing new engineering and business capabilities for a range of Military Aircraft projects including Nimrod, Typhoon and the F-35 Lighting II programme.

Richard is married with two young children.

Simon Hansford

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, UKCloud

Simon Hansford is a co-founder and Chief Executive of UKCloud. Simon and his colleagues saw an opportunity with the arrival of the coalition government and creation of the Government Digital Service, to challenge the oligopoly of large incumbent IT suppliers in the government sector. Under his leadership, UKCloud has been awarded numerous significant industry accolades, most notably the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 as the UK’s fastest growing technology company.

Simon is a serial entrepreneur with many years experience in the information technology sector, with much of that time spent playing an active role in the expansion of cutting edge businesses. He has held many leadership and board positions within the hosting industry including co-founding one of the UK’s leading managed service providers, until he started UKCloud in 2011.

Simon is a father of four girls and is a keen skier, cyclist and occasional triathlete.

Georgina O'Toole

Chief Analyst, TechMarketView

Georgina O'Toole is Chief Analyst at TechMarketView, a role that encompasses thought leadership and business development.

Georgina joined TechMarketView as a Research Director for PublicSectorViews in February 2010. She is a respected industry analyst known for her commentary on the UK software and IT services market and for her in depth knowledge of the public sector, having primarily focused on the sector for the last 16 years.

Before joining TechMarketView, Georgina was Practice Leader for Ovum’s Geographies & Industries practice (alongside Tola Sargeant) where she was responsible for Ovum’s government research globally.

As an analyst at Ovum Holway from 2000, Georgina had previously worked closely with both enterprise and vendor clients providing advice and opinion on the UK software and IT services market. She was instrumental in the launch of Ovum’s well-respected [email protected] research programme in 2004 and went on to focus her research on the UK central government, defence and criminal justice markets. As a lead analyst in these sectors, Georgina’s opinion was valued by a variety of clients including IT services companies, major defence contractors and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Prior to joining Ovum, Georgina was a business analyst for CMG (now Logica) working for a variety of clients in the transport & logistics and telecoms sectors.

Georgina has a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Southampton.

Chris Francis

Director for Government Relations, SAP UK

Chris leads on all areas of policy and business support for SAP UK as well as covering a portfolio of EU issues.

Previously Chris has worked on technical regulatory affairs and policy matters in the UK and the EU for over ten years following a career in the UK Civil Service covering a wide range of trade and business policy issues as well as innovation support.

Tabitha Goldstaub

Co-founder, CognitionX

Tabitha is Co Founder of CogX, a platform that enables thousands of thought leaders to host their own public or private live video sessions and build interactive meaningful conversations with their audience.

Alongside CogX, Tabitha is the chair of the UK government's AI Council and a member of the TechUK board. A serial entrepreneur, Tabitha was the co-founder of video distribution company Rightster (IPO 2011.) An advocate for increased diversity, Tabitha is the Author of How To Talk To Robots, a Girlsguide to a world dominated by AI. She's also a co-founder of Future Girl Corp and is an advisor to TeensInAI.

David Meads

Chief Executive, CISCO UK and Ireland

David Meads is the Chief Executive of Cisco in the UK & Ireland. In his role, he has direct responsibility for Cisco’s sales operations in the region and oversees a diverse community of employees who represent over 40 areas of Cisco’s global business.

In his prior role as Vice President of Cisco’s Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia (EMEAR) Partner Organisation, Meads was responsible for developing strategic initiatives to help manage and support partners who represent the company’s primary route to market. This remains a focus for him in the UK and Ireland business, where Cisco has over 4,000 IT partners, who with its own employees represent over 20,000 people who help to deliver for its customers daily.

With over 30 years of experience in the ICT industry, Meads has previously been responsible for Cisco’s business in the Middle East and Africa, where he was instrumental in partnering with governments and businesses to build the technology skills and ecosystems that drive economic growth and competitiveness for emerging markets. This was a progression from him having led the company’s Africa business and before that, South Africa. Meads is originally from the UK, where he began his career with Cisco in 1996.

Meads is highly regarded for his keen understanding of technology and market opportunities, as well as his track record of operational excellence. A recognized industry spokesperson, he has gained a reputation as a transformational leader, who is able to deliver business performance outcomes in complex, dynamic markets.

Dr Mark Thompson

Professor in Digital Economy, University of Exeter Business School

Mark is Professor in Digital Economy, University of Exeter Business School, and is acknowledged in the public domain as one of architects of Digital service redesign within the UK public sector. He has held various advisory positions, including Senior Technology Policy Advisor to Shadow Chancellor George Osborne MP,  IT Futures Advisor, Cabinet Office, Digital Advisory Panel, National Audit Office, cited contributor, Labour Digital Review, Advisory Panel, Digital Leaders, Digital and Data Advisory Committee, Cabinet Office, Senior Digital Advisor, Scottish Government. He chairs several digital conferences, and is a regular contributor to Computer Weekly and other publications. Mark is also a shareholding director for TechUK member Methods, as well as Methods Analytics and Core Azure. His book Digitizing Government was published in December 2014, and his Manifesto for Better Public Services launched at the Institute for Government in 2018.

Sheila Flavell CBE

Chief Operating Officer, FDM Group

Sheila is the Chief Operating Officer an Executive Board Director of FDM Group. She has over 30 years’ experience in both the public and private IT sectors. Sheila played an integral role in the Group’s flotation on AIM in 2005 and was a key instigator of the management buy-out of the Group in 2010 and its subsequent listing onto the main FTSE Market in June 2014 and more recent entry into the FTSE 250.

Sheila’s experience and knowledge of the sector has been crucial in driving the Group’s global expansion programme. She is fully committed to promoting all forms of diversity, especially women in Tech and spearheads FDM’s Women in IT campaign and FDM’s ‘Getting Back to Business‘ programme, aimed at providing opportunities for women looking to return to the workplace.

As Chairwoman of the Institute of Coding’s Industry Advisory Board, she is at the forefront of the collaboration between industry and Higher Education to redefine and reshape digital education at degree level and beyond to ensure businesses have the skills in their organisations to move forward in today’s world of digital transformation. She is frequently called to advise government committees on various issues. Most recently she gave evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee on bridging the digital skills gap.

She has won numerous awards over many years for her services to the Tech industry, including a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by ‘Scottish Women In Tech’ and was most recently recognised in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List, by being awarded ‘Commander of the Order of The British Empire’ for services to ‘Gender Equality in IT and Graduate and Returners Employment.’ She is regularly listed as one of the Most Influential Woman in Tech in the UK, by Computer Weekly and has also been regularly named as one of the Most Influential Women in the North American Mid Market’ by CEO Connection.

Sheila is a keen helicopter pilot who also likes to plant trees, play golf/ski and cycle.

Laura Bailey

Chairperson, Qadre

Laura, Chairperson of Qadre and Spokesperson for the British Blockchain Association, is a leading entrepreneur in the field of blockchain technology and a trailblazer for women in fintech. She has co-founded three successful blockchain ventures and is currently developing Qadre into a global technology leader - working with UK parliament, industry, and regulators alike to drive policy and cultural changes to technology. Laura is a regular speaker in domestic and international governments, regulators, and NGOs, promoting technology for good. Laura has an extensive background in finance and began her career at HSBC across a variety of areas, including Leveraged Finance, Marketing, and Corporate Banking.

Laura, Chairperson of Qadre and Spokesperson for the British Blockchain Association, is a leading entrepreneur in the field of blockchain technology and a trailblazer for women in fintech. She has co-founded three successful blockchain ventures and is currently developing Qadre into a global technology leader. Laura has an extensive background in finance and began her career at HSBC across a variety of areas, including Leveraged Finance, Marketing, and Corporate Banking.

Kulveer Ranger

Global Head of Strategy & Comms FS&I, SVP Strategy & Comms UK and Ireland, Atos

Kulveer Ranger is Senior Vice-President, Strategy and Communications for Atos UK&I. He is responsible for alignment between the UK&I business strategy and corporate communications, and sits on the UK Executive Leadership Team. He is a Digital Leader and sits on the SmarterUK, Cities and Communities Board. His previous positions included leading the Mayor of London’s Transport, Environment, and Digital Strategy Policy divisions between 2008-12.

He was also a member of the London 2012 Olympic Transport Board, the C40 International Steering Committee, and the Bristol 2015 Green Capital Board. He was also chairman of the Digital City Exchange Advisory Board at Imperial College Business School from 2012-17.

He has extensive knowledge of developing and delivering major infrastructure and technology led programmes. Kulveer is an international public speaker and is also a regular broadcaster for TV and radio.

He is co-founder of the Modern Britain Policy Group, a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and is a passionate supporter of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

Elizabeth Kanter

Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, TikTok

Liz was appointed Director of Policy and Government Relations at TikTok in May 2019. She is responsible for engaging with governments and delivering TikTok's public policy objectives in the UK, Ireland and Israel. In addition, Liz's remit is to promote TikTok for Good which is TikTok’s programme committed to amplifying the work of its NGO partners such as the National Youth Theatre, the British Red Cross, YouthMusic and the Prince's Trust.

Prior to joining TikTok, Liz ran her own public affairs consultancy firm working for a range of organisations including StubHub, Forescout and the Cabinet Office. Liz has held senior Government Relations positions at a range of global brands including SAP, BlackBerry, and Yahoo.

Liz is a dual US-UK national. She keeps the US-UK connection alive through her fellowship with the British American Project, for which she sits on the UK Executive Board. She is from California, and moved to London in 2001. She lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

Michael Keegan

Businessman and Investor, Centerprise International

Michael Keegan is a Non Executive Director of Centerprise International and an investor in technology companies via Sussex Ventures and Fisher Investments.  Michael is Chairman of the techUK Membership, Finance & Performance Board.

Prior to his current portfolio roles Michael has worked in both the Technology and Financial Services sectors at Fujitsu, MasterCard International, and Welcome Real Time over a 34 year executive management career. A strong supporter of the need for more gender diversity in the technology sector, Michael is also an ambassador for Everywoman.

Alex Towers

Director of Policy and Public Affairs, BT Group

Alex was appointed Director of Policy and Public Affairs for BT Group in November 2017.  He leads BT’s political strategy and its public policy work, both in the UK and around the world.

Before joining BT, Alex was the Director of the BBC Trust – the BBC’s regulator and governing body - from 2015 to 2017.  In that time, he helped to restore stability at the top of the BBC after a period of crisis; negotiated a new Royal Charter to sustain a strong, independent BBC in the form that the public want; and managed the process of change and transition to a new BBC governance structure, winding up the BBC Trust itself in the process.

Alex held earlier positions at the Trust as Head of Finance, Economics and Strategy and then as Deputy Director. He led the Trust’s work to assess the performance of BBC’s services, to approve and allocate budgets, to scrutinise value for money, and to assess BBC proposals for new services and activities. He oversaw its programme of audience research, data analysis and public consultation.  He also ran policy negotiations with Government officials and regulators.

In his earlier career, Alex was a civil servant at DCMS.  His work on media policy included the 2003 Communications Act, Ofcom’s first review of public service broadcasting and the BBC Charter Review that followed. He also helped to plan and deliver the 2012 Olympics.

He grew up in Yorkshire, and now lives in South East London with his wife and their four children.

Gordon Wilson

Chief Executive Officer, Advanced

Gordon is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Advanced. Having joined the company in September 2015, he brings extensive experience in the software industry from which to continue to drive Advanced’s impressive growth trajectory. Gordon is leading Advanced’s ambitious transformation process which includes a four pillar process of reorganisation, rebranding, relocation and restructuring.

With over 20 years’ General Management experience in the software and business support sectors, Gordon’s former roles include serving as Managing Director at Kerridge Automotive Systems, ADP Dealer Services and leading Aquila Heywood, the UK’s largest provider of pension and policy administration software and services. All three software businesses experienced significant growth under Wilson’s watch, most recently leading the management team at Aquila Heywood to achieve 90% growth over a five-year period.

Sir William Touche

Partner and Vice Chairman, Deloitte

William Touche is a partner at Deloitte and works with international companies principally in the TMT and Consumer Business sectors. He leads Corporate Governance for Deloitte. At techUK he brings his financial and advisory skills to bear for the benefit of the board and member companies.

Julian David

CEO, techUK

Julian David is the CEO of techUK, the Digital Technology Trade Association. 

Julian leads techUK's 60 strong team in representing over 800 member companies, comprising global and national champions and more than 500 SMEs. He is a member of the UK Government and Industry Cyber Growth Partnership, the Digital Economy Council and the Department of International Trade’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group. He is also the Vice President for National Trade Associations, on the Executive Board of DIGITALEUROPE, Vice President representing Europe on the board of WITSA the Worldwide IT Association, and a member of the board of the Health innovation Network, the South London Academic Health Science Network.