With over 17 years as an operations, project and change management expert, Danielle is the Founder of Optimo, a business improvement firm that aims to promote positive change by supporting organisations that make a genuine difference in the world. Supporting clients with people development and team productivity, process implementation and improvement, technology development and information management, Danielle brings together experience and lessons from a variety of industries including healthcare, financial services, higher education and waste management and is now on a mission to explore the intersections of business operations, sustainability and regenerative principles.
Katy Raife is the Sector Manager of Digital and Creative at West Yorkshire Combined Authority where she leads initiatives within the Trade and Investment team. Katy focuses on driving growth in the region’s digital sector by attracting investment, supporting businesses, and fostering growth and innovation. With experience across both private and public sectors, Katy is dedicated to positioning West Yorkshire as a leading hub for digital industries, ensuring the region’s continued economic growth and technological advancement.
Yasmin is currently Head of Connected Technology Academy at KPMG, a role that allows her to break down barriers for women and young people coming into the tech industry and educating through outreach activity in schools, colleges and universities. Her storied career includes stints at a host of tech giants, from NHS Digital and Accenture to Jet2 and Sky Betting and Gaming. But her passion for gender equality doesn’t stop at the office door. She’s a powerful voice in the Leeds tech community and is committed to helping people feel empowered to take the leap into tech, regardless of background and experience. Something that’s evident in her place on the WILD Digital Board, where she helps in their mission to inspire people from minority groups to consider a career in digital. She is also a Board Member at Maggie’s Cancer Centres, Yorkshire Dance and a School Governor. She is also the creator of KidsCode a free weekend initiative ran at KPMG teaching children and their parents to code. Yasmin was this years “Equity and Diversity” Winner at the inaugural Yorkshire Business Woman Awards, a finalist in this year’s Women in Tech UK awards for “Outstanding Advocate for Women in Tech” for the 2nd year running, and Prolific North’s “Outstanding Contributor to the North” and made the Most Influential Women in Tech Leeds List in 2023, and the Northern Power Women Future List 2018.
Innovative, results-driven Generative AI Strategy Lead with a proven track record of successfully guiding individuals, SMB’s and C-suite clients across industries on the development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies that help them achieve their business goals. Dedicated to enabling individuals and organisations to unlock their full potential through AI-driven transformation.
Serial founder of sucessful technology companies turned parallel entrepreneur. Pete has delivered startup and spinout programs for EU and NASA projects. Founded and building Venture.Community with the mission to rebalance power to value creators - the world's first cooperative venture society.
Johnny J Pawlik is an award-winning communications expert based in Yorkshire and Kyoto. He has been featured in many international media including Forbes, the Asahi Shimbun and Good Morning Britain. He has given many interviews on the BBC speaking about business and leadership, and is listed in this year’s 42 under 42. Oxford-educated with over 21 years of international experience in branding, marketing, and strategy.
Johnny has had the opportunity to consult with notable institutions such as the European Parliament, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Australian Federal Government, British Members of Parliament, BSkyB, the NHS, the UKTI, and a plethora of others. He specialises in supporting businesses from ideation to scale and sale through intelligent branding and marketing. He utilises proven methodologies, research-backed approaches and compelling creative to resonate with and active audiences for brands. Johnny is the Founder and CEO of the international branding and marketing firm, Mantra Media, and the Co-Founder of the Japanese luxury retail brand, Atelier Japan. He is a mentor and ambassador for 3 accelerators/venture builders in London, Tokyo and Sheffield. Johnny is exceptional at building venture teams. To illustrate this, in 2023 he formed a VC backed tech company alongside the former global CEO of Diesel and Ben Sherman Panicko Philippou, former global CFO of Soho House, Annie Guerard and former head of data architecture for the Bank of England and Vodafone, Darren Timmins.
Ulrike leads Customer Engineering teams, facilitating cloud transformations for companies and partners. She holds a master's degree in Geography and Economics from both the Technical University of Dresden and the Technical University of Würzburg (Germany), as well as a PhD in Geography specializing in Geoinformatics from Loughborough University (UK). Ulrike's academic career includes leading an international research group funded by the European Union and the French government. Her passion for digital mapping led her to Product Management at NAVTEQ, a Nokia subsidiary (now Here.com). There, she progressed from product analyst to product manager, overseeing large-scale data transformations and processing pipelines on Hadoop. Since joining Google Cloud in 2012 as a Sales Engineer for Google Maps, Ulrike has collaborated with customers on Workspace, infrastructure, and data cloud transformations across Financial Services, Media, Retail, and Manufacturing. She currently leads Customer Engineering for Manufacturing and Healthcare/Life Sciences as well as the Technical SMEs in Cloud Computing UKI. Ulrike is a dedicated champion of digital transformation, customer success, and Women in Technology. She frequently speaks at industry events and is widely recognized for her expertise and leadership in cloud computing. She lives with her husband and 3 children in London.
Stuart is the founder of Paceline marketing and PR consultancy, working with firms in the tech sector. He is a non-executive director to a number of startups and the creator of the Leeds Tech Map and the PARSE peer roundtable programme for startup founders. Stuart is also the co-founder and the Festival Director of the Leeds Digital Festival, the largest tech event in the UK.
Jess Sewter is Chief Partnerships Officer for Generation UK&I, a leading skills bootcamp charity that trains, supports and places people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds into life-changing tech and data roles otherwise inaccessible. Jess has worked in education, employment and skills for over 20 years and is passionate about closing the digital gap through widening access and challenging the status quo. Jess partners with organisations looking to grow their digital teams, increase their diversity, and make important social impact.
Dr Zoe Detko is the founder of Ardea Eco-innovation, she is a sustainability specialist with a proven track record of helping businesses reduce their carbon emissions and improve their environmental performance. Having worked with businesses across most sectors, Zoe has gained experience and knowledge to be able to assist any organisation with their path to Net Zero. With a research background in integrating the environment into planning and policy, Zoe is confident in ensuring businesses are compliant, whilst also helping them make a positive impact on the environment.
Peter has over 20 years experience of creating value from data. Peter joined Morrisons in 2019 to set up the Data Science function from scratch. Over time, he has merged Data Science capability into the broader data team and now directs the group-wide Governance, Architecture, Engineering, Science and AI functions. Before Morrisons, Peter has worked as a Data Scientist in the advertising industry, helping brands extract value from their data by studying human behaviour and how it can be influenced through advertising campaigns. Peter is an applied mathematician who is actively involved in leveraging new mathematical techniques for value in commercial settings.
Adam is currently the Platform Data Lead for the Workplace Pensions team at Lloyds Banking Group and is responsible for building and enhancing their data capabilities. His role connects the platform team to other central data functions and helps translate strategic plans into data-driven action. Prior to joining Lloyds, Adam has spent 13 years in Financial Services in a variety of data roles, from data visualisation to data strategy, and played a lead role in defining and implementing a data modernisation programme. Adam graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Information Management and is a DAMA Certified Data Management Professional.
Dan spent two decades at the University of York as a Professor in both Computer Science and Biology, resulting in contributions recognised globally in renowned scientific journals like Science and Nature. He then worked in the industry as a Senior Researcher and Content Lead at the unicorn startup Improbable, before co-founding Causa. Pioneered in academia, the spirit of causal AI continues to drive Dan’s ambition to provide AI/ML that delivers value over hype.
Matt is the Co-Founder & Digital Director of madeby.studio, a digital agency specialising in crafting sustainable websites and applications that are good for the planet and your bottom line. They pride themselves on their commitment to technical excellence, building digital solutions with sustainability & accessibility ingrained at every step of the process. He is also the Co-Founder & Operations Manager of GreenTech Gathering, a relaxed and informal networking event series for individuals and organisations interested in sustainability. To kick start our journey to becoming a brighter, greener region, GreenTech Gathering has hosted events throughout Leeds that aim to bring together our community, working together towards making our world a better place. These events are not just about networking, but about inspiring and motivating each other to take action for a sustainable future.
Ayesha is a data professional with 10+ years of experience in a variety of sectors including Health Informatics, Property, Finance and at present Higher Education. She is adept at translating complex business requirements into tangible results focussed action. Ayesha leads the University of Leeds’ Data Governance and Quality function to turn data into a strategic asset by ensuring data governance and quality. She also advises on Identity and Access Management, Data Design Authority, GDPR and Risk committees. Ayesha is also active in the Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain domains with a particular interest in applying governance and policy to drive positive transformational change in society.
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence. Prior to joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, government affairs and public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales and marketing and FinTech. Usman is a graduate of the London School of Economics, BPP Law School and Queen Mary University of London. When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Ioana Marchis-Rusu is currently a Senior Emerging Technology Partner in the Emerging Technologies team at Flutter Entertainment, the world's largest online sports betting and iGaming company. She has a background in Computer Science, Finance & Banking, and holds a MSc in Distributed Computing. She is passionate about technology, AI, ethics, and philosophy. In her role, Ioana researches emerging technologies with a focus on accelerating responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence for the benefit of the Flutter Group and its brands. She created and leads a company-wide AI community which supports AI knowledge sharing. With this community, Ioana has also developed several valuable AI artefacts for use across the Group. In the past few years, Ioana has lead work at Flutter on ethical AI, from AI ethics principles to guidelines for usage of generative AI.
Amul is Co-Founder & Chief Partnerships Officer at Northcoders Group PLC and also the Managing Director of Counter. Before Northcoders and Counter, Amul spent 20 years in the music industry, running a record label and managing a number of successful artists and bands. He left music to set up a tech-startup and a chance meeting with Northcoders CEO ended up with him learning to code himself on Northcoders' first ever cohort. There, he saw first-hand how valuable a skill coding was becoming whilst at the same time fell in love with the values and ambition of Northcoders: diversity, community, excellence and helping to change lives through securing rewarding, fulfilling careers in tech. He became an early investor in Northcoders and a key member of the leadership team. Northcoders has now graduated over 3000 new software, data and cloud engineers in the last 8 years and has helped guide over 90% of them into their first roles at over 600 businesses across the country. Northcoders successfully listed on London Stock Market's AIM Market in 2021 and acquired Tech Returners in 2023. Northcoders launched Counter in May 2024 as a challenger brand in the tech consultancy space. Counter provides clients with teams of highly skilled UK based technical problems solvers cherry picked from Northcoders and Tech Returners highly sought after talent pools. Northcoders has gone on to win many awards including Business Of The Year at the Chamber Business Awards in 2018, Digital & Tech Company Of The Year 2019 at the City Of Manchester Downtown In Business Awards and Rapid Growth Award at the Prolific North Tech Awards 2021. Amul sits on a number of Advisory Boards including Innovate Her, WiLD, GMCA Cyber and the Leeds Digital Steering Board. He also regularly speaks at events on the subjects of diversity, inclusion, tech skills and the tech talent pipeline.
Cheryl Bosi, has undertaken her role as Chief People Officer for UK&I at Flutter Entertainment having historically led HR in firms including HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Money. Cheryl’s achievements include developing the overall global hybrid proposition, transforming performance management and driving new and thoughtful inclusion strategies. Outside of work, Cheryl balances family commitments with her husband and two young daughters with running and cycling.
Andrew Ward is a strategic account director at nLighten, bringing over 15 years of experience in driving digital transformation for his clients. Having lived in the region for over 25 years, Andrew is deeply embedded in the Yorkshire community and dedicated to supporting local enterprises. Throughout his professional career, Andrew has been instrumental in helping some of the largest and most ambitious businesses in Yorkshire achieve their strategic goals through the adoption of innovative technology. Known for his strategic approach to sales and profound understanding of client dynamics, Andrew has played a key role in establishing nLighten's presence in the region. His expertise spans the data centre, AI, and digital infrastructure sectors, where he has consistently delivered success by aligning cutting-edge solutions with the specific needs of his clients. Andrew’s commitment to excellence and innovation continues to drive growth and digital transformation for businesses across Yorkshire.
Denise is a technology leader with over 25 years' experience driving major transformational change and running critical service Engineering teams across Data and Integration. Prior to her role with Microsoft, she led the core Engineering teams (Data, Integration & Cloud) at HMRC, supporting one of the most complex IT estates in Europe. Denise joined Microsoft in September 2021 and leads the Cloud Solution Architect delivery teams within Digital & Application Innovation and Data & AI. The team deliver key solutions to customers that span Developer community services (GitHub and GitHub Copilot) through to core Data analytics and key AI innovation products incorporating Generative AI, such as Azure OpenAI, as well as more traditional AI services linked to Machine Learning.
Steve has worked for Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) for over 16 years, starting as an analyst, before moving around the business working in Insights, Programme Management and Marketing. Steve has credited SBG for being an accelerator for his career and is an advocate for their ‘people-first’ culture .In 2020, after being bought by Flutter UK & Ireland, Steve became the Chief Commercial Officer, leading the SBG brands which include Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Bingo, Sky Poker and Sky Casino. Over Steve’s time at SBG and more recently Flutter UK & Ireland, the team has grown significantly and Sky Bet and Sky Vegas have become some of the most popular betting and gaming brands in the UK.
Sue Daley is the Director of Technology and Innovation at techUK, leading pivotal work on cloud, data analytics, AI, and transformative technologies. An influencer in UK tech, she's recognized by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 and Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame. Co-chairing the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum, Sue drives the data agenda and judges UK Cloud Awards. With a history in Symantec and CBI, she's a seasoned speaker on AI ethics, data protection, and cyber security. Sue holds a Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy and achieved a remarkable feat by swimming the English Channel in 2016.
