Headline Sponsor

Alison is a recognised  digital leader in Scotland with a wealth of experience of many ground-breaking digital programmes across the public sector.  She has worked with many organisations across the Justice sector including Disclosure Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, Scottish Courts and Crown Office.  Her experience also includes a 2.5 year secondment as Head of the Digital Transformation Division of the SG Digital Directorate, during which she was involved in the Digital Justice DESC programme.

Alison is a former Chair of ScotlandIS and now works as a digital transformation strategist working with public and private sector to drive digitally enabled change. 

Nia is an experienced leader of digital transformation who has helped the Scottish public sector deliver services that are more efficient to run and meet the raised expectations of today’s customers. She now helps organisations transition to working in the cloud.
Before that Nia spent 19 years working in both the Welsh and English public sector delivering policy improvements, community development, digital connectivity and business transformation.

Ana Basiri is a Professor in Geospatial Data Science, a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellow, the Director of the Centre for Data Science and AI, and Royal Academy of Engineering’s EngineeringX Champion at the University of Glasgow. Ana leads a team working on developing (theoretical and applied) solutions that consider unavailability and biases in data as useful sources of data to make inferences about the underlying reasons that caused missingness or biases. 

Professor Mark Parsons is the Director of EPCC, the supercomputing centre at the University of Edinburgh. EPCC is known internationally for the breadth and scale of its large-scale computing and data science activities. Since 2018, EPCC has hosted the Edinburgh International Data Facility, the key underpinning technology of the Data Driven Innovation programme which is part of the Edinburgh & SE Scotland City Deal. In addition to his role at EPCC, he is a Director and Trustee of Research Data Scotland and also the Director of Research Computing for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. 

Innovative Technologies Programme Manager at NatureScot.  NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency working to improve our natural environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it.

I co-ordinate NatureScot’s innovation programme and the delivery of our data strategy.  I am a geographer with a background in environmental science and GIS. I am always interested in new technologies and approaches to collecting, sharing and improving access to data and I am passionate about improving how we use data to take positive action for a nature rich future.

Dr Ali Farooq is a Lecturer in Cybersecurity at the University of Strathclyde. His research focus is “Where human meets technology”. He takes a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding how people interact with technology, what issues they face, and the consequences of technology use to help design secure and privacy-preserving systems. He is Co-PI on the REPHRAIN project titled “Addressing Privacy Risks and Legal Challenges in the Emergent Use of Text-based Generative AI for UK Research”. He is also a senior research consultant at Qatar Computing Research Institute, Doha, spearheading a Facebook/META-funded project on social media privacy in sixteen Middle East and North African countries.

Nora is Chief Data Officer at Research Data Scotland. RDS is working to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing in Scotland by enabling access to data about people, places and businesses for research in the public good. Nora heads up the data team at RDS who are looking to improve the end-to-end data research journey in Scotland, looking at how data is stored, updated, accessed, shared and analysed. Nora also oversees RDS’ work with Scottish Government to support the delivery of the ADR Scotland programme. Nora has extensive experience across the UK public sector data landscape – working to understand population health needs across public health teams and a national health think tank. Before joining RDS, she led the Research and Intelligence team at the fertility regulator, working to improve access to data for research and delivering a data driven approach to understanding inequalities in access to and outcomes of fertility treatment. 

Nils Krichel is a Service Delivery Manager for Data and Analytics at NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). NSS serves as the data hub for the health and social care economy in Scotland. Through an unrivalled mix of health and social care datasets, professional capability, and its leading cloud technology platform, it is uniquely positioned to enable the development of data-driven insights with partners, including Public Health Scotland, Health Boards, local, and national government. Nils joined NSS in 2023, having previously spent over 15 years helping Scottish high-tech SMEs on their digital transformation journeys.

Simon Rogers is a Senior Technical Consultant for Data and Analytics at NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). Within this role he leads the technical development of products for a range of clients including the Scottish Government, and Public Health Scotland. He has a particular focus on modern data modelling techniques, including AI. Simon joined NSS in 2021 after more than a decade as a faculty member in the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow where he specialised in the development and application of AI techniques within the life sciences.

Kyle has worked in a range of innovation and technology roles across the third sector; in health, government innovation and net zero and is now Head of Innovation for Scottish Forestry. A technology optimist, Kyle is interested in how new and emerging technology can enable us to deliver better outcomes for people and the planet.   

Kyle is on the Board of Trustees for Keep Scotland Beautiful, Scotland’s environmental charity, working with individuals, schools and communities to restore nature and improve our places.  

A tech strategist and UX design practitioner with a background in networked systems and the music industry—leading open technology platforms and cutting-edge music services

Isaac Smith is Deputy Director Digital Components and Infrastructure within the Digital Directorate of the Scottish Government.  Previously he was Deputy Director for Cloud and Digital Services, Deputy Director of Product, Delivery and Capability (interim) at the Department of Health and Social Care where he provided leadership to the DDaT profession. Prior to this he was Head of Technology at NHSX working to create sustainable digital transformation in health and care. Since 2014 he has specialised in Digital with a focus on technology and user centred design within the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, and the Department of Work and Pensions. He holds degrees in Law and History from The University of Dundee. 

Dan is a leader in Zuhlke’s Data and AI practice and has extensive experience working across a diverse range of sectors including government, transport, telecoms and manufacturing. As a skilled engineer and strategic advisor, Dan effectively connects the needs of leadership with the technical expertise of teams to successfully drive data transformation initiatives for organisations. He brings a unique combination of strategic thinking and deep knowledge of data and engineering to his consulting work.

Jonathan is the Deputy Director for Digital Health and Care in Scottish Government, and has overall responsibility for the Digital Health and Care Data Strategy for Scotland, and is currently leading the delivery of the Digital Front Door programme. 

Prior to his current role, Jonathan held a number of IT Project Management posts in the Public and Private Sector and has a strong track record on complex IT and eHealth project and programme delivery. His career in eHealth and IT includes the delivery of the Emergency Care Summary and Key Information Summary systems which were major achievements in improving patient care across Scotland. Proud to be a CivTech Challenge Sponsor and to deliver major programmes for the NHS and wider public sector. 

Is your data match fit?. Understanding your data assets and getting them in good order to start transforming services

One of David’s focus areas has been on data quality to support initiatives such as child poverty as part of cross public-sector working between Scottish local authorities, the Improvement Service and Scottish Government.

David is the Data Programme Manager at Argyll and Bute Council, and has overall responsibility for steering the local authority’s data programme. The aim of the programme is to make it easier for the council’s services to more effectively use data for service design and delivery, through implementation of the council’s data strategy and action plan.  Prior to joining the council in 2017 David was an ICT and project manager in various roles in the private sector, with effective use of data always running as the core thread through twenty-five years’ experience of delivering organisational change in complex environments.  

Ed Hiley (Technology Director at Hippo). He is a seasoned professional in the technology sector, with a solid track record in engineering and digital transformation in the public and private sector. His experience spans across various roles where he has been instrumental in driving projects that integrate innovative technologies with strategic business goals. Ed’s approach is grounded in practicality, focusing on creating sustainable solutions that address real-world challenges. His expertise includes leading teams in dynamic environments, where he emphasizes collaboration and adaptability. Ed’s contributions to the tech industry are marked by his ability to navigate complex digital landscapes, making him a reliable figure in his field. As a speaker, Ed offers valuable insights drawn from his hands-on experience, providing audiences with a realistic perspective on technology’s role in business and society.

Neil has over 25 years experience of working in the tech sector in Scotland. Neil’s varied career experience spans strategic consultancy, architecture, and delivery in both the public and private sectors. In his CTO role with Sopra Steria, he blends his passions for technology and problem solving to help solve complex business challenges. Neil is also currently the interim Director for the Artificial Intelligence practice and innovating with next-generation technology offerings and delivery. 

Simon’s role is to work with customers to identify and deploy strategic innovation.  This is focused on delivering wider placed based outcomes through 5 led converged connectivity. A graduate of the University of London, Simon has more than 15 years’ experience in change and transformation programmes, particularly in digital and IT solutions. Previous roles with Aberdeen City Council, Scotland Excel, The Improvement Service and the City of Edinburgh Council have seen him lead complex, multi-agency digital change programmes across the public sector.

Iain Fielding joined Zühlke as a Principal Cloud Architect in 2024. He has over two decades of experience in the IT industry, working as a Cloud / Enterprise architect for various companies in the financial services sector. Along with a coffee addiction he holds several Microsoft certifications, including Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure AI Engineer Associate, and Cybersecurity Architect Expert. He is always eager to learn new skills, share his knowledge, and help others achieve their goals.

PJ Norris is a Senior Sales Engineer, UKI at SentinelOne. Having joined the organisation in 2022, PJ is responsible for supporting UKI enterprises with improving their security postures and has been a key stakeholder in building and delivering hands-on threat hunting workshops. 

PJ brings with him over 25 years enterprise security experience gained across a number of sectors, including consultancy firms and energy providers. He is a well-established thought-leader within the industry, having provided press commentary on security breaches and incidents; written a number of technical blogs and presented at industry leading physical and virtual events. 

An IT veteran, PJ is proficient in most enterprise technologies including operating systems, networks, storage, cloud, applications and databases. 

Tristan Verrier is a French third year Ethical Hacking student at Abertay University and Ethical Hacker at the Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland. His role consists of organising cybersecurity training events and conducting vulnerability assessments to improve organisations cybersecurity. Outwith this role, Tristan is the Vice-President of the Ethical Hacking Society of Abertay University and assists in the organisation of Securi-Tay, an annual information security conference.