Can technology ever deliver its full value without leaders who bring context, judgement and empathy?

As part of Cambridge Tech Week, we invite you to join us for the next event in our compelling Future Workspaces series - our ongoing mission to help UK employers face into the new workplace frontier.

What started as an exploration of tomorrow’s office is now a practical guide for the future of work, bringing together insights on leadership, technology and organisational change.

Taking place at Emmanuel College (St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AP), this free fringe event will bring together business leaders and experts to explore one of the most pressing questions facing organisations today: how do we lock in the leadership skills and human perspective which allow technology to deliver real value?

About the event

Technology, and in particular AI, is reshaping how organisations operate at pace. But as capabilities accelerate, so too does the need for effective leadership.

This session will focus on the role of leaders in:

• Providing context in increasingly automated environments
• Applying judgement where technology alone cannot
• Ensuring empathy remains central to decision-making.

Through a panel discussion, we will explore how organisations can balance technological innovation with human insight and what this means for the future of work and leadership.

Following the discussion, there will be an opportunity to continue the conversation over drinks and canapés.

Why attend?

This event will be particularly relevant for those responsible for shaping strategy, leading teams or implementing technology within their organisations.

It offers a chance to:

• Hear practical insights from peers and experts
• Reflect on your own approach to leadership in a technology-driven environment
• Connect with others attending Cambridge Tech Week.

Meet the panel

We're bringing together business and innovation leaders to explore how organisations can balance technological innovation with human insight and what this means for the future of work and leadership.

Dr Ilana Wisby, Entrepreneur in Residence, Cambridge Innovation Capital 

Ilana is a quantum physicist and deep tech entrepreneur known for building hard technology, and the people behind it, at the intersection of science, leadership and national security.

She is best known as the founding CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC). Handed a single patent in 2018, she built OQC into one of the UK's foundational quantum companies: a team of 135+ across the UK, Japan and Spain, more than £100m raised, and the world's first 32-qubit quantum computers deployed inside commercial data centres. What she is proudest of is the people — many of whom now lead and found companies of their own.

She advises governments and boards as readily as founders. She has briefed successive UK Prime Ministers and Chief Scientific Advisors on quantum, served on the UK government's Business Innovation Forum Council and the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Quantum Computing, and now sits on the National Physical Laboratory's Science & Technology Advisory Council and chairs the quantum spin-out SpinOr.

Jane Hutchins, Director, External Affairs & Innovation, Cambridge Science Park

Jane Hutchins brings extensive experience from one of the UK's leading innovation communities. As Director, External Affairs & Innovation at Cambridge Science Park, she works at the intersection of technology, business growth and place-based innovation, helping to support a thriving ecosystem of science and technology businesses.

Jane will bring a valuable perspective on leadership, innovation and the role that people, organisations and communities play in shaping the future of work.

Joe Lloyd, Commercial and Strategy Lead, Oxford Dynamics

Joe Lloyd is Commercial and Strategy Lead at Oxford Dynamics, an AI company developing next-generation autonomous systems. His experience spans AI strategy, technology adoption and innovation, having worked across government and AI-focused organisations on the practical challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies.

Joe will offer insight into how organisations can approach AI adoption while maintaining the context, judgement and human oversight needed to deliver real value.

Jo Stevens, Managing Director, Oxford Innovation Space 

After holding several positions in the company, Jo became Managing Director in October 2017. Responsible for overall strategic direction, growth, and leading all Business Development activity, Jo has been instrumental in OI Space becoming the national network that it is.

Jo is also a Director of UKSPA (United Kingdom Science Park Association) and Chair of the British Heart Foundation 'Heart of Oxford Business Board' raising money locally for the charity.

Thomas Bewes, Senior Asset Manager, Howard Group 

Thomas supports Howard Group’s investment and asset management activities, focusing on strategic initiatives such as leasing and redevelopment at Elizabeth and Juno Way Industrial Estates and growth planning for the residential portfolio.

He joined Howard Group in 2023 after five years at JLL, where he specialised in industrial and logistics across Hertfordshire and East Anglia. Thomas is a director of Howard Capital and Airlite Finance, two subsidiary Group companies.

Book your place

If you would like to attend, please register using the link. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.