Charles Appleton
- Account Manager, Darktrace
Charles Appleton is an Account Manager with Darktrace operating in the UK and Europe. He has given many presentations and technical demonstrations of Darktrace’s ‘Enterprise Immune System’, and currently works with a broad range of clients in the region. Prior to Darktrace, Charles worked with a Japanese public policy think tank in Tokyo and Washington D.C., where he focused on East Asian regional security issues. He has an MA in East Asian International Relations and a BA in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, both from the University of Durham.
Amelia joined Amadeus Capital Partners in 2009 and is a Partner in the Early Stage Fund. Her current investment focus is on autonomous systems, AI and machine learning, cloud computing, digital health, and medical technology. She is a Director on several boards including Xampla, who have developed a plant-based material to replace single-use plastics; Paragraf who are manufacturing graphene-based electronic devices; Immense Simulations intelligent mobility enabling software company; Riverlane a developer of an operating system for quantum computers and SLAMcore, a spin-out from Imperial College, developing spatial intelligence for autonomous robotics and drones. Amelia is also an active board observer at other companies including enterprise voice assistant company PolyAI and Graphcore, the developer of the Intelligence Processing Unit for next generation machine intelligence. Prior to Amadeus, she worked at Barclays Investment Bank as a manager in the structured capital markets team with responsibility for running a portfolio of multi-jurisdiction transactions. Amelia has also worked in structured finance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. She qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in the corporate tax department. Amelia holds a BSc in Chemistry and Biology from Durham University and is a mentor on the Judge Business School’s Accelerate Programme.
Kieran has held various senior technical and executive roles over the past 30 years which included R&D Chief Technical Officer for Orange / France Telecom R&D and Head of Payload Systems Engineering, Airbus Space & Defence. He is currently Director of Ubiquitous Connectivity in the Satellite Applications Catapult and General Manager of the Westcott Site where they host their 5G testbed. Kieran leads on two major 5G projects, firstly a project funded by SEMLEP for Milton Keynes Smart City 5G deployment and a DCMS funded project for Dorset Council providing rural connectivity using satellite and terrestrial connectivity.
Richard Baker
- CEO, GeoSpock
Richard serves a Chief Executive Officer of Geospock, as well as serving as Non-Executive Director for Falcon Media House, a London Stock Exchange listed global Internet Media Group. He is the Chairman of TAB U.K. Ltd, a Data Science company based in Cambridge. Formerly, Richard was the joint founder and CEO of Cleartrade Exchange (CLTX), incorporated in Singapore, an electronic execution exchange for cash-settled, cleared derivatives and futures contracts. CLTX is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a Recognised Market Operator (RMO) and as a Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT) in the USA by the CFTC. CLTX provides a specialised order matching engine giving access to an anonymous central limit order book and block traded futures across multiple asset classes and contracts. CLTX was subject to a 100% majority acquisition by the European Energy Exchange, a Deutsche Bourse company in late 2016.
Richard has held several senior executive positions in technology, media and telecommunications. He has served as a non-executive board member in the internet technology solution sector and has directed and co-founded a digital media consulting services firm.
Richard has a passion for people, innovation, driving high standards and achieving high results. Richard holds qualifications in technology and communications and is a frequent speaker at conferences and roundtables.
Monty Barlow leads the machine learning capability at Cambridge Consultants, with a particular focus on the practical application of artificial intelligence to industrial problems. Throughout his career he has sought challenges which require high performance computation and algorithms to solve, in diverse domains such as telecommunications, security, transport and healthcare. In 2014, he founded a research lab within Cambridge Consultants to develop and industrialise deep learning technology for client programmes.
Dean Bubley
- Director, Mobile Technology & Futurism Analyst / Consultant, Disruptive Analysis
Dean Bubley (@disruptivedean) is the founder of Disruptive Analysis, an independent technology industry analyst and consulting firm based in London. An outspoken analyst & futurist with over 25 years’ experience, he specialises in wireless / telecoms fields, with an eye on the broader technological, governmental and societal contexts. He is one of the leading market observers and forecasters covering 5G/6G, Wi-Fi, FTTX, edge/cloud compute, enterprise private networks, IoT, and policy issues including spectrum, competition and broadband wholesale. He is known as a contrarian and visionary, often with challenging opinions that go against industry consensus. Speaking at over 30 conferences and other events per year, and quoted by publications such as The Economist, FT & Wall Street Journal, he is an authority and provocateur. He regularly appears in technology industry videos, podcasts and blogs. Mr Bubley was formerly an equity analyst, covering communications stocks, with the UK arm of investment bank Robert W. Baird. Prior to that, he spent eight years at UK research firm Datamonitor, where he co-founded the company's Technology business, managed the Internet & Networking area and custom consulting operations, with roles of Chief Analyst & Director of Consulting. He holds a BA in Physics from Keble College, Oxford University.
Graham Burnett-Hall
- Partner, Marks & Clerk
Graham advises on all aspects of intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on patent litigation and dispute resolution in areas with a high level of scientific or technical content. He advises clients in a wide range of fields, including the electronics and telecommunications, biotechnology and pharma, medical device and chemical sectors. He frequently acts in multi-jurisdictional disputes, co-ordinating and working with legal teams in Europe and the United States. He is one of the few UK practitioners with first-hand experience of running patent litigation in China.
Graham’s patent work in the telecommunications and electronics sectors has covered standard essential patents, electronic program guides, transmission systems (including applications of LTE and video streaming using CDNs), radio frequency identification devices and encryption methods. In the life sciences, biotech and health care sectors he has focussed on antibodies, small molecule drugs, pharmaceutical formulations, insulin-like growth factors and binding proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, stent valves and occluders, and wound dressings. Other matters have covered technologies as diverse as artificial sweeteners and flow meters. His cases include leading authorities on priority rights and contributory patent infringement.
He also conducts proceedings relating to other IPRs, such as designs, trade marks, trade secrets and confidential information, including emergency injunction applications, opposition proceedings and infringement and validity disputes, as well as advising on commercial and transactional matters.
Graham is recommended in the IAM Patent 1000 guide, which describes him as a “cross-border whizz”, and is also listed as an ‘IP Star’ by Managing Intellectual Property. He has been included in Legal 500, and listed as an expert by Who’s Who Legal for his “reputation as a trouble-shooter for cases with unusually complex technical aspects”.Graham advises on all aspects of intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on patent litigation and dispute resolution in areas with a high level of scientific or technical content. He advises clients in a wide range of fields, including the electronics and telecommunications, biotechnology and pharma, medical device and chemical sectors. He frequently acts in multi-jurisdictional disputes, co-ordinating and working with legal teams in Europe and the United States. He is one of the few UK practitioners with first-hand experience of running patent litigation in China.
Peter Busch
- Senior Expert Connected Mobility / Leader Automotive Blockchain, Bosch
Peter is Senior Expert for Automotive Integration - an Automotive think tank for the board of management of Robert Bosch. He has 25+ years of experience in international project management, coaching and training in SW/HW development. He holds a diploma in computer science and business administration and worked i.e. for JP Morgan, Sun Microsystems and the BOSCH Group. His current interests and responsibilities are Connected Mobility and IoT technologies and the respective business models and -ecosystems for all engineering disciplines.
Tom Carter
- CTO and Founder, Ultrahaptics
Ultrahaptics’ breakthrough technology creates the sensation of touch in mid-air – shapes and textures that cannot be seen but can be felt. It enables customers to harness the extraordinary power of haptics, and expertly supports them to deliver immersive, intuitive, innovative and often magical experiences across a range of sectors. The company has raised £30m in funding, and employs around 100 people worldwide with offices in Bristol, Palo Alto, Munich and Seoul. Tom started exploring ultrasound technology during a study in the final year of his Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Bristol. He further developed the initial concept to form the basis of his PhD studies, during which time he published numerous papers and filed various patents. Recognising the technology’s commercial viability, Tom founded Ultrahaptics in November 2013.
David Cleevely CBE FREng, FIET is the Chairman of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. He is the founder and former Chairman of telecoms consultancy Analysys (acquired by Datatec International in 2004). In 1998, he co-founded the web based antibody company Abcam (ABC.L) with Jonathan Milner and was Chairman until November 2009. He has co-founded several other companies and is Chairman of two of them, including the award winning restaurant “Bocca di Lupo” and its gelateria subsidiary, Gelupo. He has been a director of two quoted companies. He has been active in promoting Cambridge. He was a prime mover behind Cambridge Network, co-founder of Cambridge Wireless, co-founder and Chairman of Cambridge Angels, Founding Director of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge and Vice Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Commission. Other policy work has included membership of the IET Communications Policy Panel, the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board and the Enterprise Committee and the National Engineering Policy Group at the Royal Academy of Engineering. From 2001 to 2008 he was a member of the Ministry of Defence Board overseeing information systems and services (DES-ISS, formerly the Defence Communications Services Agency). In addition to Raspberry Pi, his charitable work includes the Cambridge Science Centre, which he helped set up and fund in 2013 and continues as Chair. After being sponsored to study Cybernetics at Reading by Post Office Telecommunications, he joined their Long Range Studies Division. A PhD at Cambridge was then followed by the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the IET. He was elected a Fellow Commoner of Queens College, Cambridge in 2013 and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall in 2015. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2013.
David Crawford is Visiting Professor at University of Essex Colchester, and Emeritus Professor at Ravensbourne University London. David has worked for over 50 years across the telecoms/broadcast industries and UK academic institutions. His research interests are in new imaging techniques, applications for mixed reality technologies, and networks for multidimensional media. David facilitates and lectures in the UK on Degree Apprenticeship courses, promoting work-based learning curricula and collaborative industry-academia training.
David has worked in senior positions at BT, RE, Crown Castle and Harris Broadcast, and as a Director of a start-up company, TeamCast, in France. He has run his own technical consultancy company, and chairs and presents regularly at international events. David is a Member of the Royal Television Society, Fellow of SMPTE, Special-Interest-Group Champion for Cambridge Wireless on Content Production & Delivery, and Honorary Chairman of the Creative Science Foundation. He has previously served as a Council/Board Member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET), the Conference Chair at IBC, and Executive Chair at the ‘mixed reality’ Community Interest Company, PlayLa.bZ.
Tamas Czuper
- Sound Designer / Music Producer, Ravensbourne University
Tamas Czuper is a sound designer, producer and musician. He has worked with a wide range of professionals from live music band recordings to advertising companies. Tamas has created sound design and music for advertisements such as Lacoste, Speedo, Berghaus and Canterbury. He has been working on numerous documentaries, feature films, animation films, shorts movies and commercials. Over the course of 12 years, he has done live audio multi-track recordings.
Joshua Daniel
- Principal Research Scientist, BT
Dr Joshua Daniel is a Principal Research Scientist at the Security Futures Practice of BT TSO. He has expertise on Blockchain technology, Distributed systems architecture, IoT Security, Semantic Web, Cloud Computing and Information Security. Joshua has been leading the introduction of Blockchain technology into BT Radianz, the world's largest secure financial network and further exploring use cases of Blockchain technology in IoT Security and Identity management in a post-password world. He has filed more than two-dozen patents in securing Blockchain and utilising such technologies for service integration, risk based access and identity management, secure code distribution and secure data sharing techniques. Joshua have also contributed to the introduction of cloud-based, secure application, data and email protection services with the cloud service stores on BT's Cloud Incubator and BT Cloud Compute platform. He has a PhD and BEng from the University of Southampton UK and has also worked for Rolls-Royce, UK.
Alison Davis
- Lead Industry Solutions & Business Development Consultant, Telco, Media & Entertainment, IBM
Alison is a seasoned advertising, digital media & entertainment and telecommunications professional with over 20 years’ experience. Having worked for, firstly, M&C Saatchi and then Virgin Media, she joined IBM in 2016 to use her in-depth industry knowledge to help bring their transformative technology to enterprise clients across the industry. Alison is an expert in the application of emerging technology to power business growth and is currently focusing on three main areas: AI, Blockchain and AR/VR.
Nicolas Devillard
- Senior Product Manager, Arm
Nicolas Devillard is a Senior Product Manager at Arm, managing security for Mbed OS. A software engineer, he has 15 years of experience working with smart cards, trusted execution environments, public-key infrastructure, and network security. His main focus is making security the path of least resistance for the designers and inventors of billions of connected objects. He lives in Paris France, where he graduated in 1994 as an Electronics Engineer, specialising in Signal Processing.
Robert Driver
- UK5G
Bob currently is a senior advisor for the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), having been interim head of this new organisation to February 2023. Bob has helped to create an innovation network for the UK Telecoms industry, bringing together industry, academia, and government to catalyse telecoms R&D investment, cooperation, and commercialisation.
Founded in 2022, UKTIN is delivered by a consortium of four partners - who draw on their distinct strengths in a collaborative approach: The Digital Catapult (Lead), Cambridge Wireless, WM5G and the University of Bristol. UKTIN has been initially funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to drive the Telecom Supply Chain Diversification Strategy.
From 2018 to October 2022 Bob led the UK5G programme on behalf of CW. CW was the lead partner for a consortium chosen by the Department of Digital, Culture Media and Sport, to create and deliver the national 5G Innovation Network. The consortium included CW, the KTN and TM Forum. UK5G brought together and marketed the UK’s 5G eco-system - including the national Testbed & Trials programme along with other business-led 5G initiatives.
Bob was CEO of CW from May 2015 to November 2018 focusing on leading the development of the organisation, broadening its reach with other sectors and clusters, while retaining the unique culture and dynamism of the CW community.
Prior to working at CW, Bob was Director for Technology at UK Trade & Investment (now part of the Department for Business and Trade) where he successfully led national teams helping UK tech companies to access overseas opportunities as well as attracting technology inward investment into the UK. He also coordinated the UKTI science and innovation agenda and was responsible for the delivery of UKTI events from small missions to large trade fairs.
Simon joined Real Wireless in January 2016 as Chief Technology Officer, taking overall technical and innovation strategy responsibility across the company. He is a member of the UK5G AB, co-chair of the International WG, and member of the Climate WG. His long-standing association with the UK innovation eco-system through roles such as Director of mVCE and the Innovate-UK ICT-KTN brings a wealth of practical knowledge on open innovation to accelerate product and services delivery. Simon spent his formative years in telecoms infrastructure systems and product development. In NEC Corporation he played a key role in the formation of Joint Ventures for development of 3G and 4G products and established a core team that developed the first-generation of technology for 4G systems culminating in a Steering Board position in the LTE SAE Trials Initiative (LSTI). In recent times he has directed projects on future cities, the application 5G and IoT in industry verticals with an event horizon towards 2030. His long participation in Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) and then directing Real Wireless engagement in H2020 and the 2016 NIC study on Future Comms infrastructure brings great foresight on a range of architectural evolutions underway in 5G architectures, in particular for Open RAN and Diversification. He is a CW Small Cell SIG Champion, and in February 2022 the Small Cell Forum (SCF) appointed Simon as their Chief Strategy Officer, drawing on 25 years direct industry experience and work as an advisor to governments, regulators and big business.
Trevor Gill graduated from Cambridge University in 1977 and joined Racal Electronics to work on development of military radio systems. In 1983 he was part of the small team which helped to choose the technology of the analogue cellular network launched by Racal Vodafone in 1985. He initiated the design of the world's first GSM mobile phone before moving to Vodafone to lead development of radio planning software. In Vodafone R&D he steered the subsequent development of 3G, 4G and the beginnings of 5G technology. He was recognised as a Vodafone “Distinguished Engineer” in 2012. He is now an independent consultant and trustee of two charities which encourage young people to take up careers in engineering.
David Gilmour
- Vice President, Business Development, BP
After graduating with MA, D.Phil in Inorganic Chemistry from Oxford University in 1986, David joined ICI Paints as a chemist formulating paint for use in the automotive crash-repair industry. David moved into product and brand management and into key account management with the major automotive companies. In 1996, David joined Burmah Castrol to run the Marine lubricants business in the UK and stayed for the next 12 years as the business became the leading player in the marine lubricants industry. During this time David held a number of different roles as Marketing and Technology Director, Strategy Director, Performance Unit Leader and Global Sales Director.
In 2009, David joined Air BP as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing major transformation, including driving innovation through new partnerships and venturing. In 2016, David joined group technology, with responsibility for BP Ventures, technology commercialisation & strategy, planning and communications. David has been instrumental in BP’s strategic decision to increase its venturing activities in support of the company’s transition to lower carbon and is now accountable for venturing investments.
David is married to Amanda and has three children, Matthew, Jonathan and Natalie and is based in Windsor, UK.
David Goosey
- Managing Director, Nexcel
David is the Managing Director of Nexcel , a new business venture within Castrol’s lubricants business. The business is developing and marketing unique technology which will; improve vehicle servicing flexibility and efficiency for owners and operators, reduce the environmental impact of waste oil and reduce vehicle CO2 emissions.
The business has ambitions growth plans and the potential to become a significant contributor to BP’s future.
David’s has over 30 years of global B2B experience including, agriculture, automotive coatings and lubricants and shipping in roles with ICI Paints , PPG and Castrol / BP.
David is married with two grown up children. He is a keen sailor and mountain walker and trustee of a woodland charity.
Wendy Hall
- Regius Professor of Computer Science and Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Engagement), University of Southampton
Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng is Regius Professor of Computer Science and Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Engagement) at the University of Southampton, and is the Executive Director of the Web Science Institute. With Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt she co-founded the Web Science Research Initiative in 2006 and is the Managing Director of the Web Science Trust, which has a global mission to support the development of research, education and thought leadership in Web Science. She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year's Honours list, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. She has previously been President of the ACM, Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, was a founding member of the European Research Council and Chair of the European Commission’s ISTAG 2010-2012, and was a member of the Global Commission on Internet Governance. She is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on the Digital Economy, and is co-Chair of the UK government’s AI Review, which was published in October 2017.
Matt Hatton
- VP of Research, Gartner
Matt Hatton is a widely respected technology analyst with 20 years of experience and is a foremost industry expert on the Internet of Things. Mr. Hatton is a member of Gartner's IoT Group where he spends his time helping vendors and enterprises understand the implications and opportunities presented by the growth of the Internet of Things. Matt was previously the Founder and CEO of Machina Research, a boutique research firm focused on IoT, which was acquired by Gartner in November 2016.
Max Heinemeyer
- Director of Threat Hunting, Darktrace
Max is a cyber security expert with over eight years’ experience in the field specializing in network monitoring and offensive security. At Darktrace, Max works with strategic customers to help them investigate and respond to threats as well as overseeing the cyber security analyst team in the Cambridge UK headquarters. Prior to his current role, Max led the Threat and Vulnerability Management department for Hewlett-Packard in Central Europe. He was a member of the German Chaos Computer Club, working as a white hat hacker in penetration testing and red teaming engagements. Max holds a MSc from the University of Duisburg-Essen and a BSc from the Cooperative State University Stuttgart in International Business Information Systems.
Adrian Hillier
- Consultant, TTP plc
Adrian Hillier is a Technology Consultant with more than 20 years of experience leading cutting-edge developments in the mobile communications sector, spanning cellular, LPWAN and satellite systems. At TTP, he assists the Wireless Communications Group in developing business opportunities with clients in the satellite IoT and smart antenna arenas. Adrian previously spent a significant part of his career in the consumer semiconductor industry, developing disruptive modem IP for some of the biggest players in the cellular industry.
Faye Holland is founder of cofinitive Ltd, a PR and corporate communications company based in Cambridge. cofinitive has launched and transformed dozens of projects, undertaken numerous branding development and execution projects, and are experienced communicators working cohesively at all levels of organisations and their stakeholder communities. Their client base includes many of the most exciting tech companies locally, nationally and internationally. Faye currently sits on the Combined Authority Business Board and the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, and previously sat on the board of CW. Internationally she is the master of ceremonies a major technology event, is the lead of the East of England Engage for Success chapter, and is a co-founder of Impact Women's Network. Prior to founding cofinitive, Faye ran the European and Asia-Pacific operations of a global media company; worked internationally at IBM on numerous emerging technology projects; after originally cutting her teeth at PIPEX where she was responsible for UK and Ireland marcomms for direct and indirect sales, and launched the first iteration of PIPEX Dial. Faye has recently been the recipient of many awards and accolades as an entrepreneur and as a woman in tech.
Yasrine Ibnyahya
- Principal, Advanced Concepts, Inmarsat
With 30 years’ experience as a technologist and researcher in communication networks, distributed system design and interoperability, Dritan is Director of 5G Technology at Digital Catapult and Co-Director of SONIC Labs. Dritan has established and leads the Future Networks 5G and Digital Infrastructure programs in Digital Catapult, delivering technology development and innovation in advanced ICT systems and their adoption in enterprise networks in the UK. He was a founder of the SONIC Labs and of UK Telecommunication Network (UKTIN). An acknowledged thought leader in his field, Dritan has published over 75 papers, holds three patents and has edited two international standards on interoperability, and is often invited to speak on advanced digital infrastructure and communication systems. He has represented the UK in international standardisation bodies and served on/chaired international conferences and technical committees, and provided technical advice to industry and the UK government. His focus is on national coordination and how to best support advanced digital infrastructure and connectivity technology uptake, growing UK capabilities in telecommunications R&D, as well as developing in Digital Catapult technical advances on new 5G/6G network architectures, network and service orchestration, edge computing and IoT support. Prior to Digital Catapult he was at University of Bristol, where he led a 15-strong research team, strategically combining network and distributed systems research with industrial collaboration, making a wide range of contributions and practical implementations in networking, interoperability, smart energy, cities and digital health.
Jennah Kriebel
- Chief Operations Officer, MotaWord
Dr JK Kriebel completed a PhD in 2006 on enabling technologies underlying quantum computing, from Harvard University. A thought leader and respected voice on the business of emerging technologies, she focuses especially on the similarities across different industries of the digital/physical interface. She has especially enjoyed advising the CEO of a Forbes-Global top 50 company on emerging future-tech strategy with the Boston Consulting Group, positioning attentive investors to win in security data analytics by entering a stealth startup at the ground floor, designing an AI-track session for SXSW, and building and testing in zero gravity a space-ready medical lab-on-a-chip with N.A.S.A.
Neil Lawrence is the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Computer Science and Technology. He is co-host of “Talking Machines” podcast and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield. Neil was previously Director of Machine Learning at Amazon in Cambridge.
He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southampton in 1994. Following a period as an field engineer on oil rigs in the North Sea he returned to academia to complete his PhD in 2000 at the Computer Lab in Cambridge University. He spent a year at Microsoft Research in Cambridge before leaving to take up a Lectureship at the University of Sheffield, where he was subsequently appointed Senior Lecturer in 2005. In January 2007 he took up a post as a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Computer Science in the University of Manchester where he worked in the Machine Learning and Optimisation research group. In August 2010 he returned to Sheffield to take up a collaborative Chair in Neuroscience and Computer Science. From 2016 to 2019 he was Director of Machine Learning at Amazon where he world on deploying machine learning solutions for Prime Air, Alexa and in the Amazon supply chain.
Neil’s main research interest is machine learning through probabilistic models. He focuses on both the algorithmic side of these models and their application. He has a particular focus on applications in personalized health and computational biology, but happily dabbles in other areas such as speech, vision and graphics.
Neil was Associate Editor in Chief for IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (from 2011-2013) and is an Action Editor for the Journal of Machine Learning Research. He was the founding editor of the Proceedings of Machine Learning Research (2006) and is currently series editor. He was an area chair for the NIPS conference in 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2013, Workshops Chair in 2010 and Tutorials Chair in 2013. He was General Chair of AISTATS in 2010 and AISTATS Programme Chair in 2012. He was Program Chair of NIPS in 2014 and was General Chair for 2015. He is one of the founders of the Gaussian Process Summer Schoo, the DALI Meeting and Data Science Africa and is a member of the UK’s AI Council.
Anne Leino
- Head of Spectrum Affairs, Independent
Anne-Tuulia Leino was born in Salo, Finland. She received Master of Science degree from the University of Technology, Espoo, in 1991. Ms. Leino joined Telecommunications Administration Centre, Finland, in 1991, working with spectrum topics related to the regulation of public mobile networks. She changed to Nokia Networks in 1997 to work as a frequency manager covering, especially, the frequency arrangements related to the IMT-2000 networks. She was the head of spectrum regulatory and ITU-R team in Nokia Siemens Networks and continued the same work in Nokia Networks (as re-established in 2014) with a new title Head of technical spectrum regulation.
She has participated in IMT related regulatory groups within CEPT and ITU-R and in a number of IMT industry groups. She used to be the chairman of UMTS Forum Spectrum Aspects Group (SAG) in 2003-2008. Ms.Leino is Coordinator for the CEPT region for the GSA Spectrum Group.
As head of telecoms and mobile at Cambridge Consultants, Derek leads the company’s collaboration within the sector. Central to Derek’s role at Cambridge Consultants is helping create breakthrough innovation that transforms the delivery of high-performance communication for their partners; from mobile carriers and ISPs, to vendors and component manufacturers. With over 20 years’ experience in mobile technology, Derek has held a range of multinational senior management roles and has a wealth of expertise across all generations of mobile and broadband technology, including LTE-A and 5G. Derek holds a PhD in telecommunications from the University of Bristol.
Steve Marsh
- Founder & CEO, GeoSpock
A technology entrepreneur, Steve graduated from The University of Cambridge with a PhD in Computer Science in 2013. Steve’s research led him to build custom supercomputer architectures for the real-time simulation of human brain function. It was this breakthrough that inspired GeoSpock’s revolutionary technology.
Steve was listed in Forbes’ 30 under 30 in 2016, he was a previous winner of Information Age’s UK Data Entrepreneur of the Year, and is an affiliate of TechCity’s Upscale programme for high-growth businesses.
Dan Mercer
- Vice President & General Manager, Iridium
Based in the UK, Dan Mercer is responsible for expanding and managing Iridium’s business activities across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia. He brings over 28 years of experience across a variety of technology businesses. In addition to leading the Iridium EMEA team, Dan built and continues to lead the Iridium program in Russia, having set up the Iridium Russian entity (Iridium Communications OOO), constructing the Russian Gateway, providing access and growth into one of the largest geographical territories and complex business regions in the world. Prior to joining Iridium, Dan was VP Global Sales & Marketing for Pace Micro Technology's Voice over IP division. He previously worked for the original Iridium, focused on the German based European Iridium business from Iceland to Israel. Before moving into telecoms, Dan worked for the TI Group of companies in the UK, leading the engineering, sales and marketing for the Specialist Engineering Division providing specialist engineering design and manufacturing services for commercial and military vehicles, transportation and associated equipment. Spending the initial years of his career as a mechanical Project Engineer with IAC Aviation, he designed and built jet engine test facilities around the world for a variety of government and commercial customers. Today, as a ‘long-timer’ in the satellite communications world, Dan has presented at many telecom, satellite, IT, aviation, maritime, and emergency communication industry forums. Dan holds a First Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering, from Kingston University, UK, is a private helicopter pilot, and is a Director of the communications company, MERCAIR Ltd.
Abhi Naha
- Digital Accelerator Director, PwC UK
Abhi Naha is the Digital Accelerator Director at PwC. He is creating and leading a new tech division for PwC. The Digital Accelerator solves innovation challenges using the power of scale ups and ecosystems for greater insights, impact and value creation.
Abhi was the CCO of CW Cambridge Wireless and CEO of the Product as a Service Consortium. At CW, Abhi initiated and lead on the 5G private network testbed in Cambridge, corporate digital innovation accelerators and high value collaborations.
Abhi was the CEO and Founder of Zone V a Cambridge start up backed by Qualcomm and ARM focused on empowering people with aging eyes and visually impairment through inclusively designed smartphone software. He held senior roles at Powermat, San Jose based Synaptics and advisory roles for Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake in the area of mobile user interface technologies. Abhi is a senior advisor to an autonomous vehicle mobility scale up Conigital, Industry Partner (Digital Infrastructure) for Arjun Infrastructure Partners with 5 Billion Euros of assets under management and an Ambassador for the United Nations Global Sustainability Index Institute. Abhi studied Electronics and Electrical Engineering, has an MBA in International Marketing and authored a book on Mobile Handset Design when approached by Cambridge University Press. More recently Abhi has created an initiative to help train widows in developing countries learn python programming, gain financial empowerment and become future leaders.
Juan Nogueira
- Director of the Center of Excellence for Wireless and Connectivity, Flex
Dr. Nogueira is director of the Center of Excellence for Wireless and Connectivity at Flex. In this role he is defining technology roadmaps, evaluating new innovative solutions, establishing strategic collaborations with partner companies and leading internal research programs in the field of wireless communication in general and Internet of Things in particular. Prior to working at Flex, he was Lead System Architect of advance development and system architecture first at Robert Bosch GmbH and then at Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions GmbH (BCDS) in Reutlingen (Germany). In this position he defined the connectivity technology roadmap that later concluded with the foundation of BCDS as the Bosch subsidiary focused in connectivity and IoT. Before that, he worked in corporate R&D for wireless communication and sensing systems at Sony Corporation in Stuttgart (Germany) where he held the positions of Senior System Engineer and Principal Engineer. Dr. Juan Nogueira holds a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Vigo (Spain). He subsequently became an associated professor at the University of Vigo in the Electronic Technology Department, collaborating with industry on projects in the area of industrial field buses. He has written numerous articles and holds 20+ patents in the area of communication protocols and wireless sensor networks.
Rupert Pearce
- Chief Executive Officer, Inmarsat
Rupert Pearce is Chief Executive Officer of Inmarsat and a member of its Board of Directors. He has held the position of CEO since January 2012 and prior to that was an Executive Director.
A lawyer by profession, Rupert initially joined Inmarsat in 2005 as Group General Counsel and also held the role of Senior Vice President of Inmarsat Enterprises from 2009 to 2011.
Before joining Inmarsat, Rupert spent five years at private equity firm Atlas Venture and also spent 13 years specialising in corporate finance and M&A at multinational law firm, Linklaters, where he became a partner.
In a non-executive capacity, Rupert chairs the EMEA Satellite Operators Association, is part of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Smart Africa Initiative as well as sitting on the board of techUK.
Rupert holds a first-class Master’s degree in Modern History from Oxford University, studied at the Georgetown University Law Centre in Washington DC and is also a visiting fellow of the Imperial College Business School in London.
Outside of the office Rupert is married with three children and is a sports enthusiast who enjoys cycling, swimming, sailing, cricket and rugby.
Priya Prakash is designer-founder of London based award-winning D4SC - Design for Social Change Ltd -The applied urban innovation studio develops collaborative products and services combining human and machine intelligence to co-create smarter cities with people.
Changify #SmarterStreets D4SC’s intelligent people- powered decision making platform to improve public infrastructure got awarded by Innovate UK to pilot in Plymouth with Amey Ferrovial. It resulted in reducing average road inspection costs by 22%, increasing citizen satisfaction and contractor responsiveness by 19.8% and is being scaled across UK and Asia. Prakash is on ‘Tech City Insider 100’, IBM’s People for Smarter Cities and featured in FT, Sunday Times, BBC, Wired, Guardian and the Queen’s 2017 Honours list for award winning work in Chinese smart cities using data to improve public safety.
Prior to D4SC, Priya was Head of Mobile Phone User Experience at Nokia where she led the global design team to launch affordable smart phones - Nokia Asha in 144 countries. At BBC, she was lead-designer and co-inventor of iPlayer with joint patents.
Ian Simmons
- Vice President Business Development, Magna International
Ian Simmons has served as Vice President Business Development, Corporate Engineering and R&D since 2012. Simmons is responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities with start-ups, universities, venture capital companies and entrepreneurs. As a result of his work in the last 12-15 months, Magna has entered into partnerships with more than 15 companies and invested over $90 million.
Simmons joined Magna in 2003 as Executive Director Sales and Program Management for Magna Steyr North America. In 2008 he was promoted to General Manager, Magna Steyr North America and in 2010 this role was expanded to President of Magna Steyr North America.
Simmons, who has worked in the automotive industry for more than 35 years, began his career in 1976 with student training at the Ford Motor Company in the U.K. Upon leaving Ford in 1982 he undertook engineering assignments in Europe with Volkswagen and DAF Trucks.
In 1990 Simmons held the position of Manager of Business Development for Hawtal Whiting Plc. in the U.K., where he was responsible for sales activities throughout Europe. In 1993 he accepted a transfer to the company’s U.S. operation to become Vice President of Sales. In 1995 Simmons became Vice President of Operations for the Hawtal Whiting technical center in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Simmons returned to the U.K. in 1997 as Director of Business Development for TWR Ltd. supporting TWR Group sales and operational tasks for the technical services division. He subsequently returned to the U.S. in 1999 and joined Porsche Engineering Services as Head of Sales in 2000. Simmons holds dual U.S. / U.K. citizenship.
Simmons has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers for over 20 years.
Toby Simpson
- Co-founder and CTO, Fetch.AI
Toby is a pioneer in AI, autonomous agents and shared virtual world technology. He produced the cult hit Creatures series and was one of the initial team at DeepMind looking at nature’s contribution to Artificial General Intelligence. It was the investigation into P2P distributed ledger technology and blockchain which led to the realisation that the Fetch’s vision is within reach.
Rosalind Singleton
- Chair, Advisory Board, UK5G
Rosalind Singleton is a CEO, board chair, NED, advisor and investor with over 30 years of experience in the technology sector. She is the CEO of Spring Fibre, an FTTH start up and the Chair of the UK5G Advisory Board. UK5G is the national innovation network dedicated to the promotion of research, collaboration and the commercial application of 5G in the UK, providing advice to and working closely with the Department for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport (DCMS).
For the last six years Rosalind has been an active angel investor and mentor and has led several deals, focussing on tech businesses with a female founder. She is a member of the Angel Academe Advisory Board.
Rosalind joined UK Broadband in 2013 and was Managing Director from 2017 until it integrated into its parent company in 2019 having held senior roles at BT Openreach, Cable and Wireless, Vodafone, various VNOs, and international operators.
Rosalind is a member of the UK Government’s Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council and Ofcom’s Spectrum Advisory Board. She is an Independent NED on the board of Alphawave PLC and serves as an INCA Board Member.
Ian joined Finning UK (Ltd) in 2017 as GM Performance Solutions. He leads Finning Managed Services (FMS) and SITECH with a focus on transformation of Finnings Performance solutions organisation and solution capability.
With a background of Innovation value creation and strategy in Digital Technologies across Computing, Telecoms and Machine to Machine solutions, Ian has led technical and commercial teams in a range of digital transformation and new business creation spanning a wide range of enterprise sectors and critical national infrastructure sectors globally.
Ian has worked in the Digital and Telecommunications sector for over 20 years and formerly held senior Marketing, Product and Commercial positions at Arqiva, O2, Telefonica, Microsoft, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry, with leadership responsibilities for Proposition, Portfolio Management, Partnerships and Sales. Ian holds an MBA from Henley Management School.
Neal Sunners
- Senior Vice President Innovation & Emerging Technologies, Avis Budget Group
Neal Sunners is Senior Vice President of Innovation and Emerging Technologies at Avis Budget Group, a leading global provider of mobility solutions.
In this role, Neal is responsible for the Company’s new technology and start-up incubator activities and its related corporate partnerships. His role also includes developing new technology platforms and solutions, supporting new and disruptive technologies and emerging service initiatives, such as the next-generation of ancillary products, chauffeur drive and the assessment of evolving technologies for potential new partnership and investment opportunities.
Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Sunners had a successful career at the board level of start-up companies, with roles such as Chief Information Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director across a variety of industries. Among the start-ups, Neal worked at Rubicon, Travelnet, and Aerotech, where he helped establish global organisations and at Global Corporations such as AT&T, Capita and Travelport. He is highly experienced in shaping and delivering major business and technology-driven change programmes within the e-commerce sector, specialising in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer.
Mr. Sunners attended management courses at both Wharton University and Henley Business School and holds Alumini positions with both.
He is based at the Avis Budget Group’s Bracknell office in the United Kingdom.
Peter is Founder & CEO of Vision Formers, the specialist consultancy that supports and mentors leaders of visionary technology businesses get product to market and turn ideas into reality.
Vision Formers works with start-ups and scale-ups, providing significant expertise in accelerating business growth through a focus on developing a robust product strategy, growing and coaching product and development teams, and providing operational excellence. Peter has a long track record of conceiving, developing and marketing successful technology-based solutions, deployed at scale, globally. Innovative products Peter has brought to market in digital, cloud, AI, consumer electronics and telecommunications have been used by countless millions of people on a daily basis globally, badged by the world’s leading digital and technology brands.
Peter also works with Digital Catapult as Programme Manager for UKTIN, working with partners and stakeholders to deliver UKTIN’s mission to transform the UK telecoms innovation ecosystem, capitalising on the country’s strengths in technology, academia, and entrepreneurialism, while positioning it for growth as new opportunities emerge in the industry.
Peter is a board member of CW (Cambridge Wireless), a Fellow of the IET, a Chartered Engineer, and a member of the Association of Business Mentors.
