Our
Agenda

Erika Lewis joined the Catapult from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in March 2024 as Chief Executive Officer. In July 2023, Erika was appointed the CEO of the AI Safety Summit. This was a world first event and brought together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. The Summit was the culmination of a busy 5 years in central government, Erika joined the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2018 to deliver the National Data Strategy. In October 2019, she moved to the role of Director, Cyber Security and Digital Identity, where she led on the economic support for the cyber sector, the development of security approaches for consumer IoT, the government work on Secure Connected Places and Digital Identity in the economy. In 2020, she also led DCMS on the Covid-19 response package for the Voluntary Sector and in 2023, led the initial transition programme for the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Before moving into central government in 2012, Erika became a Project Director at the Competition and Markets Authority, where she was responsible for both merger and market investigations. Most notably, she ran an Energy Market Investigation and a Private Motor Insurance Market Investigation. Erika was a part of the set-up team for the London Development Agency (LDA) in April 2000. Staying for 12 years at the LDA, she delivered regeneration programmes across London and was subsequently the Director of Strategy.

Greg Clark is Chair of Connected Places Catapult. He is a British and Irish writer, Board Chair, Non-Executive Director, and advisor on cities, mobility, built environment, and urban innovation. He is the author of 10 books and 100 reports on cities, mobility, real estate, climate, urban economies, investment, and place leadership, and has worked with 400 cities around the world. In the UK. He is Chair of Connected Places Catapult (CPC), the UK’s national innovation accelerator for transport, cities, and place leadership, and Chair of the Cities Commission for Climate Investment (3Ci), which convenes local leaders and investors to find innovative means to capitalise a just urban transition. He is a Board Member of Transport for London (TfL). He chairs TfL’s Land and Property Committee, which oversees TfL’s property company, Places for London. He is a Senior Advisor to New London Architecture, and Hon Prof of cities and innovation at Strathclyde University. Greg is also chair of the UK Government’s Secure Connected Places Advisory Group. He was previously Lead Advisor, Cities & Regions, Office of Deputy Prime Minister (2004-2010), Executive Director, London Development Agency, Chief Executive of the London Enterprise Agency, Managing Director of Greater London Enterprise, and he teaches regularly at LSE and University College London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS). Globally. Greg is Hon Global Fellow at the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He is the former chair of the OECD LEED Forum of Cities and Regions (1996-2016) and former Global Fellow on cities at the Brookings Institution. He has advised the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the HSBC Group on cities, sustainability, and financial innovation. He is currently working with the Inter-American Development Bank on the future of the cities of the Amazon, where 47,000,000 people live. Greg has chaired more than 20 International Advisory Boards and Committees for Cities; including New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Vienna, Oslo, Barcelona, Turin, Toronto, Auckland, and Cape Town. He is a member of the WEF Global Future Council on Cities & Urbanisation, and a member of the Bloomberg NEF Council on Cities.

Since joining Network Rail in August 2018, Andrew has refocussed Network Rail to be on the side of passengers and freight users; that is easy to engage with and is an efficient and dependable partner; a company people are proud to work for; instinctively recognised as an industry leader. Andrew has introduced a mindset that puts passengers first as well as a programme which has so far resulted in the creation of fourteen new routes, supported by five new regions. This new structure sets Network Rail up for deeper devolution and to be more responsive to the needs of train operators, passengers and freight users by bringing Network Rail’s 43,000 employees closer to those we serve. Prior to joining Network Rail, Andrew served as Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority from 2009. This followed a wide-ranging career in the rail industry, which included roles as Managing Director of South West Trains, and Managing Director of the Rail Division for First Group plc. Following the publication of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail in May 2021, Andrew was also tasked with establishing interim arrangements for the creation of Great British Railways, alongside his role in Network Rail.

Kellie is Chief Executive of the Cardiff Capital Region and an innovation practitioner. Kellie is a Governor at Cardiff Metropolitan University, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and sits on the advisory boards for Swansea University’s Morgan Advanced Studies Institute and the Board of Cardiff University’s public value Business School.

Claire is responsible for the portfolio of sustainable finance products and services across London Stock Exchange Group’s Capital Markets and Post Trade business divisions. She is responsible for leading the development of London Stock Exchange’s sustainable finance cross asset class offering which includes equities, green and renewable funds, and fixed income. Claire is also responsible for developing the range of sustainable finance products and services for Capital Markets and Post Trade clients. She has played an important role in Group-wide sustainable finance initiatives such as the development of model guidance on ESG and climate disclosure, climate reporting training for listed companies and initiatives such as the Green Economy Mark. Claire is a member of an industry Taskforce on the Scaling of Voluntary Carbon Markets, and she led the work on the recent launch of LSEG’s Voluntary Carbon Market. Claire’s background is in capital markets largely with a sustainability focus. She previously worked in the fund management industry for AIB Govett and ANZ. Positioned at the heart of global financial markets, LSEG works across the investment and finance chain from issuers to asset owners, and across the financial, banking, trading, and advisory ecosystem. As such LSEG is uniquely positioned to support clients in achieving the transition to a sustainable and net-zero economy and was the first exchange group to commit to net zero emissions.

Professor Sarah Sharples is Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Transport. She is a Professor of Human Factors in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and from 2018 to 2021 was Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and People. She has led research in transport, manufacturing and healthcare, and currently leads the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Connected Everything Network Plus. She founded and is co-director of the EPSRC Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), and has led research programmes examining implementation of new technologies in rail, highways and aviation. She was President of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors from 2015 to 2016.

Erika Lewis joined the Catapult from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in March 2024 as Chief Executive Officer. In July 2023, Erika was appointed the CEO of the AI Safety Summit. This was a world first event and brought together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. The Summit was the culmination of a busy 5 years in central government, Erika joined the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2018 to deliver the National Data Strategy. In October 2019, she moved to the role of Director, Cyber Security and Digital Identity, where she led on the economic support for the cyber sector, the development of security approaches for consumer IoT, the government work on Secure Connected Places and Digital Identity in the economy. In 2020, she also led DCMS on the Covid-19 response package for the Voluntary Sector and in 2023, led the initial transition programme for the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Before moving into central government in 2012, Erika became a Project Director at the Competition and Markets Authority, where she was responsible for both merger and market investigations. Most notably, she ran an Energy Market Investigation and a Private Motor Insurance Market Investigation. Erika was a part of the set-up team for the London Development Agency (LDA) in April 2000. Staying for 12 years at the LDA, she delivered regeneration programmes across London and was subsequently the Director of Strategy.

David’s path has been firmly rooted in the transport sector. From 2021 to 2024, he served as the Director General for Rail Infrastructure Group at the Department for Transport. In this role, he provided leadership and oversight for DfT’s portfolio of major rail investment projects. Before DfT, he held the position of Strategy and Programme Director at Transport for the North. But David’s passion for transport goes back even further. He spent 15 years at Transport for London, where he led the development and planning of major rail infrastructure projects, including iconic ones like Crossrail and the Northern Line Extension. Additionally, he played a key role in upgrades across the London Underground network. Prior to joining EWR Co., David has been at Arup as the Major Programmes Director. There, he focused on supporting and accelerating the delivery of significant national infrastructure and strategic change programmes.

Arnold du Toit acts as and on behalf of a dual Family Office between UK-SA and DE. He is an industrial/deep tech investor and operator, specializing in transport, aerospace, and energy. The du Toit Family owns and operates WeSprint, an advisory firm acting on behalf of Private Equity and private/public funds. The dual Family Office holds equity in a small portfolio of property, technology businesses, and funds, with over £200m in assets under management.

As the Director of the Digital Twin Hub, Justin Anderson is dedicated to fulfilling the Hub’s mission by aligning and amplifying the Digital Twin ecosystem, with the goal of accelerating the adoption of innovative solutions that address system-level challenges. Prior to his role at the Digital Twin Hub, Justin served as the Global Head of Technology COE at KPMG International, where he was responsible for assessing the impact of technology on various industries, supporting the firm’s Digital Transformation program, and providing training on emerging technologies to a global team of 80,000 consultants. Justin’s passion for technology and its intersection with policy, business, and society is evident in his establishment of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, which serves as the authoritative voice within the UK Parliament on all matters related to AI. Additionally, Justin has played a key role in developing BSI PAS 212, a standard for data interoperability that has been widely adopted in Smart City programs worldwide. Justin also serves as a member of the BSI Innovation Committee, contributing his expertise to further advancements in technology and innovation.

Gavin has created over a dozen companies, employing 100’s of people, and delivering $100M’s in measurable impact. He co-chaired the development of the Open Banking Standard and was founding CEO of the Open Data Institute. He has mentored, chaired, or been a non-exec of over 40 organisations across diverse sectors. He currently runs IcebreakerOne.org to help accelerate our Net Zero Future and co-chairs the UK Smart Data Council, shaping the future of data sharing at national scale to unlock value and address risks.

John is a collaborative place leader with 25+ years’ experience of pioneering economic development and “making things happen” at the interface between public, private, and higher education sectors. For the last 10 years, John has been convening and championing all aspects of the Liverpool City Region’s (LCR) innovation agenda and ecosystem, latterly as the Combined Authority’s Lead Officer for Innovation & Commercialisation. His primary role is to catalyse partnerships, policies, and programmes that maximise the LCR’s distinctive, world-leading assets and capabilities, in order to drive transformational regional/national economic growth and solve intractable local challenges. The LCR is now at the forefront of UK place-based innovation practice, with innovation a primary Mayoral priority. He previously worked at the LCR Local Enterprise Partnership, Liverpool Vision, and St. Helens Council, where he led a series of successful programmes that included a national City Growth Strategy pilot, plus delivery of the landmark, multi-award-winning 20m Dream sculpture by Jaume Plensa overlooking the M62, commissioned by ex-miners as part of Channel 4’s “Big Art Project”. Prior to local government, John spent 2 years working for the European Commission in Brussels, has also lived/worked in Germany, the USA, and Canada. He grew up in Edinburgh, and speaks German and French. John is on the Board of Scottish innovation agency Interface, and in a voluntary capacity also the Chair of Future Yard CIC, whose mission is “to positively transform both Birkenhead and the nature of what a UK grassroots music venue does, based on the founding principle that music can change the world…”.

Liberal Democrat House of Lords spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology. Former Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence which reported in 2018 with “AI in the UK Ready Willing and Able?” and its follow-up report in 2020 “AI in the UK: No Room for Complacency”. He co-founded and has co-chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI since 2017. From 2023, a member of the Industry and Regulators Committee. He was the initiator of and subsequent member of the Special Inquiry Select Committee into AI in Weapons Systems whose final report “Proceed with caution: Artificial Intelligence in weapon systems” published on 1st December 2023. Former member of the House of Lords Select Committees on Communications (2011-15), Risk Assessment and Planning (2020-21) and the Joint Select Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill (2021-22). Vice Chair for a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including Data Analytics; Digital Inclusion; Digital Regulation and Responsibility; Digital Skills; and Intellectual Property. A founding member of the OECD Parliamentary Group on AI and a former Consultant to the Council of Europe’s Ad-hoc Committee on AI (“CAHAI”). He is author of the book, ‘Living with the Algorithm: Servant or Master?: AI Governance and Policy for the Future’. It identifies the risks associated with AI, including the potential for bias and discrimination, reputational harm, and the potential for widescale redundancy of millions of jobs and addresses current approaches to regulation and governance of AI internationally in both the public and private sector, how to meet and mitigate the challenges, avoid inadequate or ill-considered regulatory approaches, and protect society from the unforeseen consequences that could flow from unregulated AI development and adoption. Since 2016, Tim has been Chair of Council of Queen Mary University of London and Chair of the Board of Trust Alliance Group (formerly Ombudsman Services), an independent not-for-profit group that provides dispute resolution for communications and energy utilities. He is a Consultant on AI Policy and Regulation with global law firm, DLA Piper, where former positions held include, London Managing Partner

Duncan is the European Vice President of Hitachi Digital Services. In this role Duncan is responsible for all client service delivery as well as developing our broader business portfolio. Duncan is a senior executive with over 30 years’ experience in the IT and BPS industry. Duncan started his career as a systems programmer for Royal Sun Alliance where he became an IT Manager developing large underwriting and CRM systems. He moved into shared services where he managed the core business and IT operations for companies including Perot Systems (acquired by Dell) and Cable and Wireless. In 2000 he joined Accenture where he became a Partner for almost 18 years. During this time, he led teams of up to 40,000 colleagues supporting the transformation and services/ IT outsource of world leading companies such as Lloyds Bank, BMW, Nissan Europe, HSBC, BP, Microsoft, British Telecom, Centrica, Schlumberger, E.On and GE. More recently Duncan was a senior Director at Capita and prior to joining Hitachi Vantara was responsible for Cognizant’s c.$800m BPO and IT transformation business across the UK/I and mainland Europe. In his spare time Duncan likes to mountain bike in Wales, scuba dive, ski and has a passion for fast cars. Duncan also supports charity work and is an active member of the Worshipful Company of Coopers (founded in 1501) where he has been a Liveryman for almost 15 years.

Extensive automotive industry experience encompassing vehicle finance, de-fleet and remarketing as well as dealer operations and the implementation of software solutions to improve business capability.

Steve is based at the Connected Places Catapult where he his Director of 3Ci – the Cities Commission for Climate Investment. Working with the Advisory Board he has overall managerial responsibility for the implementation of the 3Ci’s strategy and operations working closely with leaders from cities, industry, finance and government. As a recognised leader in innovation and sustainability he has over 25 years of experience working in both the public and private sector. Previously, he was Digital Cities Leader for Arup where he delivered sustainability focussed technology strategies for some of the largest developments in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, representing £billions of investment. He has held several senior positions across local government, primarily in London and Manchester. As Head of Low Carbon Economy in Greater Manchester he established the UK’s first Low Carbon Economic Area and a joint venture alongside the Green Investment Bank. He also established the city’s widely admired sustainability innovation programmes, Triangulum and CityVerve.

Lolita Jackson MBE is the Executive Director of Sustainable Cities at Sustainable Development Capital LLP, a multibillion-pound climate investment firm. She is the link to governments around the world, also working on business development and origination. Lolita previously worked for the NYC Mayor’s Office for 15 years in a variety of roles. She last served as the Special Advisor for Climate Policy & Programs, where she was the climate diplomat for NYC and lead for the administration regarding global work on divestment and climate finance. Prior to her appointment to that role, she was Deputy Director of External Affairs for the NYC Housing Recovery Office, Director of Outreach for the NYC Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency [the post-Hurricane Sandy resilience team], lead for operational city agencies for the Second Avenue Subway and Barclays Center construction projects, and Manhattan Director of Community Affairs. Prior to her tenure in the NYC Mayor’s Office, Lolita worked for Morgan Stanley Investment Management for 12 years as a Vice President and helped manage a $10 billion product line. Lolita is an Adjunct Professor at Penn in the Master of Environmental Studies Program, Senior Advisor at Penn Perry World House, a member of the British American Project U.S. Advisory Board, a GlobalScot, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a board member of the Saint Andrew’s Society of NY, a US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, and President of the Penn Alumni Class of 1989. She was named to the City & State Energy & Environment Power 100 list for 2022 and was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2021. Lolita is a professional singer, having performed on four continents and at Carnegie Hall. She is an alumna of the Penn School of Engineering, majoring in Applied Science with a concentration in Chemical Engineering.

Susan Aitken was elected as Leader of Glasgow City Council in 2017, forming Glasgow’s first ever SNP-led City Government. She was first elected as a councillor for the Langside ward in 2012, following a career in public policy and communications. Susan was reappointed to a second term as Council Leader following the 2022 Scottish Local Government elections. Under her leadership, Glasgow has hosted the UN Climate Summit COP26 and will host the Commonwealth Games in 2026. She was awarded Scottish Local Politician of the Year in 2019 for her work to end historic gender pay discrimination and Scottish Council Leader of the Year in 2021 for her leadership on climate issues. Susan was selected as one of 40 global city leaders for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Class of 2023. In February 2024, Susan was announced as chair of the global Resilient Cities Network.

Miranda Sharp, founder of Metis Digital, connects data and organisations to value, working with teams who are using data to realise efficiency and growth through new business models. Miranda is seconded to DSIT working on the value of data policy, acts as a NED at TRL (the Transport Research Laboratory) and a trustee to the Centre for Cities think tank. She maintains a number of other advisory roles focused on financially sustainable and well governed ways of sharing data. Previously at the National Digital Twin programme, Ordnance Survey, Royal Mail and the award-winning SME See.Sense, she has worked with data as infrastructure for nearly 20 years.

Guy was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, the innovation business, in June 2022. Guy joined ESC in 2018 as Director of Strategy after working as an energy and political adviser to two UK Government Secretaries of State; Greg Clark and Amber Rudd. In Government, he was involved in many key decisions, including closing the UK’s coal-fired power stations, greater independence for the electricity system operator, and as an architect of the Clean Growth Strategy. Before joining Government, he was Head of Policy at the challenger energy supplier, OVO Energy and Head of Environment and Energy at the influential think tank, Policy Exchange. He was previously a journalist, including three years as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong for the international newswire, AFP. He is a non-executive director with UK100, a charity campaigning for greater environmental action by local authorities. He lives in Enfield, with his wife and two children.

Kjell Eriksson is a Vice President in DNV with close to 40 years of international experience from the oil, gas, and energy sector. He has managed DNV’s operations in the Middle East, Asia, and Norway. He has served as Chairman of the Faculty of Engineering at NTNU, Norway’s largest technical university. He has also been part of two nationwide committees, one on growing the green economy, and one on industrial competitiveness. He is currently responsible for creating new services and business models building trust in digital and AI for industrial application.

Eugene is the founder of Ecomar Propulsion. He started the company after a “moment of epiphany” when he realised that the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy was a once in a century event. Since then, he has taken the company from a concept to one of the UK’s leading developers of innovation tech in maritime. He currently has 8 active patents and numerous publications – including scientific papers – to his name. Over a lifetime working as a serial entrepreneur, he has launched businesses in the UK, Denmark, Australia and the US. Starting his first company at the age of 19. He holds post graduate qualifications from Bayes Business School, London and a degree from Leeds University. He was appointed Associate Professor of Decarbonisation and Entrepreneurship by Exeter University in 2022 and continues to work with Universities in the UK and overseas. Driven by the imperative to make the world a better place for all, he describes the motivation to succeed in terms of electricity. ” There are positive and negative poles and you need both to channel energy. I have decided to be positive and everything I do is a direct challenge to negativity.”

Hi, I’m Aldo, Automotive Product Manager at Gaussion. I oversee all automotive-related projects, guiding them from initial concept through development and launch. With a background in research, product development, and manufacturing from my time at Jaguar Land Rover, I bring a deep understanding of the automotive industry. This experience enables me to seamlessly integrate Gaussion’s state-of-the-art technology into cutting-edge automotive solutions.

Christopher is Head of EV Transition at GoMetro, a London-based fleet management and telematics solutions provider. He leads the development and commercialisation of EV-FIT, a novel telematics-driven analytics platform to support the electrification of truck and bus fleets. Alongside this he also supports advisory projects in sustainable transport spanning Europe and Africa. With a background in mechanical engineering, he has dedicated much of his career to pioneering research in heavy vehicle performance and decarbonisation at Cambridge University and at the CSIR in South Africa. In addition to his role at GoMetro, Christopher is a Board Member of the International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Transport & Technology, Honorary Senior Lecturer at Wits University in South Africa, and Senior Member at Robinson College, Cambridge.

Dave is the Chief Operating Officer at RAD Propulsion Ltd with over 30 years’ experience building and managing teams to deliver complex, multi stakeholder technical projects in the marine sector. He has been with RAD Propulsion since its inception in 2018 and has been instrumental in helping to grow and develop the business during this time. His expertise in marine electric propulsion systems is backed up by over six years of experience working in the marine robotics field as the engineering manager for a software engineering team at a marine autonomous surface vehicle development company, ASV Global. During this time, he was not only responsible for growing the software team from a small embryonic team of 1-2 engineers to a multi skilled team of 25+ software/research specialists but also the delivery of several multi-million-pound Government funded research projects which looked at various aspects of the control and operation of marine autonomous vehicles. He has also worked for both large defence primes and marine leisure electronics manufacturers including Garmin and Raymarine. Dave has extensive practical first-hand experience of the challenges of developing products for the harsh marine environment after also spending eight years working in the commercial offshore oil and gas sector. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and is Association of Project Management trained.

Kellie is Chief Executive of the Cardiff Capital Region and an innovation practitioner. Kellie is a Governor at Cardiff Metropolitan University, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and sits on the advisory boards for Swansea University’s Morgan Advanced Studies Institute and the Board of Cardiff University’s public value Business School.

Claudette is passionate about combating poverty and deprivation in urban areas, having grown up in an inner-city area which was subjected to regeneration following race riots in the early 1980s. She has held a numerous senior roles across local and regional government throughout her career which spans 30 years. With a reputation for successfully leading the development and implementation of city development, economic development, and holistic local area regeneration programmes, she is an adviser to local authorities, government, non-profits and partnerships. Claudette currently holds a number of Non-Executive Director positions. She is also a faculty member of the Whitehall & Industry Group.

Steve Beel is Chief Executive at Freeport East, one of twelve Freeports across the UK established by the UK Government. Freeport East aspires to be the UK’s leading centre for global trade, green energy, innovation and application of digital technology, which in its first two years of operation has attracted over £250m of new investment and created 2000 jobs. Steve has over 20 years’ experience across energy & infrastructure, international diplomacy, economic development & trade. Prior to his appointment at Freeport East, Steve was a British diplomat and head of the UK’s development partnership with Zambia. Earlier in his career he worked at Ofgem as a Commercial Director where he was involved in many of the UK’s largest offshore wind and electricity interconnector projects, and before that at Hutchison Whampoa and PwC.

Jonathan Barcroft leads the Common Framework Workstream of the Virtual Energy System programme at National Energy System Operator (NESO). Jonathan joined National Grid in 2012. His background is in operational Power System Engineering and improving energy data processes. In 2015 Jonathan developed the export process for the first Common Information Model based day ahead model exchange from National Grid to CORESO. Since 2021 Jonathan has been part of the Innovation team at National Grid ESO leading projects investigating the risks of climate change to the power system and optimisation of operational planning.

He leads the organisation’s Public Affairs team and strategy, advocates for the logistics sector in political, government and regulatory arenas, and provides Logistics UK and its membership with strategic advice. He also leads Logistics UK’s innovation workstream, engaging with members, policymakers and other stakeholders on the innovation priorities of the sector. Ben was previously Head of Stakeholder Engagement at intercity train operator LNER, where he led LNER’s public affairs, internal communications and community investment teams. Prior to that, he was Head of Rail Communications at the Department for Transport, leading on a wide range of announcements and engagement opportunities; an Account Director at Westbourne Communications, supporting clients from energy and transport to welfare to work; Deputy Director of Labour Friends of Israel; and a Parliamentary Researcher in the House of Commons. He studied Politics and International Politics at Degree and Masters levels, at the University of Liverpool.

Gyula Törzsök is the Portfolio Director for Logistics, Digital, and Green Spaces at the Thames Estuary Growth Board, where he plays a pivotal role in turning innovative concepts into actionable and investable projects. Gyula is at the forefront of driving transformative economic growth within the Thames Estuary region, leveraging his expertise in strategic investment appraisal and partnership development across both public and private sectors. Before joining the board, Gyula worked at Inner Circle Consulting, leading multidisciplinary teams in strategy development, risk management, and programme delivery. His extensive experience spans logistics, transportation, masterplanning, economic modeling, smart cities, and housing. His work has unlocked new revenue streams, improved efficiencies, secured grant funding, and delivered impactful solutions that positively transform communities. A passionate economist, Gyula combines his professional focus with a deep personal interest in global economics and technology, exploring how digital solutions can shape a more sustainable and efficient future.

Nick has had a successful 40-year career history within the Logistics Industry and has worked for several large logistics companies in leading roles; Transport Director for Wincanton and Warehousing Director for Stobart. More recently Nick has had a corporate affairs brief interfacing with government and trade associations and is a thought leader on freight decarbonisation. Currently Nick is a Non Exec and Board advisor in Sustainability and Logistics. He is a fellow in the Institute of Logistics, has a master’s degree in business administration and a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Susan Aitken was elected as Leader of Glasgow City Council in 2017, forming Glasgow’s first ever SNP-led City Government. She was first elected as a councillor for the Langside ward in 2012, following a career in public policy and communications. Susan was reappointed to a second term as Council Leader following the 2022 Scottish Local Government elections. Under her leadership, Glasgow has hosted the UN Climate Summit COP26 and will host the Commonwealth Games in 2026. She was awarded Scottish Local Politician of the Year in 2019 for her work to end historic gender pay discrimination and Scottish Council Leader of the Year in 2021 for her leadership on climate issues. Susan was selected as one of 40 global city leaders for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Class of 2023. In February 2024, Susan was announced as chair of the global Resilient Cities Network.

Eve joined the LGA in July 2024. Previously Eve was at Leeds City Council where she spearheaded the delivery of the city’s Inclusive Growth Strategy introducing pioneering work in a range of areas including the Leeds Inclusive Anchors Network, the Social Progress Index and the delivery of their vision for innovation as the council’s Chief Officer, Culture and Economy. Before joining local government, Eve worked at NHS Digital for 15 years on the delivery of complex and large-scale IT change programmes including the first Prison Health IT system in England and the Child Protection Information Sharing Project – which included her working with the LGA.

Steve Brewer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology (LIAT) at the University of Lincoln. Current projects include the EU-funded SPADE project harnessing the power of drones for agriculture and the £4.9M EPSRC Lincolnshire and North Cambridgeshire (LINCAM) region, a global innovation centre for agricultural technology (agri-tech). Recent projects that Steve has been involved in include the UKRI- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded Internet of Food Things Network Plus, an interdisciplinary initiative which is working to reduce food waste, increase nutritional value and productivity, and reduce environmental impact across the supply chain. To build on a successful track record in academia, Steve established Infoculture Ltd which has a track record of delivering insightful reports and events supporting information-driven digital transformation for a range of clients.

Sharon is the Regional Rural Mobility Manager at Transport East, the Sub-National Transport Body for the East. She heads up an exciting area of work leading on delivering the national Rural Mobility Centre of Excellence with a wide range of stakeholders from across government, academia, tourism and business. The RMCoE focuses on the transport challenges faced by rural communities, building research and evidence to make the case for investment, an area omitted from much national and regional policy development in recent years. Sharon’s extensive career in local government has led to a deep understanding of how to deliver sustainable transport changes in the public sector. This includes roles as strategic lead for behaviour change, road safety strategy, travel planning and the active travel delivery team at a large county council where she secured £1.5million to deliver one of eleven Active Travel Social Prescribing Pilots across England, and developing the Suffolk Air Quality Profile with Public Health and the District Councils. Sharon led on a pan-regional European Regional Development Fund project which introduced one of England’s first mobile ticketing apps in 2012, still being used today by one of the leading bus operators, facilitating millions of purchases of bus tickets in the last decade. Sharon also worked for the Department for Education during the Travelling to School Initiative as the Regional School Travel Advisor, managing the work of ten Local Authorities to successfully meet the challenging targets and objectives set by Government.

Kit Allwinter has worked across the UK’s public and private sectors to integrate walking, wheeling, and cycling while reducing the impact of motor traffic. With expertise in active travel, shared transport, and sustainable freight, he takes a holistic approach to improving daily life in communities. Currently at Active Travel England, Kit leads the development of Rural Design Guidance, setting quality standards for infrastructure. His work focuses on enhancing short-distance utility trips in rural areas, improving access to public transport, and supporting longer-distance routes and cycle tourism across the UK.

Henry joined Defra in 2021 with a background in sustainability policy. He currently leads Defra’s Rural Economy Team with includes responsibly for delivering the government’s economic growth agenda in rural areas. Improvements in rural transport are central to delivering this goal and he and his team work closely with DfT to support rural outcomes in transport policy.

Luke Turner is a Policy and Strategy Lead working on the Integrated National Transport Strategy at the Department for Transport. Set to be published later this year, the Integrated National Transport Strategy will set the long-term vision for transport in England, focusing on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve all people who use it and enable them to live fulfilling lives. Luke has worked in various policy roles at DfT, including on the decarbonisation and climate adaptation of transport infrastructure and improving the efficiency of major infrastructure projects.

As the Director for England, Caroline leads initiatives and projects that influence the community transport sector across the nation. In her role at the Community Transport Association (CTA), she is the technical lead for membership and Permits, ensuring that CTA enables the sector to operate safely and legally. Caroline’s expertise and passion are pivotal in shaping the community transport landscape in England, reflecting her commitment to enhancing community transport and building its impact in the transport sector. Before assuming her current role, Caroline served as the Chief Executive of CVS Cheshire East, a local infrastructure organisation dedicated to representing and supporting the not-for-profit sector. Her career has involved creating and managing sustainable voluntary and charitable organisations. She possesses an understanding of the complexities involved in not-for-profit operations, including volunteering, charity development, and fostering relationships with statutory bodies. Her experience and skill set make her a vital asset in the community transport sector, where she continues to drive positive change and innovation. Before assuming her current role, Caroline served as the Chief Executive of CVS Cheshire East, a local infrastructure organisation dedicated to representing and supporting the not-for-profit sector. Her career has involved creating and managing sustainable voluntary and charitable organisations. She possesses an understanding of the complexities involved in not-for-profit operations, including volunteering, charity development, and fostering relationships with statutory bodies. Her experience and skill set make her a vital asset in the community transport sector, where she continues to drive positive change and innovation.

An Schrijvers holds a PhD in political science, European Union politics. After ten years in various research and teaching positions at Ghent University, she made the switch to Flemish science and innovation policy in 2011, first as senior policy advisor at the Flemish Council for Science and Innovation (VRWI), then at the Flemish Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VARIO). In September 2017, she joined the Programme for Innovation Procurement (PIO or PIP), a year after the Programme was officially launched. With the Programme, the Government of Flanders has the mission to stimulate all public sector organisations in Flanders to strategically use their substantial purchasing power (> 30 billion a year) as a catalyst for innovation. In 8 years, PIP established a portfolio of more than 120 innovation procurement projects, in different policy fields and sectors. The Programme clearly demonstrates its added value (confirmed in an external evaluation, carried out in 2022). Therefore, since January 1, 2024, the initially temporary pilot programme has become a structural, permanent innovation instrument within the larger Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). Since May 1, 2024, An Schrijvers has been PIP’s Programme Manager.

Paul has over 25 years board and executive-level experience, including CEO and Managing Director roles, across the transport, defence, and education sectors. He founded Interimconsult, a management and innovation consultancy, five years ago and has managed industry-wide initiatives including the delivery of the Rail Sector Deal and, most recently, the development and rollout of the Rail Sector Innovation Charter, a groundbreaking initiative that will improve the environment for innovation throughout the rail sector . He has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, MBA, and degree in engineering, and continues to provide board advisory services to tech start-ups in the transport sector.

Jamie works at the Rural Design Centre, helping to facilitate positive change for rural communities through research, design and innovation. With extensive experience in user centred design, his work prioritises both people and planet, aiming to ensure that products and services are sustainable, accessible and impactful. Over the past year, alongside colleagues, he has been quantifying and measuring the social impact of eight rural transport innovations, helping to inform inclusive and effective transport solutions for rural communities.

With extensive experience delivering high-quality cybersecurity solutions across diverse industries, Evan is a trusted expert in all aspects of security. He actively contributes to the industry as a 2024 ERA ENISA Speaker in Rail Cybersecurity and as a leader of Complete Cyber, recently selected as one of the SMEs for the prestigious High Speed Two (HS2) Project. Beyond his technical expertise, he is deeply committed to promoting cybersecurity awareness and enhancing the industry’s reputation.

Mark is a keen champion of outcomes-focused systems-thinking, collaborative delivery models, digitalisation, connected digital twins and the circular economy in the built environment. Mark is the Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in the digitalisation of the built environment at the University of Cambridge, and he is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London. As Strategic Advisor at Mott MacDonald, Mark provides advice to key clients on digitalisation and broader industry transformation. Previously, Mark was the CTO of Mott MacDonald and the Director of the Centre for Digital Built Britain, where he was the Head of the National Digital Twin programme

Guy was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Energy Systems Catapult, the innovation business, in June 2022. Guy joined ESC in 2018 as Director of Strategy after working as an energy and political adviser to two UK Government Secretaries of State; Greg Clark and Amber Rudd. In Government, he was involved in many key decisions, including closing the UK’s coal-fired power stations, greater independence for the electricity system operator, and as an architect of the Clean Growth Strategy. Before joining Government, he was Head of Policy at the challenger energy supplier, OVO Energy and Head of Environment and Energy at the influential think tank, Policy Exchange. He was previously a journalist, including three years as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong for the international newswire, AFP. He is a non-executive director with UK100, a charity campaigning for greater environmental action by local authorities. He lives in Enfield, with his wife and two children.

Erika Lewis joined the Catapult from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in March 2024 as Chief Executive Officer. In July 2023, Erika was appointed the CEO of the AI Safety Summit. This was a world first event and brought together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development, and discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action. The Summit was the culmination of a busy 5 years in central government, Erika joined the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in 2018 to deliver the National Data Strategy. In October 2019, she moved to the role of Director, Cyber Security and Digital Identity, where she led on the economic support for the cyber sector, the development of security approaches for consumer IoT, the government work on Secure Connected Places and Digital Identity in the economy. In 2020, she also led DCMS on the Covid-19 response package for the Voluntary Sector and in 2023, led the initial transition programme for the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Before moving into central government in 2012, Erika became a Project Director at the Competition and Markets Authority, where she was responsible for both merger and market investigations. Most notably, she ran an Energy Market Investigation and a Private Motor Insurance Market Investigation. Erika was a part of the set-up team for the London Development Agency (LDA) in April 2000. Staying for 12 years at the LDA, she delivered regeneration programmes across London and was subsequently the Director of Strategy.