Senior speakers from official event partners Crown Commercial Service alongside speakers from central and local government
Plenary speakers
Douglas Hamandishe
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Douglas Hamandishe serves as the Deputy Mayor of Medway and Councillor for Gillingham North, where he plays a key role in advancing health and social care for the community. His work includes leading committees focused on scrutinising health and social care policies and driving initiatives that enhance wellbeing, particularly for BAME residents. With a strong commitment to public service, Douglas is dedicated to ensuring Medway remains a beacon for accessible and effective healthcare.
In addition to his civic duties, Douglas brings over a decade of experience as a Chief Clinical Information Officer and Mental Health Nurse, having led significant digital transformation initiatives across the NHS. His expertise lies in improving patient flow, strengthening cybersecurity, and optimising user experience within healthcare systems. He is passionate about leveraging digital health technologies to modernise clinical care, ultimately empowering both patients and healthcare professionals.
Douglas is also an accomplished Social Media & Branding Expert, known for creating #1 trending LinkedIn videos. He specialises in dynamic content strategy, video production, and both personal and corporate branding. His work not only amplifies brand visibility but also fosters deeper connections with diverse audiences through engaging and impactful content.
Renowned as a Collaboration Maestro, Douglas excels in uniting stakeholders to achieve common goals. Utilising frameworks such as Maslow’s Hierarchy, he drives high adoption and satisfaction rates, acting as a catalyst for successful partnerships across sectors.
As a Published Author and Thought Leader,Douglas contributes regularly to podcasts and interviews, including those featured on the BBC. His advocacy for mental health and digital innovation within nursing has positioned him as a sought-after keynote speaker, where he shares his expertise on the intersection of healthcare technology and mental health.
With an Innovative Mindset and a Commitment to Lifelong Learning**, Douglas remains at the forefront of digital transformation in healthcare. He continuously refines his skills to deliver value-driven solutions and to forge partnerships that are future-focused and impactful.
Douglas’s vision for the **NHS** is to lead a digital health revolution that not only improves clinical care but also empowers healthcare staff and enhances patient outcomes through advanced technology.
Jon Burt
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Jon is the City Council’s Head of Enterprise Architecture working across the authority and with its partners to deliver on the priorities set out in the ICT and Digital strategy whilst embedding current and future digital, data & technology capabilities. Jon also works with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the other 9 Local Authorities in the region, Health and Transport public sector organisations collaborating on mutually beneficial programmes which enhance citizens and businesses experience aligned with the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint.
Jon has over 25 year’s public sector experience in architecting and delivering solutions at the forefront of technology across infrastructure, applications, security and data including some of the largest and complex programmes in local and regional government.
Steve Sopp
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Steve is a commercial and strategy lead at the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the largest public procurement organisation in the UK. He joined CCS in February 2022, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his public sector career. His roles have spanned various transport and innovation-related positions.
Dr Jonathan Bright
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Dr Jonathan Bright is a Fellow at the Turing Institute, where he leads teams researching the use of AI for Public Services and understanding Online Safety. Before joining the Turing he was an Associate Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute. He is a widely published author in the area of government digitialisation, artificial intelligence and online harms and safety. He is a former editor of the journal Policy & Internet.
Session and Panel speakers…
Rabnawaz Akbar
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Rabnawaz Akbar is a Labour Councillor representing the Rusholme ward in Manchester. He was first elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
In May 2022, Rabnawaz was appointed as Executive Member for Finance and Resources and has responsibility for Finance (Budget, Capital Programme, Revenue and Benefits), Procurement and Social Value, Legal, Human Resources and Organisational Development, Internal ICT, Digital Strategy.
From May 2018 to May 2022 Rabnawaz served as Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and as part of his portfolio he had responsibility for neighbourhood management inc housing management, crime and ASB, all enforcement, libraries, leisure, parks and allotments, bereavement services, markets and other traded services.
Rabnawaz has previously been Assistant Executive Member for Human Resources and Finance, Children’s Services and Environment. He has been Manchester City Council’s nominated representative on the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the city’s Nuclear Free Local Authorities representative, the Council’s nominated governor on the local NHS Foundation Trust for six years and the Chair of Manchester’s Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education for one year.
Rabnawaz has been governor of Birchfields Primary School since 2003 and previously served as Governor of MEA Central from 2017 to 2021. He is also a long-standing member of the Greater Manchester Police Central Division IAG.
Before being elected as a Councillor, Rabnawaz was employed in the chemical industry, was self-employed in a retail business and worked as a Manager of a Community Centre.
Eric Applewhite
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Eric leads our AI and Data practice in the North.
Jemma Bell
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Jemma Bell is a highly skilled Account Executive with extensive experience in helping public sector organisations streamline their procurement and finance operations. Since joining Proactis in 2021, Jemma has played a key role in enabling local authorities to overcome operational challenges by implementing Proactis’ innovative solutions.
Throughout her time with the company, Jemma has partnered with a diverse range of public sector customers, providing tailored advice to optimise spend management, enhance process efficiency, and deliver measurable results. Her strategic insights and customer-centric approach have been instrumental in helping clients improve governance and reduce costs through digital transformation.
With a strong commitment to delivering value and driving operational success, Jemma continues to be a trusted advisor for local authorities seeking to achieve long-term, sustainable improvements in their procurement processes.
Philip Belzar
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Philip Belzar is a Commercial Lead at the Crown Commercial Service where he leads the AI and Automation Dynamic Purchasing System agreements. He also leads on strategy work relating to Infrastructure Applications and Software-as-a-Service.
Previous to his 4 years working in Technology in public service, Philip has had a 20 year career in manufacturing, firstly as a Buyer in the food industry followed by Heading the Supply Chain in the manufacturing of wax products and automobile design. Philip has worked with organisations such as Jaguar/Land Rover, Aston Martin, Mclaren, Unliver and ExxonMobil.
Matthew Cooksey
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Matthew Cooksey is the Director of Innovation at QA, where he leads the development of groundbreaking educational technologies and digital products. He has a rich background in video production, having served as the Head of Production at Circus Street before transitioning to his current role following QA’s acquisition of the company. His work is deeply focused on integrating cutting-edge tools like generative AI into learning games, such as the Swipe Game, and exploring new ways to enhance learner engagement and outcomes.
With a passion for creativity and technology, Cooksey drives forward-thinking initiatives, from AI-powered content personalization to interactive learning experiences. His leadership fosters innovation across product teams, ensuring QA stays at the forefront of digital education. Balancing his technical acumen with creative vision, Cooksey continues to shape the future of learning through inventive approaches and collaborative R&D efforts.
Rob Crowley
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Rob Crowley is the Managing Director at Anexsys, a Consilio company. Rob has 17 years’ eDiscovery and computer forensic experience, 10 of which have been leading the Anexsys eDiscovery business. Before Anexsys Rob held technical and commercial positions at KPMG, EY and Opentext. Rob works with law firms and Government departments in the UK to deliver technical and commercial solutions. Rob has significant expertise in Public Inquiries and is currently supporting 11 departments in their response to the Covid Inquiry.
Amy Duncan
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Amy is a Director at Anexsys, a Consilio company, where she leads the company’s technical innovation efforts across the project management team. She has extensive experience in managing large-scale eDisclosure matters, including public inquiries and managed services. Amy is also a Director for the ACEDS UK Chapter and holds the prestigious Relativity Master status. She earned a BSc in Computer Science and has demonstrated exceptional dedication to her clients, exemplified by a 24-month secondment at a leading London law firm, where she provided expert internal eDisclosure support.
Simon Eckstein
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A former civil servant, Simon has extensive experience in delivering digital services in the Public Sector where he majors in helping our clients to shape ambitious product strategies, and leads discovery and Alpha and Beta deliveries to ensure the realisation of business benefits.Most recently, Simon has led work at GDS in the digital identity domain. He is a subject matter expert in the use of decentralised identity models, digital credentials, wallets and UX personalisation.
Rob Ellison
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Rob Ellison, one of Airwalk Reply’s Senior Managers, leads our AI and FinOps business unit along with Abi Wareing. Since joining Airwalk in 2019, Rob has focused on building and expanding the architecture practice and leading engagements for some of our key accounts. He helps those customers get the most value from technology using modern approaches aligned with the principles of cloud computing.
Before Airwalk Reply, Rob had over 20 years of experience working with cloud and data centre solutions, covering architecture, design and operations with a particular focus on security and automation.
Zoe Gould
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Zoe leads our digital community in the North.
Marie Hamilton
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Marie joined Microsoft in February 2022 to lead their work across the Greater Manchester region.
Greater Manchester is one of the largest devolved regions in the UK, with a strong mayoral presence and ambitious plans.
Marie’s role is to develop and lead the place-based strategy within Greater Manchester, working with a cross-sector team aligning with regional priorities, helping to transform public services, drive economic growth and improve outcomes for citizens.
Marie is passionate about social mobility and improving outcomes for all people, she is Co-Chair of the Microsoft UK Social Mobility network and the Northwest social impact group.
She serves on multiple advisory boards including Salford Business School, and the newly formed TechUK Nations and Regions Council where she is Vice-Chair
In her spare time, she supports Cybergirls First, a charity which is focused on encouraging girls to consider careers in cyber.
Marie has been working with public sector organisations for over 25 years supporting them with their digital transformation journeys. Before moving to Microsoft, she spent 10 years working for Avaya UK leading their UK central government strategy, and prior to that worked within the education technology sector.
Marie lives in Stockport with her husband and children.
Alex Hammond
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Alex Hammond has been a Partner at Airwalk Reply since March 2022 and has a key focus on our partnerships, client engagement, and strategic delivery.
Alex’s focus is on engaging with our clients across both financial services and the public sector to maximise the value that Airwalk Reply delivers for them through technology transformation, alongside responsibility for building strategic relationships with new and prospective clients.
Prior to Airwalk Reply, Alex held senior roles within major consultancies, including McKinsey and Deloitte. He worked with clients including Aviva, HSBC, Schroders, and Lloyds Banking Group and has industry experience with American Express.
Clair Hayward
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Clair is a Commercial Lead at the Crown Commercial Service where she leads the Big Data & Analytics framework agreement and CCS’s Data Analytics, AI and Automation category. Working across HM Government, Clair also leads work to shape AI adoption across the commercial function.
Prior to her six years working in CCS, Clair had a 20 year career in communications and technology, spanning both the private and public sector, in account direction and managerial roles. She holds a BS Hons degree in Business Information Systems.
Connie Hutchins
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Connie joined CCS in late 2019, coming from a technology background spanning over 20 years. Since joining she has led on a number of key initiatives including the delivery of key technology agreements, bringing an experienced view of how public sector organisations utilise technology. She currently leads the Transport Technology team within CCS who support buyers with technology across a diverse range of transport modes.
Sharon Jones
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Connie joined CCS in late 2019, coming from a technology background spanning over 20 years. Since joining she has led on a number of key initiatives including the delivery of key technology agreements, bringing an experienced view of how public sector organisations utilise technology. She currently leads the Transport Technology team within CCS who support buyers with technology across a diverse range of transport modes.
Abbie Lowe
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James (Jim) McBride
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Jim McBride is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for SRC UK, having joined the company in October 2023 after retiring from a distinguished 40-year career in the Civil Service, where he primarily worked within Defence. As CFO, Jim is responsible for overseeing business development and marketing activities across the company, leading major Defence procurements, and fostering external relationships Internationally.
In the final 11 years of his Civil Service career, Jim worked in Defence Intelligence, where he played a key role in enhancing partnerships between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Industry. He led Project SOCIETAS, an innovative collaboration that created a new wholeforce relationship between Industry and Defence at the Joint Electronic Warfare Operational Support Centre (JEWOSC) at RAF Waddington. The partnership brought over 40 Industry partners to work alongside military personnel, integrating a senior Industry partner into the JEWOSC Command Group. This model effectively leveraged industry expertise to enhance productivity and drive modernisation within Defence.
Jim’s career also included operational roles as the Civilian Secretary on Op HERRICK (Afghanistan) and Op Ellamy (Libya).
Stephanie McGarry
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Stephanie joined Browne Jacobson in 2010, prior to which she worked as a criminal litigator for three years and later as a specialist regulatory and health and safety lawyer.
Stephanie specialises in criminal regulatory law with a focus on public inquiries and large-scale police and Health and Safety Executive investigations into corporate manslaughter and fatal workplace accidents. Stephanie has advised in respect of numerous fatal and non-fatal accident criminal investigations in connection with a variety of industries. This includes deaths on roads, construction sites, agricultural sites and in NHS and local authority premises. She regularly attends interviews under caution with the Health & Safety Executive and the police. She advises in relation to disclosure issues in large and complex corporate manslaughter investigations as well as preparing such cases for inquest.
Her credentials include advising clients in respect of public inquiries including Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower, the Lampard Inquiry and Covid-19.
Stephen Miller
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Stephen has 25+ years’ experience designing and delivering IT services with 10 years in Customer Experience technologies. Steve delivers solutions to improve outcomes through the channel of choice for customers.
Philip Orumwense CBE
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Philip is a strategic and hands-on commercial/procurement leader with a proven track record of achievements across multiple categories (Business Process Outsourcing, Technology and Digital Systems and Solutions, Financial Systems, Logistics and Record Storage, Travel Management, Professional Services, Contact and Service Centres). He has a robust Commercial career across the Public Sector, Finance, Automotive, Rail, Road and Construction Industries. Philip is the Commercial Director and Chief Procurement Officer for Technology at Crown Commercial Service with responsibility for Common Goods and Services across Technology and Digital Categories of spend and manages £7.2bn of annual technology and digital spend. Across several categories including Cloud and Digital, Networks, Software Cyber and AI, Digital Futures, and Technology Products and Services across central government, public and third sector (charities and social enterprises) organisations across the UK. Prior to joining Crown Commercial Service Philip headed up the Information and Technology Commercial and Procurement Group at Highways England as the Commercial and Procurement Director. Prior to this he was the head of the Digital Platforms, Programmes and Applications Category at the Department for Work and Pensions where he was also the Commercial Director for the Universal Credit Programme. Before joining the UK Public Service, Philip worked for Siemens where he had responsibilities for a multi-site and multi business commercial activities spanning the UK, Germany and elsewhere in Europe, South and North America across several industry sectors including: Automotive, Transportation (Rail, Civils, Communications, Electrification and Signalling) and Financial/Business Services.
Ben Righton
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Ben has consulted into a wide variety of departments across the public sector for many years and worked on an assortment of large-scale digital transformations. He leads Freshwave’s public sector team as they partner with every kind of public sector organisation across the UK, from acute NHS hospitals to central government to higher education.
Chris Roberts
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Chris is a Category Manager who manages the Mobile, Voice and Data Services (MVDS) framework.
MVDS has been generating on average 60% savings on public sector mobile, since its launch. Prior to its inception, we worked with the market for over 2 years to ensure that non-added value cost drivers were stripped out, so buyers were only paying for the services required for a standard mobile contract. In times of increased financial pressure, we are delivering commercial benefits across the public sector for mobile.
Prior to joining Crown Commercial Services, Chris has had contracts roles in both the private and public sector, giving him a view on both sides of the procurement and contract management process.
Neal Smith
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Neal leads the Cloud and Hosting category within the Technology division of Crown Commercial Services. Cloud and Hosting covers all aspects of technology from IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, as well as services to design, implement, and support. CCS delivers significant commercial benefits to the whole of the public sector through key agreements, in the Cloud and Hosting category these include G-Cloud, Crown Hosting, and Cloud Compute. Additionally Neal’s team is responsible for strategic memorandum of understandings (MoU’s) with some of the largest national and global suppliers to the UK to drive further commercial benefits for the UK public sector.
Neal is an experienced IT Director with a significant track record of delivering strategic procurement change programmes and IT solutions on a global, european and national level.
Prior to joining Crown Commercial Services, Neal had an extensive career in the private sector with companies such as DXC Technology, HPE, HP , Compaq, and BT. With a networking and communications background, Neal has delivered programmes covering all aspects of the IT stack.
Mike Stewart
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Mike has 30 years public sector experience and has worked within Intelligent Automation for the past 12 years. Responsible for designing and delivering intelligent automation solutions for some of the world’s most respected brands, as well as innovative public sector clients.
Neil Stone
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Neil Stone is an award-winning SaaS marketer and Head of Marketing at SmartSurvey, the UK’s leading online survey software provider. With over 15 years of experience, Neil excels in driving revenue growth through innovative strategies in Sales Managed and Product-Led Growth (PLG) platforms.
Professor Fiona Strens
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Professor Fiona Strens is a leading expert in the application of artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning, and computer vision for defence and security. With over 30 years of experience across government, industry, and academia, she is recognised as one of the UK’s foremost thought leaders in security and resilience. In May 2024, Fiona joined the University of Lincoln as the founding director of the Centre for Defence and Security Artificial Intelligence (CDSAI).
Before this, Fiona held the role of Professor of Practice in Security and Resilience at the University of Strathclyde. Her career began at the Ministry of Defence, where she advanced to the role of Senior Civil Servant, overseeing science and technology policy. Later, she co-founded CrowdVision, a company specialising in computer vision and analytics, which she grew into an international business. Alongside her advisory work for the UK Government, Fiona holds non-executive director positions at Ordnance Survey and Corps Security. Throughout her career, she focused on driving forward security and resilience through innovative technologies, particularly AI. At the CDSAI, Fiona will spearhead efforts to address national security challenges, build collaborations with external partners, and develop essential technologies to protect infrastructure and support strategic decision-making.
Agata Taylor
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Agata joined the Public Sector in 2021 as a Commercial Lead in HMRC, focusing on SAP portfolio. She then joined CCS as a Category Lead and she is currently responsible for technology services and a lead for Technology Services 4 framework delivery.
Prior to joining the Public Sector, Agata held a number of commercial roles, going back to 2014 such as category manager, supply chain manager and supplier performance manager.
Sophie Vaughan
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Sophie Vaughan is an accomplished Solution Engineer with extensive experience in helping mid-market organisations across both public and private sectors gain better control over their spend and supply chain risk. She specialises in driving compliance, improving governance, reducing costs, and creating efficiencies by implementing process digitisation and automation solutions.
Since joining Proactis in 2022, Sophie has worked with high-profile clients such as Vivo Defence, Welsh Government, and multiple local authorities, delivering world-class spend management processes and measurable return on investment. She is passionate about partnering with customers to optimise their procurement operations and ensure they achieve best-in-class results.
With a commitment to excellence and a customer-centric approach, Sophie continues to be a driving force behind Proactis’ success in helping organisations streamline purchasing activities and deliver significant cost savings.
Abi Wareing
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Abi Wareing, one of Airwalk Reply’s Senior Managers, is responsible for leading our AI and FinOps Division, along with Rob Ellison, and is a long-standing member of the Airwalk Reply team. With a background in programme delivery management, she has helped clients in financial services and the public sector realise the benefits of complex and often time-sensitive initiatives.
Previously, Abi led Airwalk Reply’s most significant client engagement, delivering contemporary technology to a global bank; Abi deploys her delivery, commercial and organisational experience to ensure that clients get the right expertise at the right time to address the challenges that clients have. Abi ensures that the commercial arrangements supporting our engagements are mutually beneficial for all parties and that the expectations of all are met
Sonia Waters
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Sonia Waters is a Pre-sales Solution Architect for Kerv Digital, a prominent digital transformation company partnered with Microsoft. Specialising in Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, she is a versatile, customer-focused, creative problem solver with 10+ years of translating problem statements into effective solutions across several industries.
Sonia has worked with numerous public sector, central government and public safety and security clients in various capacities. She understands the common challenges they face in terms of organisational enablement in highly regulated spaces, and the wider areas of the sector.
Ana Welch
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Ana’s passion and over 15 years experience with Microsoft Technology makes her very vocal about Ecosystem Architecture. In her day to day job, she serves as a Solution Director for Kerv Digital, where she has the opportunity to run Central Government programs.
More speaker details here soon...
Digitech24 | Public Sector Connect | ConferenceCLICK TO READ MORE
Speakers, agenda and times may be subject to change