For gaming and visual development tasks, like photo or video editing and graphic design, having a monitor with a high resolution can really make a difference. Comparatively, the average 4K monitor supports higher resolutions than 1080p. It features a digital cinema standard of 4096 by 2160 pixels and a more common consumer standard of 3840 by 2160, with a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9. There’s a reason 4K is called Ultra HD or UHD. You can spot the difference between 1080p HD and 4K — 4K has four times the detail. Choosing a 4K display makes sense for gamers obsessed with fullscreen versus borderless fullscreen differences and maximizing their frame rate and resolutions. But what about when you’re doing more visually static tasks, like working with documents, spreadsheets, and work-related apps? Should you even bother using a 4K monitor for work?
The short answer is it depends. Mostly, yes, if you have the opportunity, you should go with 4K. Thanks to the higher resolution, you have more workspace on the desktop or onscreen. Not to mention, text is crisper, and you have more opportunities to adjust the content to your liking. For example, you can scale fonts up to 200% so they look bigger without losing their clarity and sharpness. If you’re working with two windows open, side-by-side, snapped to the edges of the desktop, they’ll not only look clearer but also have a lot more detail. It’s difficult to comprehend how that affects onscreen text when you’re not comparing regular HD and UHD directly, but it does make a difference. Of course, the final piece of this puzzle is figuring out the cost and determining whether or not you have the budget to upgrade to 4K — or if you even need to upgrade in the first place.
Should you upgrade to a 4K monitor or not?
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
Upgrade or not? It depends. Weigh factors like your budget, your current monitor’s condition, and any benefits in making the change. UHD or 4K is a massive leap if your current monitor is 1080p, but what about 1440p? Yes, that’s also a big jump in quality. Visual upgrades are crucial for creatives, gamers, and those wanting optimal fidelity and performance. If you’re just doing work-related tasks, however, the demands aren’t similar.
That shouldn’t deter you, though. In spreadsheets, using higher resolutions provides more desktop space, meaning more cells and content on screen. That’s also true when working with documents and large blocks of text. More on screen means less time scrolling and, hopefully, better efficiency for your work tasks. The biggest drawback of a 4K upgrade is the potential increase in power draw, meaning the display may use more power than your old one and increase your electricity bill. If you’re not working from home, that’s not as much of a concern. Moreover, power consumption is also influenced by monitor size, display technology, and refresh rate. Point being, don’t avoid upgrading because of increased power draw alone. Instead, consider whether the benefits are worth it for you.
Sometimes, monitors include built-in USB ports, allowing you to level up your desk and free space there, too. Or built-in cable management features help you tuck away cords that would create clutter. These features aren’t common in older monitors and might make the upgrade worth it. Moreover, new monitors support HDMI, which stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface and works with more than just desktops — you can also plug in laptops, tablets, mobile devices, and game consoles. That would give your new 4K monitor a lot more functionality, justifying the cost.
Burnout among chief information security officers (CISOs) and cyber professionals is no longer a fringe concern – it is a persistent and growing crisis within the industry. Despite holding senior titles, many CISOs operate in environments where their roles are misunderstood, under-supported, and burdened with unrealistic expectations.
Cyber security has evolved alongside business functions rather than being fully integrated into them. This historical separation has created a cultural and operational disconnect, leaving many cyber professionals isolated. As one expert observed, “most people in cybersecurity are in survival mode, fighting the crocodiles nearest the boat.” The pressure to manage daily operations, respond to incidents, scan the horizon for emerging threats, and contribute to strategic planning – all often with minimal resources – has become unsustainable.
A key issue is the widespread misconception that CISOs are simply senior technical experts. In reality, the role demands strategic oversight, leadership, and governance. Yet many CISOs are promoted from technical backgrounds without the necessary development in communication, leadership, and business acumen. They are expected to maintain deep technical expertise while simultaneously operating as high-level strategists – a duality that few other C-suite roles are asked to maintain.
This mismatch between expectations and reality creates a vicious cycle. Without clear role definitions or organisational maturity around cyber leadership, CISOs struggle to advocate for themselves. Boundaries blur, workloads expand, and the risk of burnout intensifies. Knowing one’s value and setting boundaries is essential, but difficult when the business itself lacks clarity on what it expects from the role.
Remote work has further exacerbated this isolation. The loss of informal, in-person interactions has made it harder for CISOs to build relationships, influence culture, and engage in the dynamic conversations that often drive innovation and problem-solving. The ability to walk past a colleague’s desk and spark a spontaneous discussion has been replaced by scheduled meetings and digital silos.
To address burnout, several key strategies must be considered:
Early advocacy: CISOs must set expectations and boundaries from the outset. Waiting until the role becomes overwhelming is often too late.
Leadership development: Organisations must invest in developing CISOs beyond their technical skills, equipping them with the tools to lead, communicate, and influence at the executive level.
Support networks: No professional, regardless of seniority, should operate in isolation. Peer support and mentorship are vital.
Role clarity: Businesses must mature in their understanding of the CISO role. The title “Chief Information Security Officer” implies a remit far broader than just cyber. Recognising this distinction is key to setting realistic expectations.
Enforced boundaries: Downtime is essential. CISOs must be empowered to delegate, switch off, and protect their mental health.
This is not a simple fix. The challenges are both organisational and personal, and they must be addressed in tandem. The industry is hanging on by a thread, and with the rise of AI and increasingly complex threats, the risk of burnout could have catastrophic consequences if left unchecked.
The fact that CISO burnout remains a topic of concern year after year – predating even the Covid-19 pandemic – speaks volumes. The pandemic may have intensified the issue, but it did not create it. Isolation, unclear expectations, and a lack of support have long plagued the profession. If the industry is to thrive, it must prioritise the wellbeing of its cyber leaders as much as it does its technical defences.
Mike Gillespie is CEO and co-founder and Ellie Hurst is commercial director at Advent IM Ltd,
The Police Digital Service (PDS) has dismissed concerns about the quality and pace of its work being hampered by a cost-cutting push to reduce headcount in its flexible IT workforce, while acknowledging its efforts to improve workplace culture remain ongoing.
The Home Office-funded company is responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of the National Police Digital Strategy. Projects in its purview include the setting up of the Microsoft Azure-based National Police Capabilities Environment (NPCE), which launched in August 2025 amid persisting sovereignty concerns about how policing data is processed within the Microsoft cloud.
According to sources in PDS, the organisation is pursuing an “aggressive thinning out” of its IT contractor workforce, which has seen the number flexible workers it relies on cut by around 70%. The sources claim there were previously around 100 or so contractors working for the organisation in this capacity, but – as confirmed to Computer Weekly by PDS – the number of contractors on its books now stands at 30.
“This is already badly affecting project deliveries – and that’s only going to get worse, not better,” said one source, as another contracting source said PDS is heavily reliant on flexible workers for technical and specialist work.
“The bulk of technology and security specialism is provided to organisations such as PDS – not by the organisations themselves, because the simple truth is they don’t have the money to attract and retain talent [with such specialised skills] in a competitive marketplace.”
Another source, with a close working knowledge of PDS, said having a flexible workforce of contractors also benefits the organisation as it means it can scale up and down the staffing resources it needs with greater ease based on project requirements.
“Depending on what programs PDS is working on and what stage they’re at, it makes sense to use contractors. If the project is in the discovery phase, you’ll only need a couple, but if [a project] is rolling out across policing, you will need a lot more,” the source said.
In recent weeks, Computer Weekly has received anecdotal accounts from contractors working at PDS who claim the organisation is trimming their numbers down by offering “non-viable” working terms when their contracts come up for renewal.
As examples, Computer Weekly was told some contractors are being offered reduced hours, while others are only being offered contracts that expire before the end of the year.
“Some of the contractors left because they were offered very short extensions, and some just don’t like the vibe at PDS and have left,” said one of those affected.
In a statement to Computer Weekly, Greg Hobbs, interim chief people officer at PDS, confirmed the company has been focusing on “consistent headcount growth” as part of a “stable and consistent move towards a permanent workforce” for cost-reduction purposes over the past 12 months. As proof of this, he said PDS has seen its permanent headcount increase from 278 people to 310 since October 2024.
“Wherever possible, we look to utilise our in-house staff, ensuring value for money and providing a sustainable and consistent level of service for customers. We are also consistently working to reduce our reliance on external resourcing,” Hobbs continued.
“Due to the nature of short-term and government-funded projects, which we are commissioned for, it is sometimes appropriate for us to hire contractors or use fixed- term contracts, either to support our capacity or to draw in specific technical skills to get the right balance and enabling improved quality of deliveries.”
According to Computer Weekly’s sources, the swapping out of contractors for permanent staff is not being done on a like-for-like basis, where skills and experience are concerned, which is why – it is claimed – project delivery is suffering as a result.
“What they are doing is getting rid of experienced, expert contractors and replacing them with novice, less experienced and less expert permanent staff,” said a source with a long history of working as an IT contractor for the likes of PDS.
“It would make sense if they were replacing contractors with similarly qualified, experienced personnel, but those are rare as hen’s teeth because anyone that expert and experienced is most likely a contractor anyway,” they added.
However, in its statement to Computer Weekly, PDS’s Hobbs hit back at the suggestion that reducing the organisation’s reliance on contractors has negatively affected its output.
“Over the past year, PDS delivered a range of products and services on behalf of policing, which was showcased at the NPCC Innovations and Digital Summit [in October],” he said. “We have not seen a drop in productivity or delivery, and we continue to provide a top quality, impactful and high-value service to UK policing.”
Downturn in morale
Another recurring piece of feedback Computer Weekly has received from sources is about low staff morale in PDS, with one describing it as a “really unhappy place to work”.
The organisation itself has been subject to a significant restructure and streamlining of its senior leadership team, which is now almost exclusively staffed by interim hires, over the past year. This reshuffle was prompted by the arrests of two employees in July 2024 for suspected bribery, fraud and misconduct in public office, and the resignation of the organisation’s then CEO Ian Bell shortly after.
In the wake of the arrests, PDS confirmed to Computer Weekly that a “thorough review” of the organisation would follow, which – according to sources in the organisation – resulted in a promise that PDS would undergo a “cultural reset”.
Incidentally, PDS included a paragraph in its 2024 financial report about the ongoing work the organisation is undertaking, focused on “improving the culture and engagement with employees at all levels”. This is described in its 2024 Companies House filing as an “important workstream” contributing to the development of a “culture where our people feel they matter”. This paragraph has also appeared in every PDS financial report filed with Companies House since 2020.
Uncertainty over PDS’s future
The individuals Computer Weekly spoke to for this article said a major source of low morale in PDS is the uncertainty surrounding the organisation’s future, with the Home Office’s upcoming reform of the policing sector looming large on the horizon.
In November 2024, the Home Office said the reforms will include the creation of a National Centre of Policing (NCoP) that will have the provision of national IT capabilities in its purview. As reported by Computer Weekly at the time, this has led to questions about whether PDS will still exist once NCoP is created because it appears the two entities will be duplicating responsibilities.
In June 2025, Diana Johnson, the former minister of state for policing and crime prevention, published a letter that strongly suggested PDS’s work and responsibilities will be taken over by NCoP. It stated that establishing NCoP will require primary legislation to be passed, and preparatory work undertaken to “facilitate a smooth transition of relevant capabilities” into this new organisation, while “maintaining effective service delivery” and ensuring minimal disruption to staff.
“Examples of such functions [that require transition] include the commercial work currently being delivered by BlueLight Commercial Limited, and the IT functions currently delivered by the Police Digital Service,” Johnson’s letter confirmed.
Further detail on NCoP is expected to emerge in the coming months, with the publication of the Police Reform whitepaper (due by the end of 2025) and the emergence of the National Policing Information Technology Reform Strategy and Roadmap, due sometime next year.
In a statement to Computer Weekly, PDS interim chief people officer Hobbs said the organisation is aware that employees might be “experiencing uncertainty” ahead of the contents of the forthcoming policing reform whitepaper being made public.
However, these feelings are “not unique to PDS” and are “being felt across the sector”, he continued, before going on to acknowledge that the organisation’s work on improving employee engagement and its culture remains ongoing.
“We recognise that there is more to do, but that is because culture change is never finished. We’ve worked hard to bring stability to the organisation and have made it a priority to keep staff informed and involved throughout ongoing changes,” he said.
“PDS continues to evolve and feedback from our colleagues helps us to refine our approach. Our ongoing internal surveys show that our people are engaged, which was also demonstrated by the recent success of the NPCC Innovation and Digital Summit. We remain committed to supporting our people and fostering a workplace culture that reflects our values and ambition.”
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s second report into the UK’s failure to retain and scale science and technology firms has described the government’s visa policies for global talent as “counter-productive”.
With the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee for high-skilled workers’ H1-B visa, the committee has urged the government to “roll out the red carpet” for talented scientists and entrepreneurs who want to come to the UK, rather than red tape.
Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said the UK has a visa cost system, which is, on average, 17 times more expensive than in any other country. “It is insane,” he told the committee. “Again, it keeps going back to the lack of joined-up stuff across government. DSIT (the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) will say, ‘We want global talent’, and the Home Office will say, ‘We will try to put you off’.”
The committee’s second report of the session, Bleeding to death: The science and technology growth emergency, highlights a continued failure of the UK to support a thriving science and technology ecosystem. The report warns that the UK has seen a procession of promising science and technology companies moving overseas rather than scaling here. Its inability to retain the economic benefits of its R&D endeavour is a fatal flaw in any growth strategy.
Robert Mair, chair of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, said: “The UK’s failure to scale its science and technology companies has reached a crisis point. We have witnessed a procession of promising science and technology companies choosing to scale overseas rather than in the UK.”
Risk-averse and inflexible government procurement is blamed by the report’s authors for shutting out small and medium-sized enterprises from government contracts. Combined with the lack of larger technology companies based in the UK that could provide contracts, the report found that startups often have no choice but to seek equity funding from overseas, which can lead to a loss of control over the company.
The report’s authors call for the government’s “laissez-faire approach to technological sovereignty” to change. “All too often, we have allowed promising UK science and technology companies and lucrative contracts to be acquired by overseas investors, especially in the US,” they said. “We must nurture and support these companies to remain here, anchoring them firmly into the structures of government, academia and commerce, and make it the obvious choice for them to grow in the UK.”
Labour’s Industrial Strategy aims to make the UK a digital leader. It sets out overarching targets for the UK to become the third-best place in the world to scale up a technology business, and to achieve the first trillion-dollar tech company in the UK by 2035.
To achieve this, the committee said there needs to be coordinated action across government departments and public bodies, including No 10, the Treasury, DSIT, the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for further Education, the Home Office, delivery departments, UKRI, Innovate UK, the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund, procurement authorities in government, and regulators.
“This coordination has proved difficult to achieve in the past, particularly when departments pull in contradictory directions,” the report’s authors warned.
Mair added: “The government will need to use every lever it has to support UK-based science and technology companies and entrepreneurs, and to encourage private investors to do the same. By unlocking institutional investment, changing the culture around innovation, and organising its efforts in procurement, public investment bodies and regulatory reform, the UK government can still stop the bleeding and reap enormous rewards for the nation.”
Working in the cyber security industry has always been high-pressure but we have seen that pressure intensify. Advancing threats, expanded attack surfaces, rising workloads and a global skills shortage are all having a negative effect on the mental health of many cyber security professionals.
According to Hack The Box’s 2024 research, a staggering 84% of cyber security professionals report stress, fatigue, or burnout. These findings show that this is no longer just a wellbeing issue, it’s now a strategic risk.
For CISOs and business leaders, burnout often leads to errors, delayed response times and attrition that affects the already critical skills gap. Our research found that in the UK alone, stress-related productivity loss costs cyber organisations an estimated £130m annually. This results in longer onboarding times and increased pressure on those who remain within the organisation.
The personal toll is just as bad. 74% of cyber security professionals globally have taken time off because of work-related mental health issues, averaging 3.4 sick days per year. Yet there is still a disconnect between executive leadership and those defending the front lines. 90% of CISOs globally express concern about the impact of stress and burnout on security but only 47% of CEOs share that concern.
Upskilling for real-world readiness
Many organisations focus on closing the talent gap by hiring more staff but the real opportunity lies in developing and retaining the talent they already have. Traditional training often falls short by being too generic and detached from real-world experience. It doesn’t help professionals manage the pressures that come with defending live systems.
Hack The Box’s research into stress and burnout revealed that the mental demands on cyber defence professionals are just as critical as the technical ones. During a live incident, the ability to make fast, accurate decisions under pressure is what separates effective responders from overwhelmed ones.
Most cyber security training focuses on improving technical proficiency, from penetration testing to incident response. However, real-world attacks introduce an additional variable that is rarely addressed – stress. Under high-pressure conditions, attention narrows, reaction times slow, and even the most skilled professionals will struggle.
This is why psychological readiness needs to become a core component of professional development. By simulating high-pressure scenarios that mirror actual breaches, security professionals can learn to recognise stress triggers and develop emotional regulation alongside their technical skills.
Talent shortage and burnout
The cyber security talent shortage remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges. Critical cyber roles remain unfilled, and when new employees do come on board, it can take months before they are fully operational. Burnout further adds to the problem, driving experienced professionals to leave the industry and creating a costly cycle of recruitment.
What is needed is role-specific learning paths that are designed to shorten time-to-time productivity for security operations centre (SOC) analysts, red, blue and purple teamers and engineers, for example. Clear progress tracking will help ensure that upskilling aligns with role expectations, reducing wasted effort and improving return on investment (RoI). Investing in professional development that accelerates onboarding, keeps teams engaged and supports upskilling, will help organisations retain expertise and strengthen workforce capability.
Keeping teams engaged
Burnout and attrition are often symptoms of disengagement. When training feels repetitive or disconnected from day-to-day challenges, it won’t inspire growth or motivation. To counter this, gamified, community-driven learning can help make ongoing development engaging and meaningful.
Gamified challenges, leaderboards and badges create a sense of achievement and healthy competition, while a community-driven approach ensures a constant flow of fresh, relevant content.
Retention and mental health improve when professionals enjoy their work and share experiences that support collaboration. Engagement isn’t just about satisfaction; it’s about ensuring teams remain motivated, connected and mentally ready to respond effectively under pressure.
Supporting psychological resilience also creates a culture of sustainable performance. Teams that can stay calm and think clearly under pressure make faster, better decisions and help their organisations maintain stability during a crisis.
Embedding psychological readiness and gamified upskilling into workforce development helps organisations demonstrate a commitment to their employees. It strengthens engagement, morale and long-term retention, ensuring cyber teams are not only technically capable, but mentally resilient.
Haris Pylarinos is CEO and founder of Hack The Box
There have been a number of reports in recent months regarding Apple’s plans for Apple Intelligence and its suite of AI features. With the company’s promised Siri revamp now being delayed, and a release date now coming in 2026, we’ve seen even more rumors swirling around what Apple might do to try to close the gap between itself and other competing smartphone makers.
Now, the latest information circling the mill appears to be that Apple and Google are close to settling a deal that could reportedly cost Apple nearly $1 billion a year. That hefty sum would get the company its own custom Gemini model to power the more conversational Siri. Bloomberg’s report on the matter explains that Apple is in talks to possible pay this amount for access to an “ultrapowerful 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model.” That new model would power the company’s upcoming Siri revamp, which is meant to make the Apple assistant even more capable.
A new Siri powered by Gemini
Wachiwit/Getty Images
Not many are likely to be surprised about this development, as Apple has supposedly even been in talks to acquire Perplexity in the past, and we’ve seen previous reports claiming that Apple and Google might work together to bring Apple Intelligence up to speed with the likes of ChatGPT and Copilot. That said, it’s still a bit jarring to learn that two companies that have often taken shots at each other — especially in recent months with Google’s Pixel ads — might end up relying so heavily on one another.
Apple has previously looked into third-party models as a way to offload the resources needed to power its upgraded Siri, even offering ChatGPT access directly in Siri — though there are a couple of hoops to jump through to utilize it completely. However, with a Gemini model underneath, Siri will hopefully be able to handle complicated requests and actions itself in the same way that Google’s Gemini does on Android devices.
Apple got started in the AI race fairly late, and Samsung has already seen success using Gemini as the model underpinning its own AI features, which often mimic versions of Google features that arrive on the Pixel phone lineup. And while this partnership isn’t confirmed just yet, the fact that Apple seems to be closing in on a deal with Google could mean good news for Apple fans hoping to get more out of Apple Intelligence.
Blackpool Council is preparing to submit a planning permission application for a 6MW environmentally friendly datacentre before the end of the year, as part of its push to create a 40-acre technology campus dubbed Silicon Sands.
The council first went public with its plans for Silicon Sands in late May 2024. The project is designed to capitalise on Blackpool’s close proximity to the North Atlantic Loop undersea fibre cable network.
The local council said at the time that it wanted the site – located in the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone – to attract businesses to the area that require low-latency connections to high-performance computing resources.
It also set its sights on courting datacentre operators interested in building renewably powered server farms on the site that are also capable of contributing their waste heat back to the local community via district heating schemes.
In an update on how its plans for the site are progressing, the council confirmed a report to its executive has been prepared that features “recommendations” for the next steps on the project.
Alongside this is confirmation that a planning permission application for a 6MW datacentre on the site is being prepared and will be submitted before Christmas 2025, as a result of “significant interest” from private sector investors.
The council has also confirmed it has secured £2m in funding from the Lancashire devolution deal to support the growth of Silicon Sands, which has also secured strategic site status in Lancashire Combined County Authorities’ latest growth plan.
Mark Smith, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for the economy and built environment, said the project has the potential to transform the town’s economy in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. “Silicon Sands is a transformational opportunity for Blackpool,” he said. “It can create thousands of well-paid jobs, attract investment, and put us at the forefront of sustainable digital development. That vision is proven by the significant interest we have had from the private sector already.”
However, Smith was quick to state that the project is not just about building datacentres for the sake of it. “Silicon Sands is about so much more than just datacentres, though,” he continued. “We are carefully managing the programme so that we can create datacentres which are carbon friendly, and can even supply waste heat back to local communities.”
The council has also confirmed the local authority is among the hundreds of local authorities to have submitted an application to the government to bid for the opportunity to have the town become an artificial intelligence growth zone (AIGZ).
The government’s unveiled its AIGZ strategy in January 2025, with it forming the cornerstone of its bid to position the UK as an AI superpower.
As described by the government, these zones are designated sites that are well-suited to housing AI-enabled datacentres and their supporting infrastructure.
Ideally, they should have “enhanced access” to power supplies of at least 500MW and sympathetic planning support. This is because datacentres are notoriously power-hungry entities, and siting them in areas where energy is in short supply could slow down the time it takes to bring one of these AI server farms online.
Previously, the government has said it’s looking to build AIGZs in de-industrialised parts of the country that can be readily redeveloped to speed up the time it takes to bring them online.
“I set up a business called Enterprise Lab with two guys I met on Twitter,” says Naomi Timperley, who has been crowned as this year’s Most Influential Woman in UK Tech. “This was when Twitter was good, so many cool things happened.”
Timperley is well known in the technology sector for co-founding the northern arm of Tech London Advocates, but her foundations are in technology recruitment, which gave her the knowledge she needed to pinpoint the challenges of encouraging underrepresented people into the tech sector.
After setting up her own recruitment company and spending four years running the UK arm of a US events business, Timperley and her Twitter comrades started Enterprise Lab in 2011 to span the “gap between education, employment and enterprise” by offering entrepreneurs support and participating in events to assist young people in finding their future careers.
“A lot of it was around entrepreneurial thinking and ideation, and I suppose what you would now call design sprints. Helping people with ideas and creating solutions,” she says.
The business was born from the “common goal” of supporting young entrepreneurs and further understanding how the education system is letting down young people who have a creative entrepreneurial spirit.
While computing and digital are now part of the school curriculum, it’s not uncommon for young people to have no idea what’s actually involved in a tech job, and Timperley accuses some schools of being “exam factories” rather than promoting the creative thinking and soft skills involved in tech roles and entrepreneurship.
Her emphasis has always been on founders, and Enterprise Lab later led Timperley to a number of projects and roles over the years focusing on digital skills, as well as encouraging social enterprises and charities to help enhance digital skills and entrepreneurial thinking for young people to take them into a tech career beyond programming.
“I absolutely love working with very early-stage founders, but then also working with them throughout that journey,” she says.
Buying into the North
When taking on Tech North Advocates in 2016, Global Tech Advocates and Tech London Advocates founder Russ Shaw ran an event in Manchester to look for individuals to run and grow the organisation’s northern arm in the UK.
Timperley recalls sitting next to co-founder Volker Hirsch at the event: “We were sat next to each other and the licence was £1. I said to Volker, ‘Have you got 50p?’. The rest is history.”
Timperley explains that she and Volker have an “ethos” for Tech North Advocates, which includes “joining the dots”, “making introductions”, and “supporting the tech ecosystem”.
“I love working with very early-stage founders, but then also working with them throughout that journey”
Naomi Timperley, Tech North Advocates
But Timperley highlights that it also runs slightly differently to its London and Global counterparts, involving itself with other organisations’ events in the ecosystem rather than running its own.
With a remit that covers areas such as Greater Manchester and Leeds, Timperley describes the large number of tech initiatives across the North of England and the Midlands – including startup and scaleup community Venture Community in South Yorkshire and Baltic Ventures and Lyva Labs in Liverpool – which are often overshadowed by London’s tech ecosystem.
Timperley claims the North has “so many awesome tech communities and ecosystems [that] are massively supportive, not only in their regional areas but also of other areas”, and it’s this support that has guided her through the challenges she has faced as a result of online stalking.
A valuable support network
For the past four years, Timperley has been stalked across a range of social media platforms, with the perpetrator writing posts, sometimes as long as 20,000 words, containing false “cruel, hideous accusations and comments”.
Timperley is not the only target, and she and another victim went to the police about the harassment, with social media platforms offering no support.
The woman in question has now been sentenced to time in prison, but before her sentencing, she continued harassing Timperley online, not even stopping when she had been initially charged, breaking bail several times.
“It’s not just the messages or the posts, but it’s the emotional, psychological and professional toll that takes on victims. So yeah, it’s been pretty hideous,” says Timperley.
“I know that I wouldn’t have got through this if I didn’t have the support and resilience within the community that I’m part of.”
Setting founders up for success
Next on the horizon is the newly launched End Game, which works with founders to decide their trajectory as they set up their businesses.
Timperley set up the venture company with several other “seasoned” founders who have successfully navigated through fundraising and exits. She describes End Game as “founder-led”, specifically working with founders of all types, whether they are scaleup founders or those who aren’t sure where they’re headed.
Giving back to the community she has spent the past 15 years working with is important to Timperley, who claims that during that time, she has mentored around 600 people, mostly through working with programmes offering support to founders and entrepreneurs.
“It has been brilliant because I’ve learnt loads as well,” she says.
Timperley is asked regularly whether she would change anything about her career. “Absolutely not,” is her answer. “I kind of weirdly believe in fate, and I’m glad that I’ve said ‘yes’ to lots of things. Everything has purely been by accident.”
Role models are everywhere, and while Computer Weekly’s list of the Most Influential Women in UK Tech highlights the women at the top of their game in the technology sector, every woman in a tech or digital role has the potential to inspire someone else into the industry.
People across all levels in the tech sector need to be visible and accessible so people looking in on the industry, hoping for a tech role, can see the next steps they need to take, rather than only seeing those at the top who, although amazing, may make a tech role seem unobtainable to those at the beginning of their career.
With thousands of women leaving the technology sector each year, it’s increasingly important to encourage more women to enter the industry and create an inclusive culture of growth for those already in it.
Each year, alongside its top 50 women in UK tech and Hall of Fame, Computer Weekly showcases several Rising Stars, women the team and judges believe will feature in the top 50 in the future.
Several women, including the 2025 Most Influential Woman in UK Tech, Naomi Timperley, have featured on the Rising Stars list in the past.
Bendik has co-founded two companies this year: Radical Signals, a feminist media platform, and Husk Ventures, which aims to support those developing emerging technologies.
She is an adviser of PennPromise Ventures and, until summer 2025, was director of global network Venture Café.
Amy Low, chief executive, AbilityNet
Low has been chief executive of AbilityNet for a year and a half, a charity aimed at using technology to reduce barriers to inclusion in work, education and life.
She is also a community board member for the Digital Poverty Alliance, as well as an Inclusive Online Services subcommittee member at the Digital Inclusion Action Committee at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Auriol Stevens, global vice president, digital workplace practice, Kyndryl
Stevens has been global vice-president of digital workplace practice at Kyndryl for the past year, having held positions in the firm since 2022.
She is also a non-executive director for England Rugby and the Royal Navy, and is chair of the board of trustees at Tech She Can.
Bianca Walker, software engineer, Rabobank; volunteer, TLA Tech for Disability
Walker is a software engineer and blogger who advocates for mental health, and is currently a software engineer at Rabobank.
She is a volunteer for the Tech London Advocates Tech for Disability arm.
Christina Yan Zhang, CEO, Metaverse Institute
Christina Yan Zhang is a multi-award winner and is currently CEO at The Metaverse Institute.
She is an advisory council member to The Centre for Science Futures at the International Science Council and an Advisory Board Member on AI Economy at Economist Impact.
Gabi Mendelsohn Lewis, co-founder, Radiela
Mendelsohn Lewis is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Radiela, a firm using artificial intelligence to help scientific discoveries.
She is a mentor for Jumpstart and is a strategic adviser for the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation.
Jade Wilson, senior software engineer, Microsoft
Wilson has been at Microsoft for more than three years, originally joining as a software engineer II before becoming a senior software engineer in 2024.
She recently founded Incrify, a company that helps people learn DevOps.
Joanna Cavan, CEO, UK Telecoms Lab
Cavan began her role as CEO of UK Telecoms Lab in summer 2025 after many years in the civil service.
In the past, she has had roles such as director of strategy, policy, communications and compliance at GCHQ, strategy and delivery director for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and non-executive director of the UK Civil Service.
Marsha Quallo-Wright, Director of Technology Futures, GCHQ
Quallo-Wright has held many positions within government, including head of UKRI private office for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and head of resilience for the Government Office for Science.
Most recently, she became director of technology futures for GCHQ, after a two-year stint at the National Cyber Security Centre.
Molly Johnson-Jones, founder and CEO, Flexa Careers
Johnson-Jones founded data-led careers platform Flexa in 2020, where she is currently CEO. She is also a judge for the RAD Awards.
Naomi McGregor, founder, MoveTru
In 2020, McGregor founded MoveTru to develop wearables that allow real-time performance analysis.
In addition to being MoveTru’s CEO, she holds several roles at the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as being an ambassador for STEM Ambassadors.
Naomi Timperley, co-founder of Tech North Advocates, has become the 14th person to be named Computer Weekly’s most influential woman in UK technology.
The list was created in 2012 to make the amazing women in the UK’s technology sector more visible and accessible, originally showcasing only 25 women before growing to include 50 women in 2015.
Now, the list receives hundreds of nominations each year – this year’s longlist features more than 770 women.
Alongside the longlist and top 50, Computer Weekly and a collection of expert judges also choose entrants to its Hall of Fame to acknowledge those who have made a lifetime contribution to the tech sector, and a number of Rising Stars expected to continue to do great things over the next few years.
This year’s winner, Naomi Timperley, co-founder of Tech North Advocates, was named a Computer Weekly Rising Star in 2017 and has done invaluable work for the technology sector.
Here is the list of the 50 Most Influential Women in UK Technology for 2025:
Timperley has been a long-term supporter of founders and entrepreneurs, starting agency Enterprise Lab in 2011 with two people she met on Twitter.
In 2016, she co-founded Tech North Advocates, a private sector-led collection of tech experts who champion the technology sector in the north of England.
More recently, she became innovation director for Oxford Innovation, which helps organisations develop ecosystems for entrepreneurs and innovators, in turn boosting local areas.
She has designed and delivered the Turing Innovation Catalyst’s startup programme, and is working on the organisation’s scaleup programme, the Engine Room.
AI Empower was also born of a project with the Turing Innovation Catalyst, which Timperley helped develop as a pilot supporting businesses from different industries to use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve specific issues their businesses are facing.
In the past, Timperley co-founded Growth Strategy Innovation to advise entrepreneurs with growth and, until 2021, was a board member of FutureEverything.
2. Deborah O’Neill, partner and head of technology innovation UKI and Nordics, Oliver Wyman
O’Neill was appointed head of technology innovation for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics at Oliver Wyman in early 2025.
She is also head of performance transformation for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics at the firm, and before that was head of digital for Europe, where she led digital transformation and new proposition launches at companies all over the world.
Alongside this, she is also a strategic partner at FutureDotNow and a board trustee for Girlguiding.
She was a co-author of the recent Lovelace Report, which detailed reasons women leave the technology sector.
3. Samantha Niblett, founder, Labour Women in Tech
Before her time as an MP, Niblett had a long career in technology, holding roles such as industry sales leader at DXC Technology and head of alliances, channel and ecosystem in EMEA at 1E.
Now, alongside her role as an MP, she’s the founder of the Labour: Women in Tech group, which campaigns to reach equal gender opportunities in the technology industry. She’s also the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on FinTech, chair of the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies and, until recently, was a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee.
4. Karen Blake, former co-CEO of Tech Talent Charter; co-author, Lovelace Report
Blake is the head of inclusive workforce strategy and advisory at Powered By Diversity, and until summer 2025 was a senior researcher for the House of Commons, looking into digital inclusion policies.
She is on the strategy steering board of Women Pivoting to Digital at the City of London Corporation.
Until it was disbanded, she was co-CEO of the Tech Talent Charter, where she led the organisation’s growth and headed up the implementation of some of the tools it offered, such as its benchmarking platform and annual benchmarking reports.
She was a co-author of the recent Lovelace Report, which detailed reasons women leave the technology sector.
5. Janet Collyer, chair, Quantum Dice; non-executive director, Mach42 and Aerospace Technology Institute; member of the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Collyer wears several hats across the emerging technologies arena, including as chair of quantum developer Quantum Dice, a member of the UK’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel, and as a non-executive director for the Aerospace Technology Institute. In 2022, she IPO’d fabless semiconductor company EnSilica, where she was the senior independent director and chair of the Remuneration Committee until 2025.
She recently became a non-executive director and advisor for simulation acceleration company Mach42.
She started her career in semiconductor technology in 1982 at Fairchild (now part of ON Semiconductor), before rising through the ranks at electronic design and computational software firm Cadence Design Systems for 30 years, until leaving in 2020 to begin her current endeavours.
She appeared on Computer Weekly’s list of Rising Stars in 2023.
6. Arfah Farooq, scout, Ada Ventures; founder, Muslamic Makers; founder, Muslim Tech Fest
An expert in diversity, inclusion and community building, Farooq co-founded Muslamic Makers in 2016 as a networking group for Muslims in tech, design and development.
As well as being a freelance diversity and inclusion consultant, Farooq is a scout for Ada Ventures, with special interest in edtech, healthtech and fintech, and until March 2024 was a community manager for Big Society Capital.
In 2022, she founded Muslim Tech Fest, a large community gathering of “Muslim techies” in Europe.
She has an extensive background in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) in the private and public sectors.
7. Emma Wright, director, Institute of AI; partner, Crowell & Moring
With a background in law surrounding telecoms, the internet and media, Wright now uses her expertise as director of not-for-profit Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies, as well as partner at Crowell & Moring, where she is focused on AI, cyber and defence.
She has worked in the tech sector for over 20 years, and in her previous role at Harbottle & Lewis, her team comprised 66% female and 66% ethnic minority members.
In 2023, she worked with the OECD, WEF and the ITU to build a reputation in relation to the regulation of AI. She is also working with the Ditchley Foundation, considering whether the collaborative approach in relation to telecoms can work for AI regulation.
8. Charlene Hunter, CEO and founder, Coding Black Females
Hunter founded Coding Black Females in 2017 to help black female software developers meet each other and network. Alongside her work at Coding Black Females, Hunter is a software developer.
She is an advisory board industry representative in the University of Essex Online’s computing department, technical director at SAM Software Solutions, and technical director at full-stack and front-end training organisation Black CodHer Bootcamp.
Previously, Hunter was lead software engineer at Made Tech, and has held roles such as senior software developer, lead Java developer, app developer and technical consultant at various firms. She was named a Computer Weekly Women in UK Tech Rising Star in 2020.
9. Anne Keast-Butler, director, GCHQ
The first female to head up GCHQ, Keast-Butler moved into the director role last year after serving as deputy director general of MI5. With a long career in security and defence, her previous roles have included overseeing the upkeep of functions that support MI5’s operational activities and the launch of the UK’s National Cyber Security Programme.
10. Lila Ibrahim, chief operating officer, Google DeepMind
Ibrahim has been in the tech sector for more than 30 years, and became Google DeepMind’s first chief operating officer (COO) in 2018, looking after teams in disciplines such as engineering, virtual environments, programme management and operations.
Before this role, she was COO of online skills platform Coursera, and has also acted as general manager for emerging markets platforms in China for Intel.
11. Anna Brailsford, CEO, Code First Girls
An entrepreneur and co-founder, Brailsford joined Code First Girls as CEO in 2019, where she works to encourage more women into the tech sector by providing software development skills and education.
Prior to her work at Code First Girls, Brailsford co-founded and was CEO of performance management firm Frisbee, which was part of venture capital fund Founders Factory, and until summer 2024, was a board member for the Institute of Coding, where she focused specifically on diversity and inclusion. She is a self-employed commercial and strategy consultant.
12. Avril Chester, founder, Cancer Central; CTO, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Award-winning entrepreneur Avril Chester is currently the chief technology officer (CTO) of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, her most recent in a series of roles heading up technology in organisations. In 2018, she founded technology charity platform Cancer Central to help support people with cancer.
Taylor has founded and co-founded six companies, the most recent being Empower, an organisation aimed at creating events that cater to making a safe and collaborative space for women.
She is working on a documentary, Breaking the sound barrier – voices unleashed, showing the journey of several women in tech as they take part in Taylor’s speaker platform, Voices in Tech, and prepare to take on public speaking for the first time.
Alongside this, Taylor is also regional lead of the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce for the City of London Corporation, and co-founder of community WIT North.
She also co-founded The Confidence Community, which aims to provide resources, training information and events to give people more career confidence, and is co-founder of ReframeWIT.
In 2017, Taylor co-founded TechReturners to give skilled individuals who have had a career break the opportunity to connect with firms and help them back into mid-level to senior-level tech roles.
14. Melanie Dawes, chief executive, Ofcom
Dawes has headed up Ofcom since 2020, following her previous role as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as many other roles across the civil service.
She has previously been a trustee at Patchwork Foundation, which aims to encourage underrepresented young people to participate in democracy, and a non-executive director of consumer group Which?.
15. Beverly Clarke, founder and CEO, Technology Books for Children; member and advisor, Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group, Department for Education
Beverly Clarke is a technology expert who consults on technology education. She is the founder and CEO of Technology Books for Children, which aims to encourage children to read about technology topics.
She is currently advising the Department for Education’s Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group on how the education system can be adapted to better provide digital skills to children.
She has previously been a professional development leader for the National Centre for Computing Education, and a national community manager for the BCS.
She received an MBE for her work in 2024.
16. Janine Hirt, CEO, Innovate Finance
Hirt joined Innovate Finance in 2015 as the industry body’s head of community, before eventually becoming its CEO six years later. She now heads up the organisation, aiming to drive innovation and transformation in the fintech sector to make it more inclusive.
She has worked around the world in a variety of roles, including as head of corporate relations for Chatham House in the UK, head of membership for the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, and head new hire trainer for an English language training programme in Japan.
17. Tania Duarte, co-founder, We and AI
Heavily focused on the use of AI, Duarte co-founded non-profit We and AI in 2020 to ensure AI is developed with everyone in mind, creating communities to ensure diverse teams of people are involved in the technology’s future development.
She is also the lead of Better Images of AI, a not-for-profit that offers a free library of images that better represent AI to reduce the use of stereotypical representations of AI, such as “humanoid robots, glowing brains, outstretched robot hands, blue backgrounds and the Terminator”.
In 2020, she also became the founding editorial board member of the AI and Ethics Journal, published by Springer Nature.
She was named one of Computer Weekly’s Rising Stars in 2024.
18. Zoe Kleinman, technology editor, BBC
Kleinman has been with the BBC since 2003, originally joining as a features editor of staff newspaper Ariel. She then became a web producer for Working Lunch on BBC Two, and was a senior technology reporter for the BBC, before becoming a radio presenter on technology and business-themed shows such as the BBC Tech Tent.
Now, she’s the technology editor for BBC News, covering technology news across BBC radio, TV and digital.
19. Mary McKenna, co-founder, AwakenHub and AwakenAngels
McKenna is a huge supporter of entrepreneurship and startups, holding several roles as an adviser and investor. Her social enterprise, AwakenHub, where she is co-founder, is focused on building a community of female founders in Ireland.
As well as being an expert adviser for the European Commission, she is an entrepreneurship expert with the Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, among many other board memberships and non-executive directorships.
20. Claire Thorne, co-CEO, Tech She Can
Thorne is co-CEO of Tech She Can, a charity aimed at increasing the number of women in the technology sector, as well as a venture partner at Deep Science Ventures, a council member at The Foundation for Science and Technology, and an industry advisory board member for TechSkills (part of TechUK).
She has a background in the education sector, previously holding roles as director of innovation strategy for the University of Surrey and executive officer to the vice-president (innovation) at Imperial College London.
She has also been a diversity and inclusion advisory board member for the Institute of Coding and sat on the principal partner board at Tech Talent Charter.
21. Amanda Brock, CEO, OpenUK
Brock’s role at OpenUK sees her leading the sustainable and ethical development of open technologies in the UK, including technology such as open source software, hardware and data.
She also sits on the boards of the Mojaloop Foundation and US cyber security firm Mimoto, as well as acting as an advisory board member for Scarf, The Stack and FerretDB.
She recently became an Expert Network of the Digital Innovation Board member for the International Telecommunication Union.
Past experience saw her as a board member of the Cabinet Office Open Standards Board, and an advisory board member for Tech All Stars.
22. Francesca Carlesi, CEO, Revolut UK
Carlesi’s background is in finance, having spent 15 years in the industry. She is currently CEO of fintech firm Revolut, where she’s been since 2023.
She was previously co-founder and CEO of digital mortgage lending platform Molo Finance, and has worked at other large financial firms and banks, such as Barclays and Deutsche Bank.
She has been nominated for Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in UK Tech several times, appearing on the longlist in previous years.
23. Gaia Marcus, director, Ada Lovelace Institute
Marcus joined the Ada Lovelace Institute in 2024 as director after several government roles.
She has been deputy director of the Spatial Data Unit at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, head of engagement for civil service reform at the Cabinet Office, and head of national data strategy at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
She has also had roles as data innovation programme manager at Centrepoint and deputy director – strategy – integrated data service at the Office for National Statistics.
24. Toni Scullion, computing science teacher; founder, dressCode
Scullion is a serial founder, having founded dressCode, a not-for-profit that encourages young women in Scotland to consider a career in computer science; and co-founded the Ada Scotland Festival, which aims to use collaboration to close the gender gap in computer science education in Scotland.
These endeavours stem from her being a computer science teacher passionate about encouraging more children to take the subject. Alongside this work, she is also a volunteer for the Scottish Tech Army, a not-for-profit aimed at using tech for good.
25. Laura Gilbert, senior director of AI, Tony Blair Institute
Gilbert is the senior director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, as well as a visiting professor in practice for the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Until recently, she was head of AI for government at the Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford, and director of the Incubator for AI at 10 Downing Street.
26. Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO, Olio
Clarke co-founded and is CEO of food-sharing app Olio, which helps users share food that would otherwise be wasted.
She is a fellow of business fund Unreasonable, an advisory board member for Stop Ecocide International, and until recently, was a venture partner for early-stage generalist impact fund Mustard Seed Maze.
She has previously been a business mentor for Virgin StartUp, and works alongside the minister for small business and the Department for Business and Trade, advising on SMEs.
27. Katie Ramsey, head of fintech, Department for Business and Trade
Ramsey has extensive experience in finance and is currently head of fintech at the Department for Business and Trade.
She co-founded a networking collaborative for female leaders, The Power Collective, and is founding investor and adviser for investment app Zeed and a non-executive director of Finance Focused.
28. Akua Opong, senior EUC engineer, infrastructure and cloud engineering, London Stock Exchange; STEM adviser
As well as her work as senior EUC engineer, infrastructure and cloud engineering at the London Stock Exchange Group, Opong is a freelancer and science, technology, engineer and maths (STEM) adviser.
Until recently, she was part of the City of London Corporation volunteer advisory group for equality, diversity and inclusion, and was previously an advisory board member for Neurodiversity in Business, and a mentor at the TechUp mentor programme for Durham University.
Opong was a contributor for Voices in the shadows, the book of black female role models created by the 2022 Computer Weekly most influential woman in UK tech, Flavilla Fongang.
Currently, Opong is an award judge for WeAreTheCity, a volunteer for the Festival of The Girl, and a role model and mentor for the STEMazing mentorship programme.
She has spent the past year and a half as a non-executive director for Genius Within CIC.
29. Karen Meechan, CEO, ScotlandIS
Meechan has extensive experience in digital and cyber, and is the current CEO of Scottish tech trade body ScotlandIS.
She was recently appointed chair of industry collaborative CyberScotland Partnership, and is an advocate for closing the digital skills divide across the UK.
30. Casey Calista, director and advisory board chair, Labour Digital; public policy, Meta
The director and advisory board chair of Labour Digital, Calista has a history in both technology and the public sector.
Alongside her role at Labour Digital, she is responsible for UK youth and AI governance public policy at Meta, and co-founded the network Women in Tech Policy.
She has previously headed up policy and public affairs at UK scaleup Vorboss and founded the UK public affairs tech practice at Hill+Knowlton Strategies.
She volunteers as a steering committee member for the City of London Corporation’s Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce, until recently was an adviser for digital citizenship charity Glitch, and is a policy board member for OpenUK.
31. Sana Khareghani, professor of practice in AI, King’s College London
Khareghani is a professor of practice in AI at King’s College London, as well as a trustee for the Institute for the Future of Work, a director for SKB advisory and a board member for Technovation.
She has a history in technology, including roles such as software engineer for MDA, product manager for Viisage Technology, and systems engineer and QA for Hemedex.
In her previous role as head of the UK government’s Office for Artificial Intelligence, for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, Sport (DCMS) and Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Khareghani was responsible for the joint office and its aim to make the UK a global centre for AI.
32. Alice Hendy, CEO and founder, R;pple; cyber culture manager, Deloitte
Hendy founded digital suicide prevention tool R;pple in 2020, designed to help people who are making online searches relating to self-harm or suicide.
She is CEO of the charity, which she does alongside her work as the cyber culture manager at Deloitte.
With an extensive background in cyber, Hendy is also a TEDx speaker, an ambassador for One Young World and a JAAQ creator, covering the topic of suicide prevention.
She was selected as a Computer Weekly Rising Star in 2024.
33. Elizabeth Varley, dealmaker – global entrepreneur programme, Department for Business and Trade
Currently a dealmaker for the Department for Business and Trade’s global entrepreneur programme, Varley supports and mentors the programme’s tech founders and scaleups.
She is a serial founder, having founded tech entrepreneur community TechHub, editorial agency Online Content UK, and acted as a founding steering committee member of the DigitalEve women in technology organisation in the UK.
Varley sits on many boards and is an adviser for lawtech firm Legal Geek.
34. Alex Depledge, founder and CEO, Resi; entrepreneurship adviser to the chancellor of the exchequer
Depledge is a serial entrepreneur who founded domestic cleaning marketplace Hassle.com and residential architecture firm Resi, where she has also been CEO since 2016.
She has previously been a board member for the London Economic Action Partnership (Leap) and a non-executive director for retail analytics firm Edited.
Until March 2016, Depledge was a board member for lobbying body The Sharing Economy, and until January 2017, acted as the venture partner for startup capital firm Ignite 100. Depledge was also previously the chair of not-for-profit The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) and started her tech career as a management consultant for Accenture.
Currently, Depledge is an entrepreneurship adviser to the chancellor of the exchequer at HM Treasury.
35. Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser, UK government
Since 2023, McLean has been the government’s chief scientific adviser, responsible for providing scientific advice to the prime minister.
McLean has a background in mathematical biology and zoology, and aims to use this knowledge, as well as her interest in mathematical models, to help the government understand the spread of infectious diseases.
She has been on the receiving end of many awards and accolades for her work, and in 1994, she established Mathematical Biology at the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council’s Institute for Animal Health.
36. Katie Gallagher, managing director, Manchester Digital; chair, UK Tech Cluster Group
Gallagher heads up Manchester Digital, and in 2011, co-founded the Cyber Resilience Centre for Greater Manchester, both of which support businesses in the Manchester area.
Alongside this, she is chair of the UK Tech Cluster Group, which regularly discusses the technology issues affecting particular areas in the UK, and has many non-executive directorships and advisory roles.
37. Eleanor Harry, CEO and founder, Hace: Data Changing Child Labour
Harry is the founder and CEO of Hace, an organisation that uses data to reduce child labour. There is often unknown child labour in businesses’ supply chains, so Hace collects and uses datasets about communities to determine where and why child labour might be used, helping businesses to then reduce their involvement.
As well as Hace, Harry is a regular public speaker and has previously won an Everywoman in Tech Award.
She is an industry advisory board member for the University of Manchester, where she advises on digital trust and security, and is a guest lecturer at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
38. Sharon Wallace, head of technology diversity and inclusion, partnerships and people change, Sky
Wallace heads up diversity and inclusion, partnerships and people change at Sky, where one of her focuses is designing and delivering the people strategy for technology within the firm.
Outside of this, Wallace was a member of the advisory board for recently disbanded Tech Talent Charter, and volunteers as a cub and scout assistant.
39. Julia Adamson, managing director of education and public benefit, BCS
Under Adamson’s leadership, the Computing at School (CAS) teachers’ network has grown in influence and now has over 25,000 members. BCS’s Barefoot scheme, which supports primary teachers with learning materials and lesson plans, has reached 3.3 million UK children. Her team is focused on making the case for digital literacy for all learners, leading to a more diverse profession.
She was appointed to the government’s Digital Skills Council this year, advising on the UK’s digital skills needs.
40. Erika Brodnock, co-founder and head of research, Extend Ventures; co-founder, Kinhub
Brodnock is a serial entrepreneur, having founded two education-focused software companies, Karisma Kidz and Kami.
She is also the co-founder of coaching platform Kinhub, and co-founder and head of research at Extend Ventures.
She’s an advisory board member for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Entrepreneurship, a non-executive director of the Good Play Guide, and has won multiple awards.
41. Nicola Martin, founder, Nicola Martin Coaching & Consultancy
Martin has a history of working as a test consultant at firms such as Barclays, Sony, the UK Home Office, Shazam and Sky, and is currently a startup adviser and founder of her own coaching and consultancy firm.
Prior to this, she was head of quality at Adarga, and is currently a committee member of the BCS NeurodiverseIT group.
She is chair for the BCS Special Interest Group in Software Testing, and until January 2023, was the vice-chair of the BCS LGBTQIA+ tech specialist group.
42. Sam Kini, global chief information officer and chief information security officer, Unilever
Kini has a dual role as global chief information officer (CIO) and chief information security officer (CISO) at Unilever.
She is a sponsor and digital board adviser for a Lead Network Digital Chapter focused on empowering women to grow their careers, and is non-executive director and member of audit committee at Tele2.
She has previously been a CIO for easyJet and Telenet, and was the director of development and delivery – technology and transformation at Virgin Media.
43. Danielle George, chief scientific adviser for national security, GCHQ; professor and vice-dean at the University of Manchester
With more than 25 years as a lecturer in radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester, George was appointed chief scientific adviser for national security at GCHQ in 2025.
She is also the vice-president at the University of Manchester and vice-president of BCS.
In the past, George has been president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and in 2016 was appointed an OBE for services to engineering through public engagement.
44. Sarah Underhill, HR director, technology and data (Group Chief Operating Office), Lloyds Banking Group
Underhill has spent her entire career at Lloyds Banking Group, since joining the firm as a graduate in 1999.
She has held several roles at Lloyds, and is currently HR director for technology and data, part of the firm’s Group Chief Operating Office, where she is responsible for developing its people strategies for technology.
She previously sat on the board of the now disbanded tech diversity collective, Tech Talent Charter.
She was named a Computer Weekly Rising Star in 2024.
As managing director of Jomas Associates (Engineering & Environmental), Savage specialises in geotechnical and environmental engineering.
She is also passionate about topics such as women in engineering and social mobility, and is on the UK government’s Business Growth Forum (formerly the SME Business Council).
Tanaka is currently part of the programme team for All4Health&Care, a community launched during the pandemic to connect digital healthcare providers with the public sector. Until summer 2025, she was the head of portfolio for NHS Black Country ICB, and is on the community support committee for BCS.
Previously, she has been a fellow, independent auditor of AI systems, fellow for ForHumanity, and was recently made chair of BCS Women.
47. Sarah Cardell, CEO, Competition and Markets Authority
Cardell has been at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) since 2013, first as general counsel, then as interim CEO, and now as CEO.
Prior to her time at the CMA, she was a legal partner for the markets division of energy markets authority Ofgem, and in her early career spent 11 years at law firm Slaughter and May, working her way from trainee solicitor to partner.
48. Sian John, chief technology officer, NCC Group
John has been the chief technology officer at NCC Group since 2023, and is also chair of TechUK’s Cyber Management Committee and a council member for EPSRC.
Earlier in her career, she held roles such as systems engineer, project executive and consultant, and has been chief strategist EMEA at Symantec and senior director of security business development at Microsoft.
She has been nominated for Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in UK Tech several times, and has previously appeared in the longlist.
49. Sandie Small Duberry, deputy governorship chief information officer for the Prudential Regulatory Authority, Bank of England
Small Duberry started her career on IT helpdesks at various firms before eventually working her way up to Aviva Investors global customer relationship manager, then going on to be global head of infrastructure for HSBC.
Now, she’s deputy governorship CIO to the prudential regulatory authority at the Bank of England, and fellow for the Forward Institute.
50. Carolyn Dawson, CEO, Founders Forum Group
Dawson is the CEO of global technology innovation community Founders Forum, a group of businesses supporting founders at all stages, where her responsibilities include Founders Forum’s events portfolio, Tech Nation, and the group’s broader business network.
She is also a board member for several other companies, including Miroma Founders Network, RM Plc, Founders Makers, 01 Founders and Grip.
In the past, she was a marketing group advisory member for Founders4Schools, and was previously president at Informa Tech, a FTSE 100 UK company, where she presided over its joint venture with Founders Forum. She has been a member of the government’s Digital Economy Council and has led London Tech Week for the past nine years.
