Podcasts about techuk

In this episode of L2S!, leadership and gender equality expert Michelle Redfern sits down for an interview with the one and only Sheila Flavell. Sheila is an extraordinary leader (by our full ACtS! definition!) in the truest sense. She has created exceptional outcomes for business and women in the Tech industry. She continues leading today and has the curiosity and energy to keep learning and pushing herself into new territory. We were so inspired by this episode, and hope you are too!Learn more about Lead to Soar! and A Career that Soars! by visiting LeadToSoar.com~Bio for Guest, Sheila FlavellSheila Flavell has over 30 years experience in the global tech sector. She played an integral role in FDM's flotation on AIM in 2005 and was a key instigator of the management buy-out of the Group in 2010 and the subsequent listing onto the main FTSE Market in 2014. Sheila's sector knowledge has been crucial in driving FDM's global expansion programme, taking them into the FTSE250. She spearheads the ‘Global Women in Tech' campaign and created FDM's hugely successful Returners Programme. Sheila is Deputy President of TechUK and chairs the Institute of Coding's Industry Advisory Board. One of her proudest moments in business was when FDM achieved a zero gender pay gap. She has won numerous awards during her career for services to the tech industry and was recognised in the 2020 New Year's Honours list with ‘Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire' for her services to gender equality in IT and the employment of graduates and returners. She is also listed in Computer Weekly's ‘Most Influential Women in UK Tech, Hall of Fame.' Bio for Michelle RedfernMichelle founded Advancing Women, an enterprise that provides research and advisory services on workplace gender equality, inclusion, and diversity. She is co-host of A Career that Soars! The Women Who Get It is the founder of the women's network, co-founder of CDW (Culturally Diverse Women), and host of the Lead to Soar podcast.Michelle is an experienced Non-Executive Director with Board and advisory roles in the finance, sport, for purpose and supply chain sectors. She is a proud Ambassador for Flexible Working Day and Girls Uniform Agenda. She has held executive leadership roles at ASX & FTSE listed companies NAB, Telstra and Serco during her 30-year corporate career.Michelle is a Graduate of the AICD, holds an Executive MBA (Distinction) and has various accreditations in organisational diversity and coaching. She is an in-demand speaker, a regular contributor to the discussion, and an advocate for gender equality and inclusion in sports and business workplaces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's that time of year when the clocks change and the nights draw in, the familiar starts to take on a new aspect as the shadows lengthen, and in the world of IT, trends that have been taken for granted are also starting to take on a new shape. As countries battle productivity problems, can they replicate the success of Iceland's four-day working week? Elsewhere, developers have started to question just how useful AI coding tools really are, and OpenAI has had another successful funding round – but is interest in the company starting to wain?In this episode, Jane is once again joined by Ross Kelly, ITPro's news and analysis editor, to unpack the most interesting news that October brought.Read more:New four-day week trial kicks off for workers across UKIceland's four-day working week trials have been a roaring success – economic growth spiked, workers were happier, and burnout plummetedThe benefits of a four-day week in techUK's four-day week trial ends, leads to reduced burnout and sick daysOpenAI just raised $6.6bn in funding, but it drove a hard bargain – investors will be stopped from funding rivalsOpenAI could go bankrupt in 12 months if it doesn't raise some serious cash – but is the Microsoft-backed AI giant too big to fail?

In this podcast, Sam Genway, Principal Technologist, Capgemini, James Cruise, Associate Director Quantum Algorithms, Cambridge Consultants, and  Jasper Krauser, Quantum Technology Central Coordinator, Airbus, join Laura Foster, techUK's Associate Director for Technology and Innovation to talk about moving from concept to commercialisation in quantum computing.

As a follow-up to techUK's flagship Digital Ethics Summit, we are pleased to deliver a series of podcasts that dive deeper into the conversations started at the 2023 Digital Ethics Summit and will continue at the 2024 event. In the latest podcast, Tess Buckley, the programme manager for digital ethics and AI safety at Tech UK, hosts a session with three distinguished experts from KPMG: Leanne Allen, Isabel Simpson, and Caroline Rivett.

In this podcast, the third episode in this Cyber Series in partnership with BlackBerry Paul Fryer, Senior Manager, Sales Engineering UK/I/MEA at BlackBerry joins Jill Broom, techUK's Programme Manager for Cyber Security, to talk about secure communications.

My guest in this episode is Tom Larter. Tom  is a seasoned business executive and the CEO of WithYouWithMe, one of the Asia Pacific's fastest growing tech companies. WithYouWithMe solves workforce challenges and make a positive social impact throughcreating career pathways for diverse communities, including veterans, military families,neurodivergent individuals and indigenous groups.  Tom is also an active member of several industry organisations, including the Tech Council of Australia, TechUK and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB).  Highlights of our conversation include your ability to learn being the best predictor of your hire-ability, future-proofing jobs for the future, how execution beats strategy every day of the week, the importance of Involving your leaders in your strategic planning, and making sure your strategy fits on one page.  Enjoy the conversation  To find out more about WithYouWithMe go to: https://withyouwithme.com You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomlarter/  To learn more about what it takes to be an evolved leader, and to check out our other podcast episodes, go to:  https://www.evolvedstrategy.com.au

Bringing the L to FLAP-D, the UK has a prominent data center market. But like all other tier-one markets, London is struggling with space and power capacity. Because of this, the UK's data center industry will have to diversify, all while meeting increasingly regimented regulations. In this episode, we talk to trade association TechUK's Luisa Cardani about what the UK's data center industry is currently experiencing, from upcoming rules and regulations to emerging new markets, to the association's role in influencing policy. 

About the episode: How can businesses share data to enable them to collaborate effectively whilst still retaining control of their data? Ali Nicholl at IOTICS thinks his company has the answer. Guest Name: Ali Nicholl Ali Nicholl is part of IOTICS' founding team and IOTICS' Head of Engagement, working across transport, logistics, utilities, the built environment, and defence, focusing on interoperability of IT & OT and digital cooperation across enterprise boundaries. Deploying decentralised, federated approaches that leverage semantics, selective sharing of data and connected digital twins. Ali is actively working on projects supporting the co-creation of transformative services and solutions at the intersection of market sectors and industries – with an interest in ESG, sustainability, and essential sharing networks. Ali also represents IOTICS within industry and academic initiatives such as TechUK's Digital Twin Working Group, Cranfield University's Industry Advisory Board and, as Co-Chair, on the DT Hub Community Council. Ali is passionate about enabling and empowering individuals and organisations to use trusted interoperability to unlock the value of their data assets to meet today's business challenges, with the future flexibility to be ready for as-yet-undefined technology and needs. The opportunities presented by enabling programmatic discovery, data sharing and interaction must be married with a holistic understanding to unify technical and business benefits. Ali's skills lie in taking a view across technical and sector landscapes to give confidence to those taking their first steps and to reflect impacts for the greater good. Links: LinkedIn: Ali Nicholl IOTICS.com I hope you enjoy the show and if you have any comments or suggestions please write to me at: tc@wickedproblems.fm. Enjoy, Toby Corballis

The second episode in this Cyber Series in partnership with BlackBerry explores whether AI is part of the solution when it comes to cyber attacks, the importance of AI regulation, and what to anticipate regarding AI in 2024. In this podcast, Keiron Holyome, Vice President - UKI, Middle East & Africa at BlackBerry joins Katherine Holden, techUK's Associate Director, Data Analytics, AI and Digital ID to talk about AI and cyber.

Brace yourself for leadership lessons that are as impactful as they are practical. We're joined by Jason Tooley, EMEA Sales Leader and Board Member of techUK,  who shares what he has learnt from his 35 years of experience in the tech industry.Strap in for a journey through the challenges and strategies of leading transformations, especially within the backdrop of EMEA.  We'll dissect the importance of adaptability and the courage it takes to make tough calls on prioritization, ensuring your vision doesn't get lost in the noise of competing tasks. Discover why supporting your team is the cornerstone of success and how clear communication channels are the glue that holds your strategic plans together. You'll learn how to cut through the clutter of everyday tasks and prioritize with precision, fostering an environment that thrives on trust and simplicity. Our conversation with Jason dives into the importance of emotional intelligence, empathy, and engaging leadership styles that resonate across different cultural contexts. We discuss the art of breaking down silos, integrating business models, and motivating teams beyond just financial incentives, ensuring a seamless approach and a team that's in sync with the corporate vision.We would love you to follow us on LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/company/amplified-group/

The techUK Podcast - Catalysing tech led decarbonisation by techUK

On this episode of The Data Chief, Katie Russell, Data Director at OVO Energy shares OVO's transformative journey to become a sustainable energy leader, emphasizing the shift to Google Cloud Platform and a data mesh strategy. The discussion covers OVO's innovative use of generative AI, measuring success through customer savings, and the ongoing challenge of fostering a data-driven culture.Key Moments: OVO's mission and data support [1:05]Data transformation [7:37]Technology modernization [11:17]Data discoverability and data mesh [17:28]Measuring business contribution [22:03]Generative AI and data privacy [27:56]Data-driven culture and trust [30:51]Key Quotes: "We chose Google Cloud Platform as our underlying data platform with BigQuery then as the data warehouse. The thesis being that they practically invented the technology and so should be good at it." “My job is to represent my team, make sure that we're working on the right things, and then, build  trust with the leadership community that we're doing the right things with data for the business.”"I'm thinking that there might actually be a bit of a full circle on data privacy and sharing. I think with ChatGPT being so easy to use with its really human-centered design and with social media ups and downs over the last few years, I'm wondering if there's going to be a revolution in data privacy and data sharing and personal data." Mentions: SQL buddies programPython programGoogle CloudBigQueryMonte CarloAtlanSnowflakeHightouchGenerative AIChatGPTBio: Katie Russell is the Data Director at OVO Energy, leading teams of Data Scientists, Data Engineers and Analysts who are transforming OVO's data capability. As part of a technology led business, leveraging data using artificial intelligence keeps OVO truly innovative, delivering the best possible service for our customers. Katie joined OVO in October 2017 having spent 5 years at ONZO - an energy analytics startup  - as Head of Data Science. During that time she was chuffed to be awarded Big Data Hero by techUK in June 2016 and helped ONZO win multiple awards for their innovative solutions for utilities. Prior to that Katie worked for another analytics start up in the water industry, got a PhD in Mathematical Physics and holds a BA and MMath from the University of Cambridge. 

As we enter 2024, what next for tech jobs and investment? Each year, Linklaters publishes its Tech Legal Outlook bringing together analysis and insights from their lawyers around the world to identify key themes and trends set to shape the upcoming year. Listen to the brilliant discussion as Jake Wall, techUK's Policy Manager for Skills and Future of Work is joined by Sinead Casey, Employment Partner, Linklaters to discuss employment trends, and Derek Tong, Partner, Global Technology Sector Leader, Linklaters to look at the tech investment landscape. Learn more about techUK's Future of Work workstream here: www.techuk.org/shaping-policy/future-of-work.html.

Exploring New Frontiers with Shane: Agility, Authenticity, and Access in the AI Era Summary In this conversation, Shane shines a light on the importance of British small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and their contribution to society and the economy. He discusses the role of AI in transforming healthcare and the potential impact on employment in smaller companies. Shane emphasizes the need for agility in SMEs and the opportunities for new charging methodologies in the health technology sector. He also highlights the importance of authenticity and encourages individuals to be themselves. The conversation concludes with a focus on educating educators about AI and the potential for AI to improve healthcare and distribute wealth. Takeaways British small to medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in society and the economy. AI has the potential to transform healthcare and alleviate mundane tasks, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on more complex cases. Access to technology, such as broadband, is crucial for marginalized communities and should be a priority. New charging methodologies in the health technology sector can provide fairer access and distribution of resources. Authenticity and individuality are important in mentoring and leadership, and individuals should strive to be themselves. Educating educators about AI is essential for the future of healthcare and technology. AI has the potential to improve healthcare and distribute wealth more equitably. Chapters 00:00 Shining a Light on British Small to Medium Enterprises 35:06 The Importance of Small to Medium Enterprises in the Private Sector 36:25 Shane's Role in TechUK and the Health and Social Care Council 38:36 The Impact of AI on Employment in Smaller Companies 39:39 The Role of AI in Alleviating Mundane Tasks 41:06 Using AI to Predict and Prevent Health Issues 44:10 The Importance of Agility in Small to Medium Enterprises 45:43 The Digital Divide and Access to Technology 49:36 The Need for Broadband Access for All 52:37 Challenges and Opportunities in Health Technology 54:29 New Charging Methodologies for Health Technology 57:02 Being Authentic and Encouraging Individuality 59:51 The Importance of Educating Educators on AI 01:03:41 Using AI to Improve Healthcare and Distribute Wealth 01:04:35 Inspiring Others and Making a Difference   Enjoy!   Reach out to Shane via LinkedIn

Join us for a very special 100th edition of the Sales Code Leadership Podcast as we speak to Jacqueline de Rojas about variety of interesting topics. Jacqueline is President at Digital Leaders, board member at techUK, and Co-Chair of the Institute of Coding. The first in her family to attend university, she has had a 30 year career in tech and risen to executive leadership roles across global software businesses. She currently sits on the boards of techUK, Rightmove and global software vendor IFS AB. She is also a founding member and Co-Chair at the Institute of Coding. Over the last 15 years, Jacqueline has collaborated with government to shape policy and create conditions for the tech industry to thrive by using her platform as president of techUK until July 22 and in parallel as President of Digital Leaders, a global initiative to bring together 180,000 tech leaders across all professional sectors.Jacqueline is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and was awarded a CBE in 2018 for her services to International Trade in Technology. She has been acknowledged with a plethora of awards and accolades during her professional career, including being voted the Most Influential Woman in IT in 2015; recognised the World's 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government in 2019, and winning Global Positive Impact Leader of the Year 2021 at the Stroeous Awards.The podcast is brought to you by Sales Code, a MEDDICC MEDIA production, helping revenue leaders unlock added value in B2B SaaS sales teams. Your views on our podcast are always welcome, as well as any questions you might have for our podcast guests.Connect with the show host Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinthiele/

Our expert host, David M. Brear, is joined by some great guests to take a closer look at that tricky balance between managing regulation without compromising innovation in banking. They discuss how to empower fintechs with the autonomy to disrupt and drive our industry forward, while also enforcing fair, competitive, and appropriate boundaries. This week's guests include: James Baston-Pitt, VP of Growth EMEA at Alloy Ed Pugh, Development Director - Fintech & Digital Assets at Aon Andy Thornley, Head of Financial Services at TechUK Fintech Insider by 11:FS is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to all things finance, banking, technology, and financial services. Our expert hosts, with real industry experience, are joined by the biggest decision-makers, VCs, and reporters from across financial services including guests from Visa, Nubank, M-Pesa, Techcrunch, Starling, and JP Morgan Chase to discuss the latest news, developments, and trends within the industry. Our weekly news show drops every Monday and tackles the biggest news stories, from acquisitions and launches, to regulatory changes and innovation. Then, every Friday our Insights show dives deeper into the hottest topics shaping the industry like web3 and BNPL. Whether you're already immersed in the world of financial services, or just keen to learn more, this is the #1 podcast for you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and please leave a review Follow us on Twitter: @fintechinsiders where you can ask the hosts questions, or email podcasts@11fs.com! Special Guests: Andy Thornley, Ed Pugh, and James Baston-Pitt.

International trade matters for the tech sector and as techUK's Local Digital Index has shown this is also an important factor in assessing the strength of local tech ecosystems. Hawksford's latest report "Doing Business in the UK" shows the importance of these global markets and helps companies plan and consider how they'll engage and do business across numerous different countries, with different regulatory systems, specialisms and tech priorities. Read Hawksford's report here: https://www.hawksford.com/ebook-doing-business-in-the-uk?utm_campaign=UK-e-Book-Global-Phase-2&utm_source=techuk&utm_medium=podcast And more about techUK here: https://www.techuk.org/

AI minister Viscount Camrose, Ada Lovelace Institute's Renate Samson and TechUK's Antony Walker join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Zoe Crowther to discuss Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's big AI speech and next week's Bletchley Park global AI safety summit.

In this Thinking Ahead podcast, Trevor Godman from GfK UK discusses the latest findings from the annual Smart Home survey. Now in its seventh year, this collaboration with techUK delves into consumer awareness and interest, ownership and usage of a range of connected or ‘smart' home products. This is an extensive piece of work, so in this 15-minute conversation, we focus on three key highlights: market growth and what's driving it, what we can learn from the success of smart doorbells, and expectations around energy saving.

The first episode in this Cyber Series in partnership with BlackBerry explores the threat landscape, assessing what exactly we are up against in terms of building that resilience and exploring how the threats are evolving in light of both geopolitical conflict and technological advance. In this podcast, Ismael Valenzuela, Vice President of Threat Research & Intelligence at BlackBerry join Dan Patefield, techUK's Head of Cyber and National Security, to talk about cyber threats. You can download the Intelligent report by Blackberry here: www.blackberry.com/us/en/solutions/threat-intelligence/2023/threat-intelligence-report-jan Lear more at www.techUK.org

techUK, in partnership with GfK, is delighted to release the seventh edition of our annual State of the Connected Home report, which surveys a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults across the UK to ask about their awareness, interest, and ownership of a range of connected or ‘smart' home products. The full report can be accessed at https://www.techuk.org/resource/state-of-the-connected-home-2023.html In this episode, our Head of Market Access & Consumer Technology Lewis Walmesley-Browne talks through the findings of the 2023 edition of the report with Trevor Godman from GfK who led the research. The 2023 edition of our report finds the UK connected home market to be performing robustly despite challenging macro-economic headwinds and low consumer confidence. We include for the first time some specific questions around the current cost of living crisis and the increasing cost of energy bills to understand how consumers perceive connected home devices in relation to energy saving. Learn more at www.techUK.org.

It's been a big year for tech already, with the growing prominence of AI to the creation of DSIT. techUK though is also interested in what comes next, so to accompany our relaunch of Policy Pulse, and with a general election on the horizon, we've asked influential voices across the UK tech sector what they think will be the big trends and stories in the UK tech sector in the next year. Sitting down with Neil Ross, our Associate Director for Policy, to give their insights on the ‘Look Ahead' podcast for the year ahead were: • Adam Hawksbee, Deputy Director of Onward, a centre-right think tank • Felicity Burch, the Executive Director of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), a government expert body enabling the trustworthy use of Data and AI • Henry Parker, Head of Government Affairs at AI startup Logically, which uses AI to combat misinformation online • Kate Royse, the Director of the Hartree Centre, a research lab that is part of UKRI's Science and Technology Facilities Council investigating supercomputing, data science and AI applications • Bojana Bellamy, President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership, a GLOBAL PRIVACY AND DATA POLICY THINK TANK • Leo Ringer, co-founder and partner at Form Ventures, an early stage VC focused on markets shaped by public policy and regulation Make sure you subscribe to Policy Pulse to get our analysis of the latest tech policy news. Visit www.techUK.org for more details.

In the latest podcast, Charles Baird, Chief Data Architect, Office for National Statistics and Adrian Harvey, Partner, Data Analytics, KPMG join Georgina Maratheftis, techUK's Associate Director for Local Public Services to talk about effective data sharing and standards in a smarter state. In the lead up to techUK's flagship public sector conference Building the Smarter State, we are pleased to partner with KPMG to deliver a series of podcasts looking at key enablers of the smarter state. We all want to see a smarter state, for the benefit of both public service efficiency itself and to deliver a better experience to citizens – but there are some critical blockers to this. Book your Building the Smarter State tickets here - https://www.techuk.org/building-the-smarter-state-2023.html.

Sheila Flavell CBE is President of techUK and has over 31 years experience in the global tech sector. She is a dynamic business leader who has a passion for enhancing diversity in the workplace and creating exciting careers for the next generation of digital talent. She played an integral role in FDM's flotation on AIM in 2005 and was a key instigator of the management buy-out of the Group in 2010 and the subsequent listing onto the main FTSE Market in 2014. Sheila's knowledge of the sector has been crucial in driving FDM's global expansion programme, taking them into the FTSE250. She spearheads the ‘Global Women in Tech' campaign and created FDM's hugely successful Returners Programme. Sheila is President of TechUK and member of the Government's Digital Skills Council. She has won numerous awards during her career for services to the tech industry and was recognised in the 2020 New Year's Honours list with ‘Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire' (CBE) for her services to gender equality in IT and the employment of graduates and returners.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, techUK's Head of Telecoms and Spectrum Policy Sophie James talks to The Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Brian Larkin from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the US, and Mavenir's John Baker. Our guests share their reflections on the recent International Telecoms Summit, held at techUK, as part of London Tech Week, some of the key topics and themes that were explored, and the importance of international collaboration in the global telecoms sector. To learn more visit www.techUK.org

In this podcast episode of Unlocking Leadership, host Clare Carpenter speaks with Nimmi Patel, Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK as they discuss the intersection of skills, talent, and diversity in the tech industry and the importance of digital literacy within the workplace.Unlocking Leadership, previously Leadership 2020, is a podcast helping leadership lead in a world that is changing ever quickly. Join us as we interview even more inspiring people who provide information and skills on how to tackle the big questions affecting today's leaders.We blend real-life leadership experiences of our guests with the latest management theory to provide practical, relevant tips for anyone in a leadership position.About the guest:Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre which aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.Prior to joining techUK, Nimmi worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester and an MA in Strategic Communications at King's College London.About the host:Clare Carpenter has 24 years' experience in professional and staffing recruitment, including operational business management and strategic development at Board level. She has been hosting ‘Unlocking Leadership' for 3 years when taking time away from executive coaching to professionals as a Professional Development Expert at Corndel.She likes walking by the sea or in the mountains, spending time with her pug, reading books that make her think and watching films that don't. Visit our website to learn more about Unlocking LeadershipFollow Corndel on LinkedIn for Unlocking Leadership updatesFind out more about Corndel

Thomas Beautyman, Deputy Director, Government Digital Capability at the Central, Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and Adrian Clamp, Partner and Head of Digital Transformation at KPMG join Georgina Maratheftis, techUK's Associate Director for Local Public Services to talk about the digital skills gap and the challenges around it, including the importance of digital leadership and what digital transformation looks like in the context of digital skills. Listen to the conversation to hear practical ways and insights into how government and industry can better collaborate to address this issue and bridge the digital skills gap. Help shape the future of the smarter state by attending the annual Building the Smarter State conference on the 27 September: https://www.techuk.org/building-the-smarter-state-2023.html Learn more athttps://www.techuk.org/

In the lead up to techUK's flagship public sector conference Building the Smarter State, we are pleased to partner with KPMG to deliver a series of podcasts looking at key enablers of the smarter state. We all want to see a smarter state, for the benefit of both public service efficiency itself and to deliver a better experience to citizens – but there are some critical blockers to this. In this first episode, we explore legacy IT – including what it is, and why it is such a difficult, yet important issue for digital transformation in the public sector. John Owen, Chief Technology Officer, Cabinet Office and Adrian Clamp, Partner and Head of Digital Transformation at KPMG join Georgina Maratheftis, techUK's Associate Director for Local Public Services to talk about how we reframe legacy IT and tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector transformation, as outlined in the National Audit Office's recent report Digital Transformation in Government: addressing barriers to efficiency. Listen to the conversation to hear practical ways and insights into how government and industry can better collaborate to solve this challenge and future proof tomorrow's legacy. The next podcast in the Building the Smarter State series will focus on bridging the digital skills gap. Help shape the future of the smarter state by attending the annual Building the Smarter State conference on the 27 September! https://www.techuk.org/building-the-smarter-state-2023.html Learn more about techUK here: https://www.techuk.org/

In this episode, techUK's Programme Manager for Cyber Security, Jill Broom talks to Shiguftah Malik, Gemserv, Katie Shanahan, Crossword Cyber Security, Nuala Kilmarton, Innovate UKRI and Raya Tsolova, techUK about their journeys into cyber security, the opportunities and challenges of working in the sector and how the Empowering Women to Lead, Cyber Security Programme helped them to realise their leadership potential in this exciting industry.

Antony Walker, deputy CEO of techUK, discusses some of the key policy areas affecting the UK's tech companies, from AI to the online safety bill. He also reflects on how the economic shocks of Brexit and the pandemic have impacted UK tech, and the role the UK should play in influencing new technologies on the global stage. The trade association represents nearly 1,000 members and its goal is to “ensure the UK is the best place for technology companies to locate and thrive”. Its member includes smaller startups and SMEs, along with larger corporates such as Amazon Web Services UK. In addition to engaging with the government on behalf of its members, techUK holds events, workshops and creates reports.

techUK's latest podcast explores the topic of interoperability within the healthcare system, examining the challenges and opportunities the health and social care sector has in becoming interoperable. Our lineup this month includes: • Alex Eavis: Chief Product Officer - Digital, Data and Analytics at EMIS • Jon Payne: Director of Sales Engineering and Education at Intersystems • Fiona Dawson: Director at Mayden • Andrew Frangleton: Managing Director and Informatics Director at Clinical Architecture Visit our Health and Social care pages at https://www.techuk.org/developing-markets/health-and-social-care.html Learn more and get involved at www.techUK.org

techUK's latest podcast hosts industry leaders discussing biometrics in digital identity, exploring opportunities, challenges, regulations, and the future of this dynamic sector. We discuss enhancing security, safety, and user experience through revolutionary biometric solutions. Gus Tomlinson of GBG plc, Campbell Cowie from iProov, Richard Thompson of Sopra Steria and Martin George representing the Biometrics Institute join techUK's Iain McCallum in our first Digital ID Programme podcast of 2023 to talk about the opportunities for biometrics in the digital identity ecosystem, what challenges remain to be overcome, what good regulation looks like and exactly what our guests would like to see happen next in the sector. Visit www.techUK.org for more.

Bio  A technology lawyer of some 40 years' experience, Richard has seen the IT industry from all sides - as an in-house lawyer with two substantial UK based systems houses, a lawyer in City of London practice and now as the head of his own practice offering legal services to IT companies large and small as well as acting as mediator and arbitrator in IT disputes.  Over the course of his career, Richard has been involved in some of the largest IT litigation and transactions and now gets involved in particular with Cloud contracting. When Richard set up his own private practice, the Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession described him as a “leader in his field” and as “good news on the most complex of matters”. Richard is a well known IT lawyer, having served two years as Chair of the Society for Computers & Law and is currently serving as Chair of the Legal Affairs Group at techUK. He has been a regular speaker at conferences both in the UK and internationally and has been providing training for over ten years: his annual lecture on Contract Law Developments attracts hundreds of attendees every year. More recently, he has ventured into writing with the publication of “Stephens on Contractual Indemnities” published by Law Brief Publishing.     Social media/ website(s): ·         LinkedIn: Richard Stephens on LinkedIn  ·         Richard's Website:  https://www.the-lors.co.uk   Books/References ·         ‘Stephens on Contractual Indemnities' by Richard Stephens – Law Brief Publishing   Interview Highlights 07:20 Don't leave any slippery bananas 09:15 Kicking the can down the street 15:20 Peppercorn rent 16:55 Blue v Ashley case 21:31 DSDM 22:40 Agile contracts 32:20 Atos Origin v De Beers 37:15 Hogjaard v EON    Episode Transcript  Ula Ojiaku Hello and welcome to the Agile Innovation Leaders podcast. I'm Ula Ojiaku. On this podcast I speak with world-class leaders and doers about themselves and a variety of topics spanning Agile, Lean Innovation, Business, Leadership and much more – with actionable takeaways for you the listener. So, Richard, thank you so much for joining us on the Agile Innovation Leaders' podcast.    Richard Stephens Pleasure to be here.     Ula Ojiaku Fantastic. Now, as I start with all my guests, we want to know who Richard Stephens is. So, can you tell us about yourself?    Richard Stephens Well, it depends what you want to know Ula. I'm a solicitor, and it's not terribly exciting as professions go. So, I spend a lot of time reading long documents, commenting on them, marking them up, doing contracts. It's probably everyone's worst nightmare when it comes to a profession really, I suppose, I don't know.    Ula Ojiaku Well, I like the way you've just summarised your profession as reading long documents and making comments. I'm wondering if you ever had long debates over phrases and words in a document?    Richard Stephens Yes, that's what the job consists of. And when you get into negotiating big contracts, and over my career, I've done, I've been involved in huge global outsourcing of huge cloud contracts, huge this, huge that, huge development implementation contracts. The job consists of arguing about words and trying to get it right for your client to be honest, you don't want to leave any slippery bananas in there which are going to trip them up later on.    Ula Ojiaku So that phrase slippery bananas, we'll get back to it. But in the meantime, how did you end up in a career in law, because you said, the way you've described it, you said it's not the most exciting thing. So, there must have been something that still drew you to this, “non-exciting path”?    Richard Stephens Well, I don't know, really, you just, I don't know, why do you do anything when you're young, and you decide to become, you know, typically, young little boys will say, well, I want to be a train driver or whatever. And you just, as you grow up, you just become gravitated to do something, and there are a lot of us in our school who said they wanted to be lawyers, others said they wanted to be consultants or some wanted to be accountants, but you have to understand that I worked in a time when IT didn't really exist. So, I don't think there was anybody who wanted to go into technology, for example, because I was, you know, at school in the 70s. So that was very much an arcane shut away job where people would wear white coats and go into air conditioned, filtered air rooms to feed mainframe monsters. But of course, that sort of thing, we knew nothing about. I don't know, I don't know why I went into being a lawyer. I mean, I could have run away to the circus, I suppose, but I lacked the courage to do it, I suppose - too boring and unadventurous is typical lawyer you see.    Ula Ojiaku Okay, okay. Well, that's an interesting, will I say, narrative of your career to date. So, do you have any thing you would have done differently, knowing what you now know?    Richard Stephens I think I would have run away to the circus, Ula.    Ula Ojiaku Okay, well, that's an interesting response, Richard. Well, thanks for sharing your career story to date. And so, for someone who is, for example, listening, and that's considering a career in law that you know, no matter what stage in life they're at, what would be your advice?    Richard Stephens Don't put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Robinson, I think is probably what I would say. You know, they're all different types of lawyers. And you can go through lawyers who do criminal work, for example, and I think some lawyers get a good deal of pleasure out of doing that sort of thing. I don't think the criminal lawyers make a huge amount of money out of it. Or a lot of people do very harrowing areas of law like family domestic law and they're dealing with battered people of, frankly, these days, both sexes and horrible emotional scars and, you know, battles over, but I, you know, I went to, did some of my CPD and I went to a talk given by a probate mediator. Now you think that probate was a nice sedate area of the law, but that's the most, he said, is the most vicious, dispute ridden thing, because he said all families will have secrets and they will harbour them. And he said, what will happen is that, you know, Aunt Maud dies, and she has some valuable art collection or something like that, and then all these little, all these little disputes and resentments that you had against your elder brother for 30 years suddenly all bubble to the surface. And he said, it all comes out as a horrible, vicious fight. People are going into Aunt Maud's house and stealing her property while she's dead. And they're arguing over who gets the fine china and who gets this and who gets that. He said, one of the horrible things is that you, know, when he does the settlement between the brothers or whoever it may be, and one of the clauses he's very often asked to put in is that such and such brother, should not ever again seek to contact him by phone, email, writing, or anything. So, you get that sort of thing as well. So, but you know why it is I would become a commercial lawyer, I say it's not that boring and actually, when you get in a deal, you get the excitement of trying to work the deal together, put it all together, bring it all together for the day of signature, I say there is a pressure, a dynamic, and every team has its own dynamic, and you're working towards getting something done. A bit like looking at your agile principles as well, I suppose. You know, you're trying to get it done. Although it's not done in incremental delivery, it's all done in one big drop at the end on the day of signature, of course.    Ula Ojiaku Now, that's an interesting story about, you know, different kinds of law, probate and going kindly back to commercial law, which you practice, if I'm correct in the understanding.    Richard Stephens That's right. I mean, I work for myself, when I say I do the big contracts, and I certainly do that, I work for SMEs as well, one of the things I also do is, I work as a mediator and an arbitrator in the IT sector. So, I'm there either helping people resolve disputes, or as an arbitrator, I'm actually resolving disputes, issuing binding awards. But I also provide some coaching in commercial law subjects as well. So, I do a variety of different things that helps keep my sanity.    Ula Ojiaku Now, the phrase slippery bananas because you said, you know, when you were, you know, you when you're drafting contracts, you make sure you're avoiding those slippery bananas. So, what's the perspective? Could you give us a glimpse into what goes on, you know, behind the scenes or in your mind, at the back of your mind when you're, you know, drafting, you're involved in drafting, and reviewing contracts on behalf of a client. What's the perspective you're doing this from?   Richard Stephens The first line is, and the first principle I start from is that projects, as has been said before, projects don't go wrong for terms of conditions. And I have a friend in the industry, who says that, and he, like me, works for himself. And he says that when he's doing a big contract or for a major client, he's up against a really big city of London law firm. He's there, he'll be negotiating the front end, as we call it, the terms and conditions, the legal bit, that goes at the front, the core of the contract, he'll spend days talking about liabilities and warranties and indemnities. He says, I'm talking with a partner of the law firm on that, he said, but when it comes to talking about the scope, the SLA, the charging schedule, all these things, he said, I end up negotiating with the trainee. He said, well, why does a contract go wrong? It won't be for anything to do with the indemnities or the liabilities or the warranties. They're there for after it has gone wrong. Why does it go wrong? It goes wrong for the things that are in the schedule, the operational things, that's the thing that you get wrong. And the second principle I move on to is this, that in my lifetime, I think drafting has simply got worse and worse and worse, and contracts have got longer and longer and longer. And so, having talked about slippery banana skins, then we now get on to another metaphor. And we talk about kicking the can down the street, as lawyers find it harder and harder to come to agreement on important issues, you know, when will such and such a sum be paid? You know, what you have to do to get acceptance of milestone three such that payment can be released. And so, they then insert modern drafting, like the parties will reasonably agree the amount to be released, and it's called kicking the can down the street, it's not actually legally binding. And it's not actually, it's nothing, it's a thing, it gets rid of the immediate problem. And all you're saying is that, you know, the judge or the arbitrator later on can make the decision for you, or you hope they can, they may just throw it out and say, well, it's not really an agreement at all. So that, I think, those are the things that I have noticed in my career, and those I think are the banana skins, the slippery bananas I try to avoid for my client wherever possible.    Ula Ojiaku Well, that's interesting, and how successful is it? Would you say that a good contract then, this is me stating my view and as a non-expert in this area, I would stand to be corrected by yourself. So, would a good contract be drafted in a way that enforces both parties to act in the best interests of the other, does it always result in a win-win situation?    Richard Stephens No, because I'm an English lawyer, I deal with the English common law. And the common law has typically, traditionally taken the line, and still, to a very large extent does, that each party looks after its own interests. I'm not here, when I represent a party, I'm not looking after the other party's interests at all. And my instructions, so to speak, or my implicit instructions, are to do the best deal for my clients, to do the worst deal for my opponent. Now, of course, that means I'm not actually trying to hamper them or hinder them or throw banana skins under their feet, because of course, if I hamper them or hinder them in the contract it could come back on me or come back on my client, I should say later on, if it's a long project, or outsourcing where the parties have to cooperate, so you do have to get a sort of balance. But the common laws approach, the English common law's approach is typically that each party is expected to enter into a contract, looking after its own interests, it's actually highly topical. I don't want to, you probably don't want to get into the riveting and fascinating details of English contract law, and it's sort of moving in practice and theoretically to adopting a, what you might call a more continental civil law approach by trying to import concepts of good faith (Note: Whilst correct at time of recording, the English Court of Appeal has since limited the use of the term 'good faith'), reasonableness, which are concepts I have to say, which are still by and large alien to my system of law, to the system of law, the country in which we live.    Ula Ojiaku Okay, wow. So, how then because, we've kind of dug into, you know, speaking about contracts for the, in the interest of the listener, who probably is just jumping in and wondering, okay, what are they talking about? What would you define a contract as?    Richard Stephens It's just a binding agreement for someone to do something for someone else and for the other to do something to the other party, which is normally payment, that's all it is. But contracts are all around us. And so, I mean, obviously, you know, it looks like you're sitting at home at the moment and you're not in an office. But if you, on the days or hopefully in the days to come when you go back into an office or you go to a physical meeting, and you might stop in a little shop somewhere and buy yourself a cup of coffee. Well, that's a contract. It's actually quite a complex contract as well, because it's a sale of goods and to some extent services, if they're making the coffee for you, in front of you. It imports therefore goods to the law to do with the sale of goods and services. It imports a whole lot of law to do with consumer law because you're a consumer buying a coffee, it's got a lot of law in there to do with health and safety because you know, you want your coffee shop to be a safe place from which to buy your beverage. So, if you actually look at that, and you took all the law and regulations relating to that very simple, I'll have a cappuccino, please, that you could probably fill a shelf with just the law and the cases dealing sales of goods and services, health and safety, consumer law, and all the rest of it. But you don't need to worry about that Ula, because all you want is your cappuccino at the end of the day. So, that is a contract and the contracts are all around us.    Ula Ojiaku And the seller I would dare say wants to be paid for the cup of cappuccino they made for me.    Richard Stephens That's the consideration, of course, that's traditionally the consideration, which has been a key feature, of course of English contract law, and not necessarily other systems of contract law, the Scots, for example, don't require consideration in their system of contract law. So, they don't require one party to do something for the other in exchange for something else, it can be a one-sided thing. But don't ask me how they get by, but they do. But the idea of consideration if you drew up, just to show, just to sort of mark out as it were, a casual deal, which you didn't really think was a contract from a proper contract. But a consideration can be anything, it can be a promise to do anything. It can be a promise to go for a walk around the park afterwards. So, I mean, it can be a thing of commercial, it can be commercially valueous. And that's why we have the concept of the peppercorn rent, if you've heard of a peppercorn rent?    Ula Ojiaku I'm not sure what that means. Could you explain please?    Richard Stephens Its where you rent a property, in exchange for the promise to pay a peppercorn, where the peppercorn has no commercial value at all. But it's a promise to hand over a peppercorn and the promise, and it's that promise that makes the contract a binding thing. You don't even have to hand it over. But if you promise to pay the peppercorn, that's the consideration. I'd like to see anyone suing someone else for a peppercorn but maybe the law reporters have got examples of that. I think not. But we need some levels of detail there.    Ula Ojiaku Oh, well, you might find me weird but I do find the concept of contracts interesting. And the fact that someone is promising a peppercorn, is it to show that there has been some sort of fair exchange between the two parties?    Richard Stephens It simply marks out a contract from what would otherwise be a gift. And it simply marks out what a contract is, so the law simply said, we want just these early signs, it only has to be basic, that the parties were actually serious about entering into a contract. And so, they required consideration, as a consideration can be commercially valueless. But it's just that the parties have thought to do something for each other. We won't even get into an intention to create legal relations, which is another requirement. And you still get some fantastic cases on that. And the case of Blue and Ashley recently,  which is where Mr. Blue worked for Mike Ashley of Sports Direct and they were all drinking heavily in the pub. And the evidence was at the end of the evening, that they consumed about 14,15 pints of beer by the end of the evening, although Mr. Blue wasn't present at that stage, but the evidence was that Mike Ashley said that if you can get my share price over eight pounds, then I will give you, you know, a huge bonus of several million pounds, I forget exactly how much it was. Well, is that a contract? And it went to the High Court and the High Court had to, well, what do you think, is that a contract or not? It was said the share price did go a bit over eight pounds and Mr. Blue carried on working there trying to make sure that the share price was maximized. He did actually get an ex gratia bonus of 1 million pounds from Sports Direct. So, did that make a contract?    Ula Ojiaku That's a question. Yes, because I audited a course in contract law being taught by a Harvard professor, so of course the focus is on the US laws and all that, so not necessarily here, but there's like intent of the person you know if it's a phrase that, or a statement that has been made jokingly, you know, how outrageous it is or whether the other party is being seen to get something in fair exchange, or whether it's a promise for a gift you know, so in those, in those situations, the three situations I've mentioned, it probably wouldn't hold water in a court of law if someone promised you a gift, because it's not contractually binding. But that's…    Richard Stephens You're learning legal skills already, because you know what you've done, don't you, you've actually used the word probably, you haven't committed yourself.    Ula Ojiaku No.    Richard Stephens And you've actually used the word probably because you're not willing to bet the farm on one decision, or the other, one resulting in the other, you know the old joke don't you about the client who goes into the solicitor's office and speaks to the receptionist and says, I want a meeting with the one-armed lawyer, please. The receptionist says we haven't got a one-armed lawyer here, why do you want to meet a one-armed lawyer and he said, well I'm fed up of meeting lawyers who say, well on the one hand this, and on the one hand that, but you've done it immediately, you've used that little word probably and it just came tumbling out in your speech, and you probably didn't even notice it. But I can recognise that you have legal skills already.    Ula Ojiaku Very kind of you Richard, that means a lot coming from you. But I do fancy myself going, you know, to go and do some sort of studies in law at some point in time. Wish me luck. But this brings us to the concept of agile. Have you had any experience with agile, and what does that mean to you, that term?    Richard Stephens Agile, I first got used to agile, when I was doing a lot of big scale litigation, when I was working in the city as a partner in a law firm there, and I did a lot of very large IT disputes, and it introduced me to some very odd concepts. And we had to get used to reading up about methods. And so, on some government projects, they mandated in those days, I don't know if they still do, but in those days, they were mandating the use of SSADM, and Prince overlaid on that as a management methodology. And we looked at this, and it was very odd, and I found it very strange, because what the SSADM and Prince would be doing would be mandating behaviours and actions that were flatly contradictory of the contract that had been written for the parties. And so, moving on from there, as agile became the big thing. We had, first of all, things like extreme programming, and that was getting everything going. And then other more formalised methods of Agile working, or Agile development came out, and I got involved with looking through DSDM as it then was, and thinking and the thing, the word that struck me was that everything will be fit for business purpose. And, of course, fit for purpose is very much a legal expression that's used in sales of goods contracts. And I thought, well, what does it mean to have an agile contract where you're promising the client that something is meant to be fit for business purpose, what is the business purpose? Did you know what it was before you started? What if it changes? I'm a lawyer, and I ask all of these questions. What if, what if, what if? And so I got very interested in writing DSDM, and I put together an industry committee of in-house lawyers working for tech companies and others, and we were just looking through Agile and we had a very senior person from the DSDM Consortium come and speak to us and train us on DSDM, and give us examples of how DSDM could deliver in a way that was better than the old waterfall method of delivery, especially when they were allied with the cumbersome approach of Prince 2 and so we got very interested in this, we tried thinking, well, what would an Agile contract, a contract for Agile development, actually look like? You know, how would it be different from what lawyers have been drafting up until that point and we had a go at it and we sort of let it sort of slip and slide and, you know, we all moved on to different things. And so, we never got there, but it's never gone away as a problem. And I think it is a problem. And I've given various ways I was a proponent of contracting for Agile development, Agile implementation at the time I was doing this, I find myself now cast in the role of villain. And Stewart, a chap called Stewart James has been taking the role of proponent of Agile contracts and I sort of, I the Devil's advocate, and I proposed a different way of working, and I just try and rubbish the view and so we had a go at each other there, we've had a go at each other at techUK if you know techUK, which is the industry body representing IT suppliers in the UK and we recently had another little go at each other in the BCS as a follow up to that talk we both attended over zoom. But interestingly, they had a poll at the end, and it garnered a huge amount of attention. We had a poll at the end of that having speakers do you have any confidence in the ability to contract for Agile and over 70% said they either had little confidence or no confidence in being able to contract for Agile. So…    Ula Ojiaku And why do you think there is that low confidence? What could be some of the root causes for this?    Richard Stephens  Oh, because I took them through the points I've made before, and I just pointed out that the Agile working doesn't fit in with English law, and we've already covered that up in a sense, because and I said to you that each party expects the English law, sorry, I should say English law expects each party to look after its own interests, and this idea of collaborative working, where you're working together to do the best you can with the resources available, and tried to come up with incremental deliveries, lots of short, sharp deliveries that give meaningful functionality to the customer, agreeing things on the fly, these things just don't sit very happily with the legal system that expects each party to look after its own interests. A legal system, which requires solid agreements, and which doesn't really regard reasonable endeavors, all these things and good faith doesn't regard these things as binding principles in law.    Ula Ojiaku Right, okay. Now, but in a case where, on one hand, you know, the two parties are more involved in the contract setting, as in, all right, we'll act in good faith, but at the same time, we would have our lawyers, our legal people, you know, put together an iron clad contract. Do you think that hypothetical situation is possible, in your experience?    Richard Stephens No, it's not, it's not possible at all, and that's the real problem. And I can take you through some of the cases that show this, if you like, referring to one of them, just got out the slide deck now, might be very interesting to you. It goes back to your first question, what's the point of a contract? Why have it? Because at the last outing I had, we had Andrew Craddock from the Agile Foundation, and he was proposing, you know, the benefits and the efficacy of agile, agile development, agile implementation. But of course, he was saying it's wonderful it, you know, beats waterfall hands down, it delivers all these great things and I said well, if it's that good, you probably don't need a contract anyway then, do you because it's never going to go into a dispute, then you don't need a contract. On the other hand, if you're a responsible business, you should be asking yourself as the directors of a responsible business, well what if the project doesn't go very well, what if it doesn't? What if it fails? What if I don't get what I expect at the end of the day, and on that point, I propose two reasons. And there are two reasons and both two sides of the same coin, for why an agile contract simply doesn't work. And the first reason is a legal reason. The other reason is a commercial reason. The second reason is what I call the FD principle, or the Financial Director principle. And the legal reason, to put it shortly is that the law, as I say, doesn't recognise a contract for good faith. And in any case, even if it did, you'd just be kicking the can down the street, because if you had a contract to do what you did in good faith, if it all went horribly wrong, which it inevitably will, how would you know whether someone had performed in good faith anyway? You just end up in another dispute, working out what the dispute was all about. So, and the second reason as I say is the FD principle, because while I was doing this DSDM thing, and I was chatting to a Financial Director of a good sized, medium sized company that was moving very much into IT and technology, it was mostly in the manufacturing sector, but very much absorbing IT, or what tech could do for it. And he said, look, I have the final sign off for any major expenditures, and I get a contract for 5 million pounds. He said, I want to know that at the end of the day, I've got something, when it's over that I that I can touch, I can feel with my fingers, hold with my hands. And I want to know that that's worth 5 million pounds, at least 5 million pounds to my business. And he said if I just get a contract that's agile, but people are simply saying well we'll work in good faith with each other, and we don't know what we'll deliver, but it'll be small, little bits incrementally and your you may or may not, to use the language of DSDM in the old days, you know, they have this concept of the minimum usable subset. And he said, well, is that worth 5 million pounds, because if that's only 60, 70%, of the full 5 million pounds, then I've been robbed, haven't I, and I've lost 30% of what I contracted for. And that's what I call therefore, the FD principle. And I remember when we were trying to draw up an agile contract, we were pulling teeth, trying to satisfy that FD, or his ilk that the contract would have some sort of effects, something that could be used to beat the supplier over the head. But I don't think we succeeded. And the problem is that every agile contract since, just drifts into this language, as you've said already, of good faith and reasonable endeavours and reasonable agreements on this. And these are all things that English law simply doesn't recognise.    Ula Ojiaku: Now, that's an interesting story. And you've just brought to light another perspective, that's not usually, explicitly considered in drafting contracts, which is that of the finances, the people who hold the purse strings, the people who sign off, you know, the projects or the programs of work. Sometimes, you know, people have the notion that, you know, agile is the be all and end all, it's not, there is still a place for waterfall. But waterfall is good for where you have straightforward issues, you have a problem, you know the solution, and there's a straight line from A to B, there's no need to go agile. But if it's a complex, adaptive problem where it's complex, and as things change, you know, the environmental change the nature of the problem, you know, keeps changing, you have to, well I say, adopt that agile approach to that now that's why the concept of a minimum viable product comes into play. And part of it is that, you know, you identify the minimum viable product, you state your assumptions, and then you, you know, create those, experiments based on the hypothesis of the assumptions you've made. And if you're validating, if your assumptions are validated, then you can go forward with, you know, the initiative. But if, at the very, you know, early instance, you're having negative results, you know, that negates your assumptions, then there's no need to go forward. Although from the Financial Director's perspective, you know, you say, okay, I've wasted it, I've been getting millions worth of money, but the learning has shown that it's a dead end we're moving towards, and it's better that we stop at a million than spending 10 million or even some other humongous amount on something that's probably not going to give any return.    Richard Stephens:  I think it's time to test your legal skills, again then.    Ula Ojiaku: I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a legal professional.    Richard Stephens:  I think you are a very modest lady indeed. I think you're probably going to go on and say you studied at the New York bar as well. But let me test your legal skills again, okay? And De Beers is the big diamond sorting diamond company in the world, as you may have heard of them, and Atos Origin are another company, you will doubtless have heard of, and they came to blows back in 2010, because they put out of ITT, for their diamond sorting and aggregating process, which, of course, is dealing with very high value things, namely diamonds. And so, it's all got to be it's a very difficult system to replicate and had all sorts of security and things built into it. So at first, they started doing the requirements analysis. And they did a mini survey, and they got their own view of what it was, and what was involved in doing this complex system. But they started work and found it was a hell of a lot more complex than they thought, and because De Beers and their operatives started asking for more and more and more, it got much more expensive. So, the original price was 2.9 million and Atos said well actually, it's going to cost nearly 5 million more than that to deliver everything you actually want. But it's interesting looking at what they said because, their Atos internal report said that this project was originally intended to be developed agile style, the team was organised into BAs who could refine the requirements and a pool of devs would be organised into teams to build elements of the solution incrementally, with a project beyond the requirements definition, set up Scrum star, this must be music to your ears, I would have thought Ula, all supported by an architect and a few key designer devs all very DSDM and can work fine in the right context. And of course, with the right customer. But what happened was, Atos said we need this extra 5 million odd to complete the project. De Beers said, I would have thought if anyone had, you know, 5 million pounds sitting around, it was like De Beers with all their diamonds, just sell a couple of those, I would have thought it was fine but they say get off site. And it all fell apart and they ended up in court. But which way did it go? So, you've got Atos, who's done the requirements analysis, they've done their best, they've tried to work out what was involved, they underbid. You've got De Beers that asked for more and more and more during the requirements analysis. Who wins at the end of the day? This is the time to put that Harvard training to use and no use of the word probably who won, someone won and someone lost.    Ula Ojiaku:  Before I answer your question, I'm just saying that I'm taking it in good faith you're not being sarcastic about my auditing the Harvard course online, but my answer to your question is going to be it depends, because all I know right now are the details you've given me and I know that there's usually more to a situation than meets the eye. So, it depends, again, I can see Atos's point of view, in the sense that if they did some sort of initial discovery work, and had given a quote, based on De Beers' requirements, now, and over time, you know, De Beers is asking for more, definitely that's called, you know, scope creep, and there might be some things, it inevitably would result in more costs. Now, on De Beers' hand, if they had been promised a pipe dream that agile is equal to cheaper, or fixed costs. So, they had also been working on a misinformed basis in the fact that if they thought, okay, yeah, agile solves everything, and it's going to be cheaper and faster. That's not true.    Richard Stephens:  So, we've got so far on the one hand this, and on the other hand that, so I'm looking for the one-armed lawyer now. I can see both your hands, Ula. You've got to decide, who wins?    Ula Ojiaku:  I think I wouldn't qualify for a one-armed lawyer. And the key thing is to know that I think it's the beginning of wisdom is to know that there is a limit to what I know. And in this case, it is definitely a good example. I don't know all the details behind it to make a firm judgment in favour or against one or the other.    Richard Stephens:  I think you know enough actually, come to have a go. Shall I tell you what the judge said?    Ula Ojiaku:  I'd like to know what the judge said please.    Richard Stephens:  In my judgment, he said, Atos went into this contract with its eyes at least half open, in the sense that it knew or should have known that it had not acquired a good grasp of the detail of De Beers diamond sorting and aggregating process. So, Atos lost is the important thing on that one. And because the general work, well, let me test your legal skills again, in case of Hojgaard and EON, okay.  This is all about constructing offshore wind turbines. Okay. You get a lot of those around, we don't see them because they're offshore, but you've seen wind turbines on land, and the employer, so the customer, in construction contracts they're known as the employer, mandated the use of an international standard called J101 for the construction of these wind turbines, okay. So Hojgaard had to use J101, or the methodologies for constructing wind turbines, as set out in that contract, in that international standard, I should say. Okay, so it started using J101. And what nobody knew was that J101, was fundamentally flawed. It had a design defect in it, and it underestimated the strength of the foundations needed to be built. So, as soon as they built these wind turbines, they started collapsing, and it cost 26 million pounds to put them right, 26 million euros, I think in those days. Okay. So, the question was, who was responsible? Well, Hojgaard said, well, you told me to use J101, so we only did what you said. And EON said, well, it doesn't matter, you're the provider, your supply, you should jolly well know, and you take the responsibility, so straightforwardly question. So no on the one hand..    Ula Ojiaku:  …on the other hand, straightforwardly answer. Again, based on the details you've set out I would say that EON is liable.    Richard Stephens:  EON is the employer. So, they've made the use of this standard.    Ula Ojiaku:  Yeah. So, my view is that EON is liable because they mandated the use of the standard. Now, that would be my view. Yeah, if that's the contract, and you know, you told someone build this for me and use this standard, because that's what we want. Now, as a responsible supplier, though, I would want to go to offer advice on what I think are the pros and cons of their decision. But finally, the client's decisions is theirs, so EON.    Richard Stephens:  So EON as the employer takes a rap, they have to cough up 26 million euros, went all the way to the Supreme Court, and they said it was the builders' responsibility. So even where the user has mandated that particular method, then it's the developer. The courts, they said are generally inclined to give full effect to the requirement that the item, as produced, complies with the prescribed criteria. Even if, even if the customer or employer has specified or approved the design, it's the contractor who can be expected to take the risk if he agreed to work to a design which would render the item incapable of meeting the criteria to which he has agreed. And it's not an inflexible rule of law, it's an approach of the courts. And this is one of the things that's highly relevant to agile because the parties are working cooperatively. And it may well be the customer that's mandating the use of, to get this result, or to use this method to get it and both parties are working in good faith. But when it all goes horribly wrong, which it inevitably will, the court's approach is generally, it's not mandated, you could put something different in your contract, the approach of the court is going to be well, it's the developer, it's the provider, it's the supplier, who's going to take the rap at the end of the day. And this is when you come back to the FD problem, because as soon as you then put something in your contract saying, nothing to do with us gov, it's all your responsibility, and we're not, you know, we'll just, we're just, you know, humble operatives doing as we're told, the FD's not going to sign off. He's gonna say, well, I'm paying my 5 million pounds, I want you to take some responsibility, I want you to take the responsibility at the end of the day. And as I say, these are the, these the interesting reasons why, in fact, trying to contract for agile is not so easy as you might think.    Ula Ojiaku:  So, what would be your recommendation then to, for example, leaders of organisations who want to continue with, you know, agile delivery, and agile ways of delivery and ways of working and wish to engage with their vendors. Because, on one hand, there are benefits to working in this manner, in the sense that you're working together, you're learning and then you are adapting your plan based on the new learnings. But on the other hand, it seems like there is a way to go in bringing up you know, bringing along legal colleagues and colleagues in finance, alongside this journey to have the same perspective, what would be your advice?    Richard Stephens:  One of the things is I fully accept all the good things that agile has done and all the good things it promises to do, but what I'm saying is contracting for that is very difficult, and if you end up with a contract that simply proceeds in talking about, you know, good faith, and many lawyers, many modern lawyers these days just lapse into this language of you know, we'll talk in good faith and reasonably agree this and reasonably agree that, and it doesn't really work, you end up with a contract that's just kicked the can down the street numerous times. And so, you need to come up with something that does actually have some teeth, and with agile, that's going to be difficult. I mean, there are ways of drafting around it, but it's, in some ways they're quite cumbersome. So, for example, you can have agreements to agree which are meaningless in English law, English law simply doesn't recognise an agreement to agree and you can add as many good faiths and reasonables around it as you like, but what you can do is you can then say, well, one of the drafting techniques you can use is to say, well, if we don't agree after a period of one week, three months, six months, whatever it is, that a third party, adjudicator will make the decision or the arbitrator or whatever it may be, will make the decision effectively for us, and we'll provide some criteria for that person to make a decision for us. Now in the construction industry, they introduced what's known as an adjudication scheme, which is a fix first and fight later, effectively. So, it's simply that if the parties get a dispute rather than just simply falling out with each other and having a huge arbitration, leaving the building unfinished, you get an adjudicator and it's now compulsory by law for domestic construction contracts, and the adjudicator comes in and just makes a quick decision, and it doesn't really matter that it's not ultimately binding, for the present purposes it is, I think it's been called temporary finality. And one of the things that the Society for Computers and Law has done is introduce a similar adjudication scheme for IT projects. Now, that's maybe one way to go, but of course there are two risks immediately with that, which you'd have to advise anybody on and that is, obviously it introduces a certain amount of delay and cost because the party is going to get into lots of little micro-spats trying to get up to come if they have lots of little adjudications in a major project. And the other problem, of course, is this problem of temporary finality. Once the adjudicator has issued his decision, then you've got to comply with it, even if you think it's wrong, or even if you think it's monstrously unfair, or very expensive for you. It's temporarily final, and then you'd have to wait till the very end of the project before you could then relitigate the matter. So, I mean, there are ways of getting around it. But as I say they're not necessarily risk free or problem free. Let's say one of the problems I find, and for the purposes of my talks on agile, taking devil's advocate, one of the things you can do is do a word search of any English contract, English law contract, and just count up the number of reasonables or reasonablys in good faith. Actually one agile contract I looked at, which is available from an online supplier, provider of legal services, over 36 pages, it had a staggering total of 29 reasonables,s 26 reasonablys and 4 good faiths. I mean, that is a very high batting average for using these rather horrible terms that in many cases don't really mean anything. So, you have been warned.    Ula Ojiaku:  Well, thank you, Richard, for that. I would take it then that these are your guidelines for anyone who is considering drafting agile contracts, be careful about how you go about it. It's not risk free, and there are pitfalls to be aware of, and I guess it also depends on the jurisdiction, you know, the legal jurisdiction where the contract would be.    Richard Stephens:  You're never going to get away from that, because as soon as you start using words like a reasonable endeavours, good faith, even if the legal system you're working under actually recognises them, you then have a dispute trying to work out what on earth it means in practice, and you want a really good example of that, what's a contract under Belgian law that we all know about at the moment, and everyone's been talking about it, have a guess? It's the AstraZeneca contract with the EU Commission, and what's a horrible phrase it uses, best reasonable efforts, a monstrosity. So not just reasonable efforts, but best reasonable efforts. Belgian law recognises that as a concept and English law does as well. But what on earth does it mean? What does it mean in practice? What behaviour does it mandate? What result does it mandate? And so, the parties then just lumber into the dispute, a dispute a dispute about the dispute because nobody really knows what they're supposed to be doing anyway. So, you can do it, but you have been warned.    Ula Ojiaku:  Now, to wrap up, based on our conversation, are there any books that you could, that you would recommend to the listeners, if they want to learn more about contracting, agile?    Richard Stephens:  That's the book, Ula, Stephens on Contractual Indemnities. I mean, what a right riveting read. Thrilling from beginning to end, and it will tell you everything you've ever wanted to know.    Ula Ojiaku:  Fantastic, thanks for sharing. We will put the link to your book in the show notes alongside with everything else about this episode.    Richard Stephens:  It's for lawyers only. Otherwise, don't open its covers, you will be horrified. Well, actually, I mean, as a lawyer, as you proved yourself to be, maybe you would find it interesting.    Ula Ojiaku:  Now, do you have any, anything you'd like to ask of the audience, or let them know about your practice?    Richard Stephens:  Yeah, I mean, as I say, I do three things which may be of interest to your audience out there. One is, I'm a commercial solicitor, who is very well experienced in these areas in terms of putting together contracts for developments implementations, agile, or otherwise. And I provide training not only to lawyers, I do this one-day course introducing people to the principles of contract law, insofar as it would affect professionals working in the IT industry. And I've had people come on that, who were Project Managers all the way up through to Board Directors of SMEs or even quite large companies. I had one major American international company send its commercial management team on that course, for example. And as I say, the other thing I do is I work as a mediator if you're in a dispute, and you want someone to try and facilitate a resolution to that dispute, then again, I can help you with that. I could even, if he's got an arbitration clause, you want to have an arbitrator appointed someone who understands a little bit about these things and can come to a legal decision on your dispute, I can do that too.    Ula Ojiaku:  Fantastic. Thanks for sharing those. And with respect to for example, your trainings and you know, the other services you offer, how can the audience reach you?    Richard Stephens: As usual these days, they can Google for me, and if you look up for Richard Stephens there are various academics and I think, artists who are masquerading as Richard Stephens, just put Richard Stephens Solicitor, you will find me and you will find my website, and you can find me or you can search for me on LinkedIn, all sorts of possibilities. So that's very easily done.    Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Well, I have to say, from my experience, but maybe I'm not good at googling, but the last time I tried finding you on LinkedIn, even though I'd put solicitor against your name, I still had a lot of what's it called, results for Richard Stephens solicitor. So, what I'm going to do to make it easier for the audience is I'm going to put a direct link to your LinkedIn profile in the show notes, if that's okay with.    Richard Stephens:  Yes, you can do that, link into, connect to my LinkedIn profile, or link to my website. It's very easy, no objection to that.    Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Fantastic. So, any final words for the audience before we close this out? It's been a great conversation so far.    Richard Stephens:  It's been it's been nice, I mean it's funny how this is a problem, which I first got involved in 25, 30 years ago. And it rumbles along as an issue for IT lawyers. It's never lost its interest. But in 25 or 30 years, equally, I haven't seen a particularly good resolution to the problem, either. And so, you've got the industry doing one thing, and the lawyers trying to play, not so much catch up, but trying to work out still after 25, 30 years of lawyers thinking about it, what an agile contract or a contract for an agile project would look like such that it was both legally effective and would satisfy that avaricious Financial Director. But it hasn't been resolved yet.    Ula Ojiaku:  And the question is, will it? You don't have to answer, well…    Richard Stephens:  There is a sort of, there are all sorts of resolutions out there. As I mentioned, the adjudication one, but that, then is the sort of thing you don't want in an agile project because it's, whilst it's legally effective, the idea of Agile as you're working cooperatively together, and then having little micro adjudications where you're at war with each other, trying to get the best out of the adjudicator in terms of decision. It then actually tends to drive the parties further away, which is, goes against what you did an agile project for in the first place. So, I mean, you can do but, you know, I just don't know how it would work in practice.    Ula Ojiaku:  It's been great speaking with you, Richard, thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience with the audience and myself.    Richard Stephens:  Pleasure.    Ula Ojiaku:  That's all we have for now. Thanks for listening. If you liked this show, do subscribe at www.agileinnovationleaders.com or your favourite podcast provider. Also share with friends and do leave a review on iTunes. This would help others find this show. I'd also love to hear from you, so please drop me an email at ula@agileinnovationleaders.com Take care and God bless!  

techUK's Sabina Ciofu, Associate Director for International Trade, joins EY's Sally Jones, UK Trade Strategy and Brexit Leader, to discuss EY's latest Report co-published with the Institute of Export and International Trade ‘TradeTech A pathway for businesses to seize trade opportunities', which outlines the key business operational and policymaking developments within the key area of TradeTech.

In this week's Talking Tech Feature, Barney looks at steam engines - old giants of the transport world, how do they work?

The UK-Japan Digital Partnership was signed at the end of 2022. Steve talked to Jana Psarska earlier in the year to discuss the implication of the agreement, the priorities and collaboration in digital technologies, infrastructure and data. Jana enlightens us on the complimentary strengths of the UK and Japan, the importance of commitment to like-minded partners to help drive the UK's digital strategy, and opening up opportunities for British companies. techUK is a trade association bringing people, companies and organisations together to realise the positive outcomes of what digital technology can achieve. They create a network for innovation and collaboration across business, government and stakeholders. Find out more at: https://www.techuk.org/  More about the UK-Japan Digital Partnership: https://www.techuk.org/resource/uk-and-japan-launch-new-a-digital-partnership.html

In today's episode of the Life Leadership Podcast, I am speaking to Raj Singh Raj Singh is an accomplished leader in strategy and digital transformation space, board member and chair with over 35 years of global industry experience covering all three continents, spanning 22 countries. He champions digital transformation and corporate governance in the boardrooms to keep boards relevant and fit for purpose in the digital economy. The majority of his experience is in the private sector with the latter eight years developing growth strategy, putting corporate governance frameworks, delivering organisational change and digital transformation strategy to the board of a $2 billion private equity group, Finnish Ministry of Interior, Justice Minister of New Zealand and National Police Chiefs Council, UK. Raj is a member of the Board of Governors of University of Hertfordshire, a supervisory board member of Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership and was Chairman of Institute of Directors, Berkshire till October 2021. He is a member of Justice and Emergency Services Committee of techUK and was instrumental in shaping the India UK tech forum. He also provides strategic transformation advice to the Institute of Directors and techUK. Raj has held executive management positions for multinational organisations like Oracle, Infor Group, HCL Technologies, Hexaware Technologies and Godrej. He is a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and Institute of Directors. In today's episode Raj shares on – From Corporate career to entrepreneur: Unlearning & shifting your point of reference A Powerful Distinction: Connection v Networking Cultivating relationships, being curious & impacting the lives of others! Why your values are non-negotiable & candour can be critical Living life on YOUR terms: ‘My work is my hobby!' You can connect with Raj on LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-singh-112a345/ The Life Leadership Podcast – with Leila Singh, is all things Coaching, Career & Personal Branding! This podcast is for ambitious career professionals, especially aspiring executives, working in the technology industry, wanting to uncover your real potential, create new possibilities and accelerate your career - to BE DO & HAVE more, whilst redefining your success, in work, relationships, health and much more. Life Leadership: Creating a life and career of choice, fulfilment and new possibilities! As well as discussing common coaching topics and challenges that my clients overcome, I will also explore aspects of career advancement and personal branding in the workplace.  And of course, continue to interview high-achieving leaders and execs in the tech space, who have carved out a successful career in their field, overcome challenges, and are openly willing to share their career journey, learnings and insights with you. Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast, leave a REVIEW and SHARE with those that may benefit from this content. If you would like to learn more about working with me, Direct Message me on LinkedIn or email me at ⁠hello@leilasingh.com⁠ Connect directly with me here - ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/leila-singh/⁠ Register here to receive your copy of The mi-brand Personal Brand Playbook - ⁠www.leilasingh.com/go/playbook⁠ And check out - >>> This article by https://BestPodcasts.co.uk, who curated a list of the Best Career Podcasts of 2023, offering unique and actionable insights to help you achieve your career goals - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bestpodcasts.co.uk/best-career-podcasts/⁠⁠⁠ with our podcast ‘Life Leadership' featuring in the Top 5! >>> https://blog.Feedspot.com whose editorial team extensively researched and curated a list of the Top 15 Life Leadership Podcasts across all platforms, featuring 'Life Leadership' in the Top 3! ⁠⁠⁠15 Best Life Leadership Podcasts You Must Follow in 2023 (feedspot.com)⁠

In This Week's Talking Tech Feature, Barney looks at how technology is being used to clean the pacific garbage patch, and on what kind of timescale we can hope to see change. 

In this episode techUK's Head of Justice and Emergency Services Georgie Henley speaks with Charlotte Hails, Virgin Media o2 Business, Linda Wales, Pegasystems and Moira Roberts, Cloud Gateway for Women in Tech Month about what it's like being women in tech and why they chose this career path specifically in Policing. A really inspiring discussion with three women, from different backgrounds – some which chose this career path and others which fell into it. Their roles, enabling them to really make a difference, urging the next generation to have open conversations, to be inquisitive about differences and understand the value of a diverse workforce. The more diversity you have in any group, the more choices you have, the more opinions – so the better it will be. We need more women, both in tech and law enforcement. We also need more male allies! Featuring: Georgie Henley, Head of Justice and Emergency Services, techUK Moira Roberts, Public Sector lead - Blue Light, Justice & Central Government at Cloud Gateway Charlotte Hails, Justice & Policing Lead at Virgin Media o2 Business Linda Wales, Home Office & Justice Account Director at Pegasystems

In this week's talking tech feature, Barney delves into the world of wind turbines. 

Biotechnology is leading the most important scientific revolution since computing. R&D is the key to unleashing biotechnology's potential to transform our world radically, but software hasn't kept up with science. Scientists deserve and urgently need technology that's designed for what they do. But I invited Paul Robson to join me on the podcast to discuss how Benchling R&D Cloud is built for scientific work. We talk about the shortcomings currently present within life sciences R&D that inspired its creation and the role of the cloud, and how its transforming R&D in life sciences to speed up scientific discoveries, including Covid-19 research. About Paul Paul Robson is Head of Field Operations at Benchling, overseeing all aspects of global sales, from deployment and customer success to strategic partnerships and regional expansion. Paul brings more than 25 years of experience scaling high-performing field organizations. Most recently, as President of International at Adobe, he led global business across 160 countries. He joined Adobe in 2011 and played a key role in the company's transformation from packaged desktop software to a cloud subscription model. Prior to Adobe, Paul held leadership roles at Hewlett-Packard and Compaq. Paul is an advisory member on Telecoms and Technology for UK Trade & Investment and board member of techUK. Originally from Australia, Paul graduated from Western Sydney University and holds graduate degrees from INSEAD and University of Helsinki.

In episode 37 of The Gradient Podcast, Andrey Kurenkov speaks to Laura WeidingerLaura is a senior research scientist at DeepMind, with her focus being AI ethics. Laura is also a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, studying philosophy of science and specifically approaches to measuring the ethics of AI systems. Previously Laura worked in technology policy at UK and EU levels, as a Policy executive at techUK. She then pivoted to cognitive science research and studied human learning at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, and was a Guest Lecturer at the Ada National College for Digital Skills. She received her Master's degree at the Humboldt University of Berlin, from the School of Mind and Brain, with her focus being Neuroscience/ Philosophy/ Cognitive science.Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSSFollow The Gradient on TwitterOutline:(00:00) Intro(01:20) Path to AI(04:25) Research in Cognitive Science(06:40) Interest in AI Ethics(14:30) Ethics Considerations for Researchers(17:38) Ethical and social risks of harm from language models (25:30) Taxonomy of Risks posed by Language Models(27:33) Characteristics of Harmful Text: Towards Rigorous Benchmarking of Language Models(33:25) Main Insight for Measuring Harm(35:40) The EU AI Act(39:10) Alignment of language agents(46:10) GPT-4Chan(53:40) Interests outside of AI(55:30) OutroLinks:Ethical and social risks of harm from language models Taxonomy of Risks posed by Language ModelsCharacteristics of Harmful Text: Towards Rigorous Benchmarking of Language ModelsAlignment of language agents Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe

techUK is the trade association that brings together people, companies, and organisations to realise the positive outcomes of what digital technology can achieve. With over 850 members (the majority of which are SMEs) across the UK, techUK creates a network for innovation and collaboration across business, government, and stakeholders to provide a better future for people, society, the economy, and the planet. Matthew Evans, Director for Markets, techUK, joins me on Tech Talks Daily in a conversation about why digital transformation is critical to the decarbonisation journey of organisations in every sector. I learn more about how industries are converging across supply chains and sectors with tech partners to find innovations that reduce carbon emissions and efficiencies that drive down energy use. By 2030, digital technology can cut global emissions by 15%. Cloud computing, 5G, AI, and IoT have the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions in sectors such as transport, agriculture, and manufacturing. techUK is working to foster the right policy framework and climate leadership so we can all play our part. We discuss how techUK focuses on applying emerging technologies in traditional forms of infrastructure to deliver innovative environmental solutions. We also talk about their core aim to work towards a policy and regulatory environment that removes the barriers to tech investment. For example, techUK will lobby for a tax, R&D, innovation, and business environment that enables all sectors to invest in digital tools to help them decarbonise and, in turn, supports clean tech organisations. Overall digital tech is the best way to reach net zero and deliver wider benefits such as cost savings, process efficiencies, and new business models.  

Join us for Episode 3 The path to becoming a UK powerhouse with Poppy Gustafsson CEO of Darktrace and Jacqueline de Rojas President of TechUK, both focusing in a conversation that will answer the question, what it takes to create and deliver big tech companies in the UK? For more information about Elevating Founders go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week? Go to: londontechweek.com

Chris Whyatt has spent the last 30 years of his career working in the adjacent disciplines of sales and bidding. Co – Founder Get to Great in 2008 and he supported 100+ small and big organisations. Chris has been delivering training programmes for TechUK for 15 years and has supported clients on ~50 major deals, co-created 25 business winning frameworks, trained ~1,000 people in sales and bid aspects of business. Chris co-founded the UK chapter of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) in 2001 with Jon Williams and served on the Board as COO for the first 3 years.  He was a Fellow of the Sales Leadership Alliance, which rebranded as the Association of Sales Professionals. Chris has conducted extensive research into improving the working relationship between sales and bid, publishing his second paper on this subject in January 2020.Imposing change on people without consulting them makes them feel undervalued at best, causing them to disengage, or even worse, creating collective resistance. Historically, the industrial revolution, the miner's strike, and the Battle of Wapping come to mind. Prime Minister Thatcher recognised the threat of collective resistance, and we know what happened next. In business, new-in-position sales leaders and managers often act without harnessing the collective wisdom of the people they inherit, in essence, saying that they (the new person) know best and that they don't value the opinion or input of others. Perhaps that explains the short shelf-life of Sales Directors and even CEOs. The world of consultancy is no different, with the big players often identifying the problem and defining big (expensive) change programmes with scant reference to anyone outside the senior management team. Support the show (https://pod.fan/scribble-talk)

Simon Godfrey, Chairman for Public Sector at techUK and Director of Government Relations at BT Group joins the show to discuss technology trends impacting the public sector and predictions for 2022. We also take a look back and some of the biggest ways public sector was impacted in 2021 and discuss policies that could drive larger adoption of emerging technologies in government moving forward. 

Lead to Soar! is a production of A Career that Soars! In this episode of L2S!, leadership and gender equality expert, Michelle Redfern, sits down for an interview with the one and only Sheila Flavell. Sheila is an extraordinary leader (by our full ACtS! definition!) in the truest sense. She has created exceptional outcomes for business and women in the Tech industry. She continues leading today and has a curiosity and energy to keep learning and pushing herself into new territory. We were so inspired by this episode and hope you are too! Learn more about Lead to Soar! and A Career that Soars! by visiting LeadToSoar.com ~ Bio for Guest, Sheila Flavell Sheila Flavell has over 30 years experience in the global tech sector. She played an integral role in FDM's flotation on AIM in 2005 and was a key instigator of the management buy-out of the Group in 2010 and the subsequent listing onto the main FTSE Market in 2014. Sheila's knowledge of the sector has been crucial in driving FDM's global expansion programme, taking them into the FTSE250. She spearheads the ‘Global Women in Tech' campaign and created FDM's hugely successful Returners Programme. Sheila is Deputy President of TechUK and chairs the Institute of Coding's Industry Advisory Board. One of her proudest moments in business was when FDM achieved a zero gender pay gap.  She has won numerous awards during her career for services to the tech industry and was recognised in the 2020 New Year's Honours list with ‘Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire' for her services to gender equality in IT and the employment of graduates and returners. She is also listed in Computer Weekly's ‘Most Influential Women in UK Tech, Hall of Fame.'   Bio for Michelle Redfern Michelle is the founder of Advancing Women, an enterprise providing research and advisory services on workplace gender equality, inclusion and diversity. She is co-host of A Career that Soars! the founder of women's network Women Who Get It  co-founder of CDW (Culturally Diverse Women) and host of the Lead to Soar podcast. Michelle is an experienced Non-Executive Director with Board and advisory roles in the finance, sport, for purpose and supply chain sectors. She is a proud Ambassador for Flexible Working Day and Girls Uniform Agenda. She has held executive leadership roles at ASX & FTSE listed companies NAB, Telstra and Serco during her 30-year corporate career. Michelle is a Graduate of the AICD, holds an Executive MBA (Distinction) and holds various accreditations in organisational diversity and coaching. She is an in-demand speaker and is a regular contributor to the discussion and advocate for gender equality and inclusion in sport and business workplaces.

Jacqueline is the President of techUK and the co-chair at the Institute of Coding. She sits as a Non-Executive Director on the board of UK technology business Rightmove PLC, on the board of Costain PLC, which is committed to solving the nation's Infrastructure problems; and also rebalanced her portfolio towards skills by joining the board of professional services provider FDM Group PLC. She was awarded CBE in Her Majesty The Queen's New Year Honours 2018 for services to International Trade in Technology.

Our appliances are getting increasingly difficult and expensive to mend, in some cases by design. So should consumers demand the right to repair?Ed Butler speaks to those campaigning for manufacturers to make it easier for us to fix our electronics goods - with everything from tractors to phones to baby incubators in their sites. Clare Seek runs a Repair Café in Portsmouth, England, a specially designated venue for anyone who wants to get their stuff to last longer. And Ed travels to Agbogbloshie in Accra in Ghana, one of the places where our mountains of e-waste end up being pulled apart and melted down for scrap.The programme also features interviews with Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association; Kyle Wiens, founder of iFixit; intellectual property lawyer Jani Ihalainen; and Susanne Baker, head of environment and compliance at techUK.(Picture: Broken iPhone; Credit: Edmond So/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

The online retail giant has announced that it will split its long-anticipated new headquarters between Long Island City In New York City, and Arlington, Virginia. Some 238 cities across North America had competed for the role. But many residents at the lucky winners are angry about the billions of dollars in alleged "corporate welfare" offered by their city authorities to lure Amazon in. Winner's curse?Michelle Fleury meets the protestors in Long Island City, while Edwin Lane speaks to urban studies theorist Richard Florida, Seattle-based professor of public policy Jake Vigdor, and to Vinous Ali of the British tech industry body TechUK.(Picture: Boxes with the Amazon logo turned into a frown face are stacked up after a protest against Amazon in Long Island City; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)