2026 Speakers

Councillor Bev Craig OBE

Leader of Manchester City Council, GM Economy Portfolio Lead & Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Shaukat Ali Khan

Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Executive Director, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care System, United Kingdom

Christine Bellamy

Interim Director General, Digital Products Group, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom

Theo Blackwell

Chief Digital Officer for London at the Greater London Authority, United Kingdom

Peter Boulton

Network Director Highways, Transport for Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Jonathan Bradley

Senior Experience Partner, Granicus

Jill Broom

Head of Programme, Cyber Resilience, techUK, United Kingdom

Rafael Carvalho de Fassio

State Attorney and Lead Counsel, Science, Technology and Innovation at the Government of the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Juan Corro

Manager, Autonomous Organisation for Information Technology, Madrid City Council, Spain

Professor Keeley Crockett

Professor in Computational Intelligence, Chair UKRI AI and Robotics SAT, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Mallory Durran

Applied Research & Innovation Director, Nesta, United Kingdom

Alexandru Georgescu

Senior Researcher, Department for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest, Romania

David Gregory

Head of Smart Space and Local Government, NVIDIA

Robert Gregory

Assistant Director for Digital, Wigan Council, United Kingdom

Matt Hennessey

Chief Intelligence and Analytics Officer, NHS Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Richard Henderson

Corporate Chief Information Officer, Government of Alberta, Canada

Tom Hindmarch

Digital Adviser, Local Government Association (LGA), United Kingdom

Dr Adrian Johnston

Innovation Commissioner, Innovation City Belfast, United Kingdom

Tomas Lehtinen

Head of the Data and Emerging Technologies, Digitalization Department, City of Helsinki, Finland

Stefano Marta

Head of the Smart and Sustainable Cities Unit, OECD

Sam Milsom

Senior Digital Strategy Officer, Manchester City Council, United Kingdom

Gurpreet Muctor

Chief Data & Technology Officer, Westminster City Council, United Kingdom

Rasmus Ry Nielsen

Chief Digital Officer, Department of Technical and Environmental Affairs, City of Aarhus, Denmark

Zehra Öztürk

Acting Head EAM & New Technologies and Deputy CIO, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

Liz Scott MBE

Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester (TIC), United Kingdom

Dheeraj Singh

Lead Engineer, Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), United Kingdom

Tom Smith

Director of AI, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, United Kingdom

Tiffany St James

Chief AI Officer, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, United Kingdom

Phil Swan

Director for Government Digital Enablement, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom

Martin Waudby

Chief Data Officer, London Borough of Camden, United Kingdom

Siobhan Benita

Event Moderator, Global Government Forum

Speakers at Global AI Cities 2026

Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer for London, Greater London Authority
Tom Smith, Director of AI, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, UK
Phil Swan, Director for Government Digital Enablement, Government Digital Service, UK
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Matt Hennessey, Chief Intelligence and Analytics Officer, NHS Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Dheeraj Singh, Lead Engineer, Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), United Kingdom
Steven Fry, Director of Digital and Customer Services, Salford City Council
Liz Scott MBE, Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester (TIC)
Tiffany St James, Chief AI Officer, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, United Kingdom
Adrian‑Victor Vevera, Director General, National Institute for Research & Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest, Romania

Shaukat Ali Khan

Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Executive Director, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care System, United Kingdom

Shaukat Ali Khan is the Executive Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) and Executive Director at the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care System (ICS). He leads the Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) Directorate, supporting millions of residents and more than 100,000 users across a large and complex healthcare network.

Prior to joining the NHS, Shaukat served as Global Chief Information Officer at Aga Khan University, where he oversaw ICT systems for 32,000 users across hospitals, medical centres, and academic institutions in Asia, Africa, and the UK. He also held the CIO role at the University of Central Asia, leading digital transformation across 15 locations in four countries. His earlier career includes senior IT leadership positions at Novo Nordisk HQ and UNICEF HQ in Denmark, managing global infrastructure and operations across more than 80 countries.

With over two decades of global experience across healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals, humanitarian, defence, and hospitality sectors, Shaukat is widely recognised as a technology thought leader. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, is a certified Dynamic Manager and Leader from Harvard Business School, and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS). Shaukat has earned 50+ national and international accolades, including the DXInspire Award and World CIO 200 Legend Award. In September 2025, his profile was featured on the historic New York Times Square billboard as one of the 100 Legacy Makers. In 2023, he received the “Thought Leader’s Excellence Award” from the President of Pakistan and was nominated for the UN Chief Information Technology Officer role. In addition to his executive roles, Shaukat has organised international conferences attended by heads of state and global leaders, and hosted lectures featuring technology pioneers such as Vint Cerf and Toomas Ilves. He is a regular contributor to leading global newspapers and a sought-after commentator on emerging technologies and digital transformation in international media.

Sessions featuring Shaukat Ali Khan:

Fireside chat

Councillor Vasco Anjos

Councillor, Lisbon City Council, Portugal

Born in Lisbon in 1969, holds a degree in Business Management and Administration, granted in 1993 by Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa.

The professional trajectory began in Internal Audit at Banco Espírito Santo in 1994, followed by a transition to Banco Mello de Investimentos. Between 1996 and 2000, the responsibilities included risk monitoring of trading room operations and oversight of associated back-office activities.

In 2000, undertook a 15-year tenure in the golf industry, serving as head of a leisure management company operating within golf courses. This experience led to appointments as Executive Director of the Association of Golf Course Owners (or National Golf Industry Council) from 2004 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015.

In 2007, established a company specializing in the management and maintenance of golf courses. During this period, was involved in numerous projects focused on the design, renovation, and operational and financial control of these developments. A notable achievement was the creation, in 2012, of an online reservation platform for Portuguese golf courses, supported by Turismo de Portugal.

Academic advancement included completion of an MBA at IESE/AESE (2007/2008), as well as participation in international executive programs at the University of Michigan Business School— covering Marketing, Cost Control, and Corporate Strategy—and at the Bangalore Institute of Technology, with a focus on Governance.

Since 2016, has been engaged in management consulting. Significant experience was acquired from 2019 to 2021 at CML (Municipal Directorate of Finance – Procurement Department), including work with public procurement, support for departmental financial management, and organization of management information. Also participated in the decentralization process involving the transfer of educational competencies from the Ministry of Education to the Municipality. A comparable role was held at Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa from 2022 to 2024, and from 2024 until July of 2025, returned to CML (Municipal Directorate of Human Resources, Department of Health, Hygiene, and Safety), contributing to the modernization of financial and organizational processes. This recent experience has notably expanded the knowledge and perspective on municipal administration.

In 2025, joined the lists of the “Por Ti, Lisboa” coalition as a candidate nominated by IL, and was elected Councillor of the Lisbon City Council. The portfolios delegated included Information Systems, Transparency and Corruption, Smart City, Auditing, Sports, Administrative Reform and Modernization, Sustainability and Data Protection

Professor Keeley Crockett

Professor in Computational Intelligence, Chair UKRI AI and Robotics SAT, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Keeley Crockett SMIEEE SFHEA is a Professor in Computational Intelligence at Manchester Metropolitan University She has over 27 years’ experience of research and development in Ethical and responsible AI (for both SME’s and an advocate for citizen voice), computational intelligence algorithms and applications, including adaptive psychological profiling, fuzzy systems, semantic similarity, and dialogue systems. Keeley has led work on Place based practical Artificial Intelligence, facilitating a parliamentary inquiry with Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics (APGDA), leading to the inquiry report “Our Place Our Data: Involving Local People in Data and AI-Based Recovery”. She was a steering committee member for the Policy Connect and UK Parliamentary Inquiry on Skills in the Age of AI launched in June 2025. She is one of the five EPSRC Public Engagement Champions and the PI on the EPSRC “PEAs in Pods: Co-production of community based public engagement for data and AI research.” One of the co-produced outputs from this project is the first People’s Charter for AI co-created with community members across Greater Manchester and Salford. Keeley was one on the Founders of the People Panel for AI, funded originally by The Alan Turing Institute and adopted in 2024 Manchester City Council. She is the academic AI lead for the UKRI funded Centre for Digital Innovation and is working on several Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with private and public sector such as GMCA. Keeley was a collaborator on the AI Playbook for the UK Government and in September 2025 co-chaired the AI in Government and Academia Summit. She is also part of the International Agentic AI Safety Experts Focus Group which includes the development of the Guidelines for Agentic AI Safety Volume 1&2 (2024, 2025). Keeley Chairs (2025-2027) UKRI’s AI & Robotics Strategic Advisory Team. She founded and chaired the IEEE Technical committee SHIELD (2022-2024) and currently Chairs the new IEEE CIS AI Ethics Education and Awareness (AEEA) Taskforce.

Sessions featuring Professor Keeley Crockett:

Boosting citizen, and officer, trust in AI to scale what works

Richard Henderson

Corporate Chief Information Officer, Government of Alberta, Canada

Richard Henderson is Assistant Deputy Minister and Corporate Chief Information Officer for the Government of Alberta, where he leads enterprise technology strategy, digital transformation, and IT operations across one of Canada’s largest and most complex public sector environments. In this role, he is responsible for enabling secure, reliable, and scalable digital services that support government programs and improve service delivery for Albertans.

Prior to joining the Government of Alberta, Richard served as Chief Information Security Officer for Alberta Health Services, overseeing cybersecurity strategy and operations for one of the largest integrated healthcare environments in the world. His leadership experience spans enterprise technology modernization, cybersecurity operations, digital resilience, and large-scale public sector transformation.

Richard is a strong advocate for practical and responsible AI adoption within government. Under Alberta’s leadership, the province is emerging as the national leader in AI enablement across the public service, advancing the use of artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency, support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen cybersecurity capabilities, and enhance citizen services at scale. His work emphasizes the responsible integration of emerging technologies while maintaining public trust, security, and transparency.

A recognized technology leader, Richard frequently speaks on topics including digital government, AI adoption, cyber resilience, and public sector innovation. He is committed to building high-performing teams, fostering cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and helping shape the future of modern public service delivery in Canada.

Sessions featuring Richard Henderson:

AI and the changing face of cybersecurity threats

Building trust in AI to help government deploy it

2026 Speakers

Councillor Bev Craig OBE

Shaukat Ali Khan

Christine Bellamy

Theo Blackwell

Peter Boulton

Jonathan Bradley

Jill Broom

Rafael Carvalho de Fassio

Juan Corro

Professor Keeley Crockett

Mallory Durran

Alexandru Georgescu

David Gregory

Robert Gregory

Matt Hennessey

Richard Henderson

Tom Hindmarch

Dr Adrian Johnston

Tomas Lehtinen

Stefano Marta

Sam Milsom

Gurpreet Muctor

Rasmus Ry Nielsen

Zehra Öztürk

Liz Scott MBE

Dheeraj Singh

Tom Smith

Tiffany St James

Phil Swan

Martin Waudby

Siobhan Benita

Speakers at Global AI Cities 2026

Sessions featuring Councillor Bev Craig OBE:

Sessions featuring Shaukat Ali Khan:

Sessions featuring Thomas Beautyman:

Sessions featuring Christine Bellamy:

Sessions featuring Theo Blackwell:

Sessions featuring Peter Boulton:

Sessions featuring Jonathan Bradley:

Sessions featuring Jill Broom:

Sessions featuring Rafael Carvalho de Fassio:

Sessions featuring Juan Corro:

Sessions featuring Professor Keeley Crockett:

Sessions featuring Mallory Durran:

Sessions featuring Alexandru Georgescu:

Sessions featuring David Gregory:

Sessions featuring Robert Gregory:

Sessions featuring Matt Hennessey:

Sessions featuring Richard Henderson:

Sessions featuring Tom Hindmarch:

Sessions featuring Ane Miren Ibañez Zugazaga:

Sessions featuring Dr Adrian Johnston:

Sessions featuring Tomas Lehtinen:

Sessions featuring Stefano Marta:

Sessions featuring Sam Milsom:

Sessions featuring Gurpreet Muctor:

Sessions featuring Rasmus Ry Nielsen:

Sessions featuring Zehra Öztürk:

Sessions featuring Liz Scott MBE:

Sessions featuring Dheeraj Singh:

Sessions featuring Tom Smith:

Sessions featuring Tiffany St James:

Sessions featuring Phil Swan:

Sessions featuring Julian Tait:

Sessions featuring Erik Ullstrand:

Sessions featuring Stephen Young:

Sessions featuring Martin Waudby: