Steering Board

The Global AI Cities Steering Board, comprising of senior public sector leaders and academics, has helped to inform and steer the agendas across Global AI Cities.

The aim of the board is to ensure that we are addressing the most important issues facing cities and regions and maintain our relevance to our event attendees.

Members

Stephen Young

Chief Executive, Salford City Council, United Kingdom

Stephen Young is the Chief Executive of Salford City Council following 30 years’ experience in local government across the UK including in Lancashire, the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Most recently Stephen spent almost four years as the Chief Executive of Halton Borough Council during which time Stephen delivered on a range of large-scale programmes focusing on organisational transformation and change as well as regeneration and economic growth across the Liverpool City Region.

Phil Swan

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

Phil Swan joined the Government Digital Service (GDS) as Director responsible for GDS Local, Service Standards, Inclusive Digital Design and Digital Workforce & Capability. He moved into the role after over eight successful years at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), where he led the delivery of the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint and drove major progress in digital inclusion, skills, infrastructure, and public‑service transformation.

Tiffany St James

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

Tiffany St James is Chief AI Officer at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the UK’s first public sector regional CAIO. An award‑winning AI and digital strategist and leadership psychologist, she brings over twenty years’ experience across central and local government, global organisations, and the private sector.

Tiffany has delivered AI and digital programmes to over 70 local authorities and authored the UK’s first State of the Nation report on AI in Adult Social Care. Her career includes launching Directgov, DATA.GOV.UK, serving as the UK Government’s first Head of Public Participation, leading Digital Gold Command for Digital Comms for Grenfell. She has recently been voted in the Top 100 Govermment AI Pioneers globally.

Shaukat Ali Khan

Group Chief Digital & Information Officer, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, United Kingdom

As Group CDIO for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS), Shaukat leads the digital, data, AI, cybersecurity, and technology agenda across some of the UK's most critical public services. He is driving Greater Manchester's digital devolution ambitions by harnessing technology, data, and AI to modernise services, strengthen cyber resilience, accelerate innovation, and deliver measurable economic, social, and public value for citizens, communities, businesses, and public sector partners.

Prior to his current role, Shaukat served as an Executive CDIO and Board Member within the NHS, leading digital transformation across a healthcare ecosystem serving millions of citizens. He also held Global CIO positions at Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia, alongside senior leadership roles with Novo Nordisk A/S and UNICEF Headquarters in Denmark. His experience spans Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, providing a unique perspective on leadership, innovation, and transformation within complex and highly regulated environments.

Theo Blackwell

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

Appointed in 2017 as London’s first Chief Digital Officer, Theo leads on London-wide digital transformation, data and smart city initiatives at City Hall. His role involves strategic leadership on the digital transformation agenda for London’s public services, across the GLA group and the wider public sector. Convening on behalf of the Mayor across London local government to support the take-up of innovative, technology, and data-led approaches to service delivery and public engagement. Developing and promoting partnership between the public, private and community sectors to enable and support the development of new public service-oriented technology and innovation.

Owen Pritchard

Director of Data Insight and Innovation, Local Government Association, United Kingdom

Owen leads the Local Government Association’s Cyber, Digital, and Technology team. With over two decades of experience in public sector leadership and management, he began specialising in information management and digital technology in 2010. Owen has continuously enhanced his professional expertise through postgraduate studies at Cranfield University, Manchester Business School, and the Saïd Business School. Beyond his professional role, he is also a partner in a small business and previously served as the Deputy Leader of a London Council.

Tom Smith

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

Tom is Director of AI at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), scaling up AI, digital and data science to support national and local delivery.

Tom’s previous roles in government include MHCLG’s first Chief Data Officer, director of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Data Unit, founding director at the Joint Biosecurity Centre, and managing director at the Data Science Campus at the Office for National Statistics.

Before joining government, he was co-founder and chief executive of OCSI, a research and data ‘spin-out’ company from Oxford University. Tom has had board and advisory roles at the UN, Royal Society, Royal Statistics Society, Environment Agency, Open Data User Group, media and academic groups. 

Tom is visiting professor in AI at University of Sussex. He has a PhD in computational neuroscience, evolving neural networks for robot control (Sussex), an MSc in knowledge-based systems (Sussex), and MA in theoretical physics (Cambridge).

Professor Mandy Parkinson

Interim AI.GM Lead, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, United Kingdom

Professor Mandy Parkinson will serve as the Interim AI.GM Lead for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where she will provide system-level leadership for the region’s AI ecosystem and demonstrator ambition. She is also Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Knowledge Exchange at the University of Salford and is deeply engaged in both regional and national innovation agendas as a prominent figure in business innovation and knowledge exchange. Professor Parkinson plays a pivotal role in shaping strategic partnerships, fostering innovation ecosystems, and advancing translational research across disciplines. In addition, she holds a number of Board and Trustee positions, including with Growth Company, the Research and Development Management Association, and the British Academy of Management.

Zehra Öztürk

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

Zehra Öztürk deputy CIO and acting head of department at the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Together with her team, she drives the integration of new technologies and innovations in public administration and shapes a future-proof application landscape through architecture management. The computer scientist is committed to diversity and is active in networks for public administration such as Re:form and NExT. She also initiated the Ko-Pionier Award for the reuse of existing solutions.

Juan Corro

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

Juan Corro is currently the Manager of the Autonomous IT Agency of the Madrid City Council. Previously, he was Director of Technology and Innovation at Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT), Vice President of the Information Technology Commission of the UITP (International Union of Public Transport), and one of the 100 experts selected by the European Commission to advise on legislative initiatives promoting multimodality in Europe.

Juan has also been Academic Director of the Engineering Area of the University Center affiliated with the Camilo José Cela University, U-TAD, a leader in digital training, and Vice President of SAYME, a technology startup specializing in IoT solutions and services. In addition, he has served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State for Telecommunications, a member of the Board of Directors of RED.ES and Hisdesat, the company that manages Spain’s Earth observation and military communications satellites, founding President of AENOR’s CTN 178 Smart Cities Committee, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Council for Scientific and Technological Policy of the Ministry of Science.

Juan is an associate professor at the University of Alcalá and organises seminars and workshops at think tanks on artificial intelligence and its challenges. He also served as a city councillor and member of the Governing Board of the Santander City Council.

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

Steering Board

Members

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: