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Sponsored by
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Recognising excellence in Data & AI Leadership.
The Data & AI 100 celebrates the exceptional individuals across the UK and Ireland who are using data and AI to solve real-world problems, drive innovation and create lasting impact.
Chosen by the Digital Edge community, this definitive list recognises the leaders building a smarter, more inclusive and more prosperous future.
THE NOMINEES
Meet the
Data & AI 100
An outstanding group of leaders from across the UK & Ireland, working at the forefront of data and artificial intelligence.
NAME | POSITION | COMPANY |
|---|---|---|
Monica Jones | Chief Data Officer | University of Leeds |
Kate Evans | Chief Data Officer | Cancer Research UK |
Karen Ambrose | Chief Data Officer | The Francis Crick Institute |
Chrissie Kemp | Chief Data & AI Officer | Jaguar Land Rover |
Di Mayze | Chief Data & AI Officer | Marks & Spencer |
Alexandra Sidgreaves | Chief Data Officer | Zurich Insurance UK |
Johanna Hutchinson | Group Chief Data Officer | BAE Systems |
Kinnari Ladha | Chief Data Officer | Travelodge |
Indhira Mani | Chief Data Officer | Intact Insurance UK |
Lauren Sager Weinstein | Chief Data Officer | Transport for London |
Kate Sargent | Chief Data Officer | Financial Times |
Diane Sawyer | Director of Data & Analytics | Computacenter |
Gillian Tomlinson | Group Chief Data & Digital Officer | Weir Group |
Helen Terry | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | Bank of Ireland |
Emma York | Corporate Chief Data Officer & Head of Enterprise Information Governance | London Stock Exchange Group |
Aimee Smith | Government Chief Data Officer | UK Government |
Tiffany St James | Chief AI Officer | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority |
Loretta Franks | SVP, Global Chief Data, Analytics & AI Officer, Mars Snacking | Mars Snacking |
Sarah Barr Miller | Director of Data & Automation | British Airways |
Lisa Allen | Director of Data Services | The Pensions Regulator |
Nirali Patel | Group VP, Tech, Data & AI Strategy | Liberty Global |
Gemma Poddington | Chief Data Officer, Global Markets | Barclays Investment Bank |
Jessica Rusu | Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer | Financial Conduct Authority |
Lisa Everitt | Chief Data Officer – GGB UK | Gallagher / GGB UK |
Laia Collazos | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | Coca-Cola Europacific Partners |
Caroline Bellamy | Chief Data & AI Officer, Deputy CIO | Ministry of Defence |
Paola Cagliani | Group Chief Data Officer | Admiral Group |
Kate O'Sullivan | Chief Data Officer | Research Data Scotland |
Helen Blaikie | Chief Data and Analytics Officer | Aston University |
Kathleen Moore | Chief Data & Digitisation Officer | Student Loans Company |
Lucie Laker | Chief Data Officer | NHS Somerset |
Opal Perry | Chief Data & Technology Officer | easyJet |
Paula Bobbett | Chief Data and Digital Officer | Boots |
Libby Kinsey | Head of Data Science Strategy & Operations | Ocado Technology |
Laura Gilbert | Senior Director, AI & Innovation | Tony Blair Institute |
Kate Boyle | Chief Data Officer, Digital and Data | Infected Blood Compensation Authority |
Caroline Carruthers | Co-Founder and Chief Executive | Carruthers and Jackson |
Meenakshi Burra | Chief Data Officer & CDIO | Unilever |
Karen Dewar | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | NatWest |
Rebecca Fitzgerald | Director of Data & AI | Yorkshire Building Society |
Hayley McKelvey | Chief AI Officer, UK | Deloitte UK |
Janet Bastiman | Chief Data Scientist | Napier AI |
Lila Ibrahim | Chief AI Readiness Officer | Google DeepMind |
Kriti Sharma | Chief Executive Officer, IFS Nexus Black | IFS Nexus Black |
Lara Izlan | Director of Insights | ITV plc |
Shahina Khan | EMEA Chief Data and Analytics Officer | SMBC |
Mikela Druckman | Co-founder & CEO | Greyparrot |
Janani Dumbleton | Data Engineering Site Lead | Meta |
Miriam Vizvary | Chief Data and Analytics Officer | RS Group |
Maria Vounou | Director, Data Science | Burberry |
Murtz Daud | Director of Data & AI | British Gas |
Ruben Lara | Data, Analytics & AI Director | Tesco |
Niresh Rajah | Group Chief Data & AI Officer | DLA Piper |
Charles Evans | Head of Data | ED&F Man Commodities |
Dean Franklet | Head of Data & Analytics | FirstGroup |
James Hodkinson | Global Head of Data & Analytics | Dyson |
Nivedh Iyer | Head of Group Data Management | Danske Bank |
Guy Johnson | Global Chief Data Officer | Belron |
Alistair Mathie | Chief Data Officer | NFU Mutual |
James May | Chief Data Officer | St. James's Place |
Barry Panayi | Chief Data & Insight Officer | Howden |
Dan Robertson | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | Bupa |
Amitabh Seli | Director, Data UK | Danone UK & Ireland |
Tony Zona | Chief Data Officer | Grant Thornton UK |
Luke Pearce | Chief Data & AI Officer | Santander UK |
Chris Wyard | Chief Data Officer | Beazley |
Tom Laffan | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | Health Service Executive |
Chris Miller | Group Chief Data & AI Officer | Royal London |
Kevin Tubb | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | The AA |
David Rice | Chief AI Officer | HSBC |
Paul Hollands | Chief Data & AI Officer | AXA UK & Ireland |
Akhil Lalwani | Chief Data Officer | Allianz UK |
Kalbir Sohi | Government Chief AI Officer | Government Digital Service, DSIT |
Paul Francis | Chief Data Officer & Director, Data and Analytics | DWP |
Chris Daniels | Chief Data Officer – Corporate Bank, Compliance and Anti-Financial Crime | Deutsche Bank |
Davin Crowley-Sweet | Director of Digital Technical Competence | National Highways |
Chris Gullick | Chief Data & Artificial Intelligence Officer | Ofgem |
Sam Hancock | Global Head of Data Science | Octopus Energy |
Nick Blewden | Director of Data | Co-op Group |
David Hayes | Chief Data Officer | The Open University |
Steven Pimblett | Chief Data Officer | Rightmove |
Rizwan Farooqui | Global Data Transformation Leader | Independent |
Tom Spencer | Director of Customer Data Science | Aviva |
Wade Munsie | Chief Data & AI Officer | Heathrow Airport |
Gavin Goodland | Chief Data Officer | National Grid |
Kevin Cassar | Chief Data & AI Officer | TalkTalk |
Jonathan Saunders | Chief Data & Analytics Officer | MS Amlin |
Jonathan Westley | UK&I and EMEA Chief Data Officer | Experian UK & Ireland |
Issi Saumtally | Head of Architecture & Data | The Football Association |
James Morgan | Chief Data Officer | The Crown Estate |
Ryan den Rooijen | Managing Director, AI & Monetisation | Currys |
Andrew Hill | Chief Data Officer | Sainsbury's |
Kevin Smith | Chief Data Officer | Tokio Marine HCC – International Group |
Craig Suckling | Executive Vice President, Global Head of Agentic Scale | Capgemini |
Robert Kent | Head of Data & AI | Greggs |
Dave Mason | Chief Data Officer | Thales UK |
Matt Fryer | Group Head of Data & AI (CDO / CAIO) | Arrive |
Ben Martin | Chief Data Officer and Executive Director for Data & Analytics | Bank of England |
Pete Williams | Enterprise Strategic Data Consultant | Newcastle Building Society |
Karl O'Hanlon | Chief Data and Analytics Officer | Veolia |
Who are you voting for?
CAST YOUR VOTE
Tell us which leader you believe deserves to be recognised in the Data & AI 100 UK & Ireland Edition 2026.
Your vote helps us recognise the individuals making a real difference with data and AI.
Meet the judges
Greg Freeman
Founder/CEO
Data & AI Literacy Academy
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Fiona Sweeney
Partnerships Director at
Women in Data
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Jacob Perring
Commercial Director at Sullivan & Stanley
Robin Sutara
Americas AI Capability Leader at Databricks
THE DATA & AI 100
Make your vote count
Voting closes on 16 October 2026
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