Speakers 2022

Ecosystem CTO, IBM Technology

Sharon’s mission is transforming industry with technology; her purpose is to make a difference, for the better.  She is Technical Director and CTO in IBM UKI’s Ecosystem business, helping IBM’s Services partners succeed.

Recently, Sharon was IBM’s CTO for Global Government and she has 20+ years of experience working in outsourcing, consulting, and sales, across multiple sectors and diverse technologies. You’ll often find her on stage championing the positive impact of technology, shaping its role in making industry successful, and advocating for responsible technical advancement, especially when it comes to AI. She is also a Chartered IT Professional and BCS Fellow.

Sharon is a catalyst for change in inclusion through BCSWomen, formerly through Scotland Women in Technology, and other activity, and is a published co-author on the subject. Sharon was awarded MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2018.

Sharon is a Trustee of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT and non-executive Director of CENSIS Technology Solutions.

Paul is an entrepreneurial technologist with a substantial track record for applying innovation across multiple market sectors spanning academia, government, SMEs and international PLCs.

Paul’s early career was with UK MoD, then with QinetiQ where he held a number of leadership roles CEO of QinetiQ Inc. Subsequently, Paul has founded and ran an SME and then was the inaugural Executive Director Innovation and Investment at the UK Defence Solutions Centre. He joined CENSIS in 2019 where he has been pivotal in the development and implementation of digital solutions across the public and private sectors in Scotland.

Paul’s business skills include leadership, substantial international P&L experience, capital raising and realising value from technology.

Paul is a member of the Board at South of Scotland Enterprise, Scotland’s Scotland’s enterprise agency for Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. Earlier in 2022 the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) appointed him to its Science Engineering and Technology Board (SETB). The SETB is responsible for identifying and championing new research challenges at the cutting edge of engineering and physical sciences for future investment.

Paul is a co-founder of the Smart Things Accelerator Centre, a dedicated Scottish IoT accelerator for SMEs, scale up and start up companies.