Tech Policy Expertise: Cybersecurity

  • Emma Dunn

    Emma Dunn is the co-founder of Friday Initiatives, a data company building practical tools and strategies that help organisations understand, govern and get value from their data. Friday works across the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, supporting clients from government bodies to high-growth startups. Emma’s work focuses on shaping Friday’s direction, translating complex data and regulatory issues into clear narratives, and guiding how the company engages with partners and stakeholders as it scales.

  • Amy Jordan

    Amy is Director of Strategy and Delivery in the Infrastructure and Connectivity Group at Ofcom. She previously set up Ofcom’s first tech policy team and spent a number of years leading the development of Ofcom’s approach to Online Safety policy and supervision. Prior to Ofcom she spent over a decade in the UK Goverment leading a range of national security, cyber and technology issues , and two years at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity.

  • Imogen Stead

    As AI Policy Manager at the Centre for Long-term Resilience (CLTR), Imogen researches and advocates for the most effective policy levers to improve societal resilience against extreme AI risks.

    Imogen joined the CLTR from a leading tech-specialist global advisory firm, where she provided cross-jurisdictional AI policy, regulatory and geopolitical advisory expertise to a range of clients including frontier labs and a government-led AI security partnership. Before that, she co-launched and led the analysis for a new “emerging technologies” product at a European political risk advisory firm, specialising in political and regulatory analysis of UK, EU and multilateral AI policy initiatives.

    She is especially interested in the geopolitics of AI and is driven by the pressing challenge of how effective global AI governance strategies can be put in place against the backdrop of an increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape.

    Imogen holds an MA, MPhil and DPhil in Classics from the University of Oxford, and is working towards an Executive Master’s degree in EU Studies from the Centre International de Formation Européene (Cife).

  • Leonie Maria Tanczer

    Leonie Maria Tanczer is an Associate Professor in International Security and Emerging Technologies at University College London’s (UCL) Department of Computer Science and a grant holder of the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF). She is part of UCL’s Information Security Research Group and initiated and heads the “Gender and Tech Research Lab”.

    Tanczer is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Open Rights Group (ORG), a Steering Committee member for the Offensive Cyber Working Group, and a voting member of the IEEE Working Group P2987 “Recommended Practice for Principles for Design and Operation Addressing Technology-Facilitated Inter-personal Control”.

    She was formerly an Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) Media Fellow at The Economist and a Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in Berlin. Her research focuses on questions related to Internet security, and she is specifically interested in the intersection points of technology, cybersecurity and gender.

  • Rowan Wilkinson

    Rowan Wilkinson is a research associate in the Digital Society Programme, where she supports research on digital public infrastructure, the information space, tech sovereignty, and AI governance. Her expertise lies at the intersection of technology, humanitarianism, and international development.

    She previously worked with the UN and international NGOs on global development, crisis response, conflict, and human rights. Her previous research explored themes such as e-cash transfers in complex emergencies, and the use of technology to counter extremism.

  • Sharron Gunn

    Group Chief Executive Officer of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT – the professional membership body for the tech sector.

  • Jessica Figueras

    Jessica is the co-founder of CxB (Cyber Governance for Boards), a non-profit network that supports boards and non-executive directors to strengthen oversight of cyber security, and works with government to support developing cyber resilience regulation. She is also a non-executive director (Governor) at the University of Westminster.

    Previously she was Vice Chair and a Founding Trustee at the UK Cyber Security Council, where she worked with government on the development of a new self-regulatory regime for the cyber security profession. She was chief executive of Pionen, a cyber security firm working with government and critical national infrastructure, and Chair of Trustees at NCT, the UK’s largest charity for parents.

    As a technology strategist, she has worked extensively with government and the technology sector over decades, in recent years focusing on cyber security, digital trust and the role of tech in civil society. She has published extensive research on the application of emerging technologies in the public sector and regulated industries, and her technical advisory work directly informed the UK’s ground-breaking online safety legislation and wider regulatory regime.

  • Sophie Greaves

    Sophie Greaves is Associate Director for Digital Infrastructure at techUK, where she leads work across telecoms infrastructure, security and resilience, supply chain diversification, advanced communications technologies, spectrum policy, and data centres. In this role, she brings together these areas into a single Digital Infrastructure unit, reflecting the priorities of Government, Ofcom, and industry members.

    Sophie also oversees the Spectrum Policy Forum, the UK’s cross-industry platform shaping spectrum policy and maximising its economic and social value. An experienced speaker, panellist, and moderator, she regularly facilitates discussions on the future of digital infrastructure, advanced connectivity, and telecoms security.

    Recognised on the 2023 Women in Trade Association Powerlist and Computer Weekly’s UKtech50 Longlist (2023 & 2025), Sophie is passionate about building a secure, innovative, and future-ready digital ecosystem.

  • Ashlie Tarpley

    Ashlie Tarpley is an experienced consumer financial services attorney with over a decade of practice advising financial institutions and government agencies on complex compliance and contracting challenges. Her career spans litigation, regulatory counseling, and policy development, giving her a unique perspective on how laws and regulations impact day-to-day business operations.

    Ashlie’s experience includes:

    – Leading federal regulatory compliance examinations;

    – Counseling clients on privacy, data security, and financial services compliance strategies;

    – Advising on the rollout of innovative products and services;

    – Designing organizational policies and procedures;

    – Overseeing contracting programs and negotiating commercial agreements;

    – Developing and delivering compliance training; and

    – Shaping financial services and housing policy in government.

    In 2025, Ashlie founded Tarpley Templates and Legal Research (TTLR) to make high-quality legal support accessible to organizations navigating growth, innovation, and regulatory risk. TTLR provides attorney-drafted contract templates, practical legal research, and fractional counsel support tailored to tech-driven businesses.

    With her combined litigation, regulatory, and policy experience, Ashlie helps clients anticipate risks, structure stronger contracts, and build compliance frameworks that support sustainable growth. Through TTLR, she is committed to empowering organizations to negotiate smarter, comply with confidence, and achieve lasting success in an evolving financial and regulatory landscape.

  • Verona Johnstone-Hulse

    Verona is an experienced government affairs and policy professional currently leading public affairs for global cyber security firm NCC Group. In this role, she oversees NCC Group’s engagement with UK government and regulatory decision-makers and the wider policymaking community, against a backdrop of the increasing regulation of cyber resilience.

    Prior to joining NCC Group, she led in-house and consultancy public affairs programmes for a range of organisations – from FTSE100 to critical infrastructure, across many sectors of the economy.