Tech Policy Expertise: Start-ups and scale-ups

  • Kirsten Nelson-de Búrca

    Kirsten Nelson-de Búrca is a product policy manager at Mozilla, where she leads work on ads, age verification, and AI product launches globally – shaping how emerging technologies intersect with public interest and trust. With a background spanning global tech companies, startups, and the non-profit sector, she brings a rare blend of policy insight, operational know-how, and product expertise.

    Before joining Mozilla, she drove global digital policy engagement for a European scale-up, HelloFresh, and at Meta she launched trust & safety product lines and political advertising transparency tools in over 100 markets. She has also advised governments, political organisations, and civil society organisations (UN entities and EU institutions) on leveraging new technologies responsibly, and navigated the fast-moving fintech startup world from a regulatory risk perspective.

    A passionate advocate for responsible innovation, Kirsten speaks about the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of technology, policy, and society – with a focus on AI governance, online integrity (especially when it comes to elections, politics and social issues), and platform accountability.

  • Verity Freeman

    Verity Freeman is an Associate in Global Counsel’s tech, media and telecoms (TMT) team. She works with clients to help shape their policy and engagement strategy across a range of issues including AI, digital competition, digital economy, online safety and public sector digitisation.

    She previously worked for political intelligence company DeHavilland where she focused on culture, media and sport policy.

  • Sophie de Schwarzburg-Gunther

    I am a government relations and business development consultant with a vast and varies experience in a multitude of sectors across the UK, US and Australia currently focused on AI, data centre cooling technology, education, transport, and healthcare.

    My network is significant and I am active in supporting and mentoring those starting in their careers with guidance and introductions.

  • Sian Wilson

    Sian Wilson is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Day One- a global leader in early careers. Sian is a global leader with over 25 years of experience in growth, skills, tech, policy and strategic organisational development in tech and skills-based businesses.

    Sian is a Fellow of the RSA, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Institute of Employability and Chartered Member of CIPD. She is the Chair of Tech UK’s Skills and Inclusivity Council, sits on the EdTech and Education Council at Tech UK, is a member of the Women in Tech Policy Group, member of the London Corporation taskforce for Women pivoting into Tech, member of the North Est Connecting for Impact Group and Non-Executive Director of Society Matters CIC in Gateshead.

  • Shivani Lodhia

    Shivani Lodhia is a cofounder of Parisi Consulting, where she advises clients in the emerging technology and digital infrastructure sectors, providing practical and trusted guidance. She also advocates for policy changes to support firms in these spaces, as well as issues affecting scaleups, using her Substack and an ongoing programme mentoring emerging talent from Warwick University to tackle and evaluate complex, future-facing industry challenges.

    She recently presented her team’s data and analysis on government engagement with digital infrastructure in the House of Lords at a private roundtable, has participated in high-level discussions on the future of the UK’s semiconductor industry, and has been quoted in Politico and City AM.

    Shivani is also studying for an MBA at Warwick Business School, bringing academic rigour to her work while championing a new generation of policy thinking within the technology sector. She is the CIPR’s Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year 2025.

  • Safyah Akhtar Malik

    Digital Marketer with over 10 years experience, managing
    monthly budgets ranging from £5000 up to £2.1M, leading
    high performing teams and driving organisational vision.
    Data-driven approach with a laser focus on ROI.

    Providing cross-functional strategic direction, with
    winning digital marketing strategies and applying subject
    expertise across e-commerce, EdTech, FinTech sectors as
    well as spearheading non-profit growth.
    Self-motivated, worked remote and hybrid, in local and
    international teams. British and Canadian.

  • Saba Shaukat

    Saba Shaukat is a pioneering international business and technology executive with over 25 years of experience. She specialises in leveraging frontier technologies to drive transformative change and has a deep expertise in transitioning FTSE 250 companies into the next wave of growth and profitability.

    Currently, Saba is creating an AI Agency and heads Engagement and Innovation at the Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE), a joint venture between the Home Office and QinetiQ on AI, data analytics, deep fakes, economic crime and emerging technology. She helps the Government in accelerating digital transformation initiatives to drive disruptive innovation and implement policies to enhance security, national resilience, and UK prosperity.

    Previously, Saba was the Group Director of Technical Capability and Innovation at QinetiQ plc, where she led a team of top scientists and engineers. She focused on frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, cyber technologies, immersive augmented reality, human-machine teaming, advanced materials, quantum computing, lasers, and human behaviour.

    Throughout her career, Saba has driven transformational technologies resulting in over £1 billion in new revenue. She has extensive international experience in strategy and commercial development and has held several board positions as a Non-Executive Director and Trustee. She recently became a Board Fellow at the world-wide renowned Royal College of Art(RCA), the leading school in innovation design engineering with the capability to tackle complex challenges faced by society and the planet.

    Saba’s career also includes significant roles at Capita, BT, Vodafone, Deloitte Consulting, and PwC, where she contributed to global market entry strategies, business turnarounds, and new technology ventures for both enterprise and consumer sectors.

    An alumna of Harvard University’s Kennedy School for Executive Leadership Training and the London Business School with an MBA, Saba is a thought leader and board advisor. As a former regional board member of The Prince’s Trust, she has inspired young people from disadvantaged communities to win national entrepreneurial awards.

    Saba is also a contributor to the bestselling book, The Power of Purpose. She is dedicated to embracing disruptive ideas and advancing skills, science, and technology for societal good amid rapid technological change.

    In her spare time, Saba is an avid sailor, traveller, and explorer of new science and technological innovations for the 21st century.

  • Nettah Njoroge

    Policy only works when people understand, trust, and see themselves in it.

    That belief has shaped my 15+ year career, building and leading campaigns, programs, and partnerships that bridge the gap between strategy and lived experience. I’ve worked across Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as in the UK, delivering cross-sector projects in health, education, gender equity, and public engagement.

    My background blends strategic communications, policy research, and programme delivery. I’ve managed donor-funded initiatives with budgets over $1M, worked across 36 African markets, and partnered with government ministries, NGOs, and media platforms to scale impact. From designing AI-informed tools to expand cervical cancer screening access in underserved communities, to founding a grassroots menstrual health initiative that reached 1,400+ street-involved girls in Nairobi, I’ve built work that translates insight into action.

    I Bring Deep Expertise In:
    1. Localizing programmes across diverse cultural contexts
    2. Communicating complex ideas to diverse audiences
    3. Leading stakeholder alignment across government, community, and donor ecosystems
    4. Designing evidence-based campaigns that shift behavior and inform policy

    I leverage my cross-border experience and communication-first approach to inform policy engagement, program design, and research translation, particularly in areas of public health, social equity, and inclusive innovation.

  • Molly Fluet

    Molly is a dynamic commercial leader with over 15 years of experience driving success across digital media, advertising, and strategic partnerships. With deep expertise in political and policy communications, she has a proven track record of scaling high-performing teams, building robust revenue pipelines, and leading global business development efforts.

    Spending more than a decade at the forefront of digital journalism, Molly played a pivotal role in transforming a digital news company from start-up to scale-up across the US and Europe. Her work sits at the intersection of media, technology, and politics—giving her unique insight into how businesses and governments must evolve in step with rapidly shifting environments and emerging technologies.

    Currently, Molly serves as Head of New Business for Public and Politics at YouGov, where she leads commercial teams across the UK, US, and Europe. She is responsible for defining and executing strategy to drive growth within the public sector and political markets. Her remit includes penetrating new territories, expanding existing business lines, and shaping client solutions that are agile, data-informed, and future-focused.

    A collaborative and creative problem solver, Molly works closely with internal teams and external partners to deliver innovative insights and research services tailored to the fast-changing needs of decision-makers in policy, government, and advocacy.

  • Magali Van Bulck

    Magali Van Bulck is the Head of Policy & Government Relations (EMEA) at Wise and the founder of Accept My IBAN, a platform to report IBAN discrimination which has successfully put this consumer protection issue on the political agenda.

    She sits various fintech and payments advisory committees and is part of the board of the International Association of Money Transfer Networks, Fintech Belgium and PayBelgium. In her role at Wise, she has been heavily focused on improving transparency in financial services, lowering the cost of remittances and providing a pathway for non-banks to join the financial infrastructure. She joined Wise in 2016. Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Launched in 2011, Wise is one of the world’s fastest growing, profitable tech companies.