The FutureDotNow staff team come from across the public, private and commercial sectors, and includes individuals seconded from our board organisations.
Our executive team
Liz Williams MBE
Chief Executive
Liz is a long-term campaigner on the importance of everyone benefitting from digital technology.
Previously she led BT Group’s digital and social inclusion strategies, advising the Chair, CEO and Board on corporate policy and delivering cross-sector collaborations with government, civil society and other leading businesses that impacted millions of lives.
She is Group Chair of Good Things Foundation, a social change charity operating in the UK and Australia to help people improve their lives through digital, and a member of Portsmouth University’s Business Advisory Board. Liz sits on the Government’s Digital Skills Council and previously served as a Social Mobility Commissioner leading on digital and the future of work.
Liz is a social entrepreneur and long-term campaigner on the importance of digital equity. Her work has been instrumental in promoting digital inclusion and social mobility across the UK and as a result she was awarded the MBE in 2019. Liz regularly features in Computer Weekly’s top 20 most influential women in UK technology.
Holly Chate
Chief Operating Officer
Holly is Chief Operating Officer at FutureDotNow. Holly is experienced in strategy & business development, operating model transformation, programme management, governance and post-merger integration.
Holly has worked across public, private and third sector and internationally in the Middle East, Asia and Europe through her roles at Deloitte (2012 – 2021) and BAE Systems (2006-2012). Holly has a degree in Biochemistry from UCL.
Tega Ajogun
Membership Growth and Marketing Lead
Tega is FutureDotNow’s Membership Growth and Marketing Lead, responsible for growing and strengthening our membership community and helping more organisations engage with our mission to close the UK’s workforce digital skills gap.
Tega is a Chartered Marketer with experience across membership organisations, sustainability, technology and startup environments. Her background spans marketing strategy, growth, member engagement, partnerships, CRM, digital campaigns and data-led decision-making.
Tega is passionate about using marketing and collaboration to build engaged communities, create meaningful experiences and support organisations to make a greater impact.
Chris Andersson
Communications and Campaign Manager
Chris is our Communications and Campaigns Manager, with oversight of all of our messaging, social media, external communications, content and marketing. Chris has worked in communications roles within the digital skills sector for more than 10 years, managing national campaigns such as Good Things Foundation’s Get Online Week.
Based in Sheffield, Chris brings to the team a passion for storytelling and a belief that the right content can influence opinions, inspire action and ultimately, change the world for the better.
Angie Clement
Business Manager
Angie is our Business Manager who looks after the day-to-day operations and governance of FutureDotNow. Angie has over 20 years’ experience working in technology companies and start-up’s supporting their strategic growth through running compliant operations, HR, process implementation and financial budgeting. She has a degree in Psychology and is an associate member of CIPD.
Angie has enjoyed working in the continuously developing world of technology and is passionate that everybody should have the essential digital skills to help them navigate life and work.
Helen Embleton
Strategic Project Delivery Manager
As our Strategic Project Delivery Manager, Helen leads delivery of FutureDotNow’s core programme to unite industry to take direct action on measure to close the workforce digital skills gap. She oversees the our sprint programme, bringing together a cross-sector delivery community to collaborate, maintain momentum and deliver measurable outcomes. Helen also supports sector leads to translate strategy into action, driving engagement and progress, and leads delivery of the Workforce Digital Skills Summit.
Helen has more than a decade of experience delivering complex national initiatives across digital skills, education and youth sectors. This includes leading digital skills policy at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, helping establish the Digital Skills Council, and directing a £13 million programme to expand and diversify AI and Data Science provision across England.
Our trustees
Sir Peter Estlin
Chair, FutureDotNow
Sir Peter Estlin is also Chair of the Association of Apprentices, a national membership body for apprentices in the UK, as well as a trustee of Trust for London, Morden College and Bridewell Royal Hospital.
He is a non-executive on HMT Audit Committee and Ambassador for Onside Youth Zones. Peter was Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2018/19, having had a thirty-five-year career with Barclays, Citigroup and Coopers & Lybrand in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Camilla Drejer
Managing Director, Citizenship, Accenture EMEA
Camilla is a longstanding champion and change agent for responsible business. She leads Corporate Citizenship for Accenture UKI, working with its leadership to embed social and environmental sustainability into the DNA of the business and its client work. Camilla has led the development of a number of large-scale ‘tech for good’ solutions to enable hundreds of thousands of people to build skills, confidence and access to opportunity. She set up the business-led youth charity Movement to Work and was its first CEO.
Camilla is a founding Director and Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability and contributes to a number of industry groups and boards relating to tech, skills and responsible business.
Deborah O'Neill
Partner and Co-Lead of Performance Transformation UK, Oliver Wyman
Deborah O’Neill is the Co-Lead of Performance Transformation UK and a Partner at Oliver Wyman, where she leads complex transformations at the world’s largest companies. She helps her clients build out their skills, capabilities and infrastructure, making them self-sufficient, and able to deliver change sustainably.
She is a member of the UK Government’s Digital Skills Council and is a member of the City of London’s Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce. She is also a Fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
Chintan Patel
Chief Technology Officer, Cisco UK and Ireland
As CTO for Cisco UK & Ireland, Chintan oversees technology engagement and partnerships with clients, industry, government and academia to help accelerate the adoption of digital technology.
With 25 years of global experience in the industry, he leads a diverse community of engineers, architects and business leaders across multiple functions in Cybersecurity, Cloud, IT Infrastructure, AI, Hybrid Work and Emerging Technologies.
His role also involves leading the Country Digital Impact Office, which focuses investments in pioneering solutions that have broad public impact. He mentors those early in their careers and continues to champion the need for broader digital and engineering skills in society through STEM subjects.
He is a member of the UK Government’s Digital Skills Council and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Brunel University.
Sunil Patel
Former Partner, Chief Technology & Data Officer, PwC
At PwC, he held leadership roles including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Officer, shaping the strategic direction of PwC’s UK business and driving technology-enabled growth across multiple sectors. His expertise spans board governance, executive risk management, and strategic digital change, making him a trusted advisor to Chairs, CEOs, and senior executives.
Sunil has delivered transformative outcomes such as PwC’s AI, data & knowledge strategy; and enterprise workforce upskilling in digital. He is sought out by boards seeking to harness technology for sustainable growth.
Prior to PwC, Sunil was a Managing Partner at Atos Consulting and a Partner at Accenture.
Jemma Waters
Head of Digital Impact and Inclusion, Lloyds Banking Group
Jemma is passionate about using data for good and developing impactful partnerships; all with people and purpose in mind. She is a #WATC top100 Rising Star 2019 and Tech Talent Charter UK Advisor.
Jemma leads the team responsible for the UK’s largest benchmark of individuals, charities and businesses’ digital skills; the Digital Index reports; UK tech adoption policy including the DCMS Digital Skills Partnership, and external partnerships for data for good, diversity and digital skills agendas. She is newly leading Sustainability for the Lloyds Banking Group Transformation division. Previously, Jemma worked at Accenture Interactive and dunnhumby, using data with human-centred design thinking to support clients including Sky, Tesco and Channel 4.
