Tech and Net Zero Conference 2024

Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE

Former Minister of State for Health,

Chris was the UK Energy Minister attending Cabinet responsible for signing the UK’s net zero commitment into law— becoming the first G7 country to do so. He also helped secure the UK’s Presidency of COP26. In 2022, Chris was appointed by the UK Government to chair the Net Zero Review, publishing the widely-acclaimed Mission Zero report in January 2023, which was described by Lord Nicholas Stern as ‘a remarkable and important piece of work’ (Mission Zero | Biteback Publishing). The Net Zero Review was the largest engagement exercise on net zero in the UK, engaging with over 2,800 businesses. For his work, in 2023, Chris was awarded Politician of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards, and Political Figure of the Year at the British Renewable Energy Awards 2023. 
Chris was Member of Parliament for Kingswood between 2010-2024, during which time he also served as Minister for the Constitution, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation and Minister for Health. He also was Chair of the All Party Group on the Environment. He resigned from Parliament in January 2024 in protest at new legislation promoting additional oil and gas licences. 
Between 2021-2023 Chris was a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and in 2023-24 a Visting Fellow at Oxford University. He is currently a Professor at Bath University. 
Chris is currently Chair of the Climate Action Coalition, launched by Secretary John Kerry in June 2024, and a founding partner of Desmos Capital Partners, an advisory investment bank that supports new technologies and sustainable businesses. He is also Chief Operating Officer of Better Earth, and a founding advisor of Smart Society Ventures. 

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Tara Singh

Managing Director, Burson’s Public Affairs

Tara is Managing Director of Burson’s Public Affairs practice.

Tara joined Burson from Shell, where she led policy and advocacy for Shell’s global power business covering on and offshore renewables; trading and b2b and b2c energy retail across America, Europe, the UK, Australia, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Nigeria. Whilst in Shell Tara also lead crisis policy support during the cost-of-living crisis following the Russia / Ukraine war.

Prior to joining Shell, Tara lead Public Affairs and Corporate Communications for energy start-up First Utility; was a speechwriter for the Lloyds Insurance Market and was Director of Policy for the 2015 Conservative London Mayoral Campaign.

Prior to this, Tara acted as Prime Minister David Cameron’s Special Adviser on energy and climate issues covering the development of the first offshore wind auctions, the first capacity market and the Wood Review into the future of the North Sea

Tara has also previously worked for major global brands including Centrica and AON.
 

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Mia Haffety

Programme Manager, Digital Economy, techUK

Mia joined techUK in September 2023.

Mia works to ensure that the UK policy and regulatory environment promote investment into the tech sector, recognising the role of digital and emerging technology towards future growth and productivity. 

Prior to joining techUK, Mia worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) within the Policy Unit.

Mia holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester and a BA(Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.

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Mattie Yeta

Chief Sustainability Officer, CGI

No bio provided

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Weronika Dorociak

Programme Manager, Sustainability, techUK

Weronika joined techUK as a Programme Manager for Sustainability in October 2023. Her role involves advocating for the tech sector in front of key policymakers and stakeholders. Weronika also leads the environmental and sustainability efforts within the Data Centres Group.  
Prior to joining techUK, Weronika worked in public affairs and government relations in the legal sector, focusing on innovation and ESG within financial services. She also spent 2 years working as a Caseworker at Parliament. She holds a BA in Politics & International Relations from Queen Mary University of London.  
 

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Henrik Micski

Principal Climate Scientist, Sage

Henrik has 20 years’ experience working with SMEs, multi-national corporations, community groups, local authorities, government departments, and EU Secretariats. His work has focused on decarbonisation, nature restoration, ‘green’ skills development, and environmental standards, both as a consultant and by developing tech to automate this work. At Sage, Henrik plays a critical role in developing Sage’s strategies on achieving Net Zero, both as a company and by helping SMEs get to Net Zero. This work includes advocating for policies to support SMEs to get to Net Zero. Most recently, Henrik has been working with the Government and European Commission to quantify the demand from SMEs for finance to decarbonize, and highlighting the barriers associated with this, to encourage development of new policies to unlock financial support. 

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Alexander Shapiro

Investment Manager, Conduit Connect

No bio provided

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Samiah Anderson

Head of Digital Economy, techUK

Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Economy at techUK, overseeing the Digital Economy programme, which promotes how the UK digital economy and innovation can drive sustained economic growth.

With over six years of Government Affairs expertise, Samiah has built a solid reputation as a tech policy specialist, engaging regularly with UK Government Ministers, senior civil servants and UK Parliamentarians.

Before joining techUK, Samiah led several public affairs functions for international tech firms and coalitions at Burson Global (formerly Hill & Knowlton), delivering CEO-level strategic counsel on political, legislative, and regulatory issues in the UK, EU, US, China, India, and Japan. She is adept at mobilising multinational companies and industry associations, focusing on cross-cutting digital regulatory issues such as competition, artificial intelligence, and more.

She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of London, where she founded the New School Economics Society, the Goldsmiths University chapter of Rethinking Economics.

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Andrew Griffiths

Director of Policy and Partnership, PlanetMark

Andrew Griffiths is Director of Policy and Corporate Development at Planet Mark, a sustainability certification that supports organisations and real estate to measure and continually reduce carbon emissions and increase their social value. Andrew co-founded the Carbon Accounting Alliance (CAA) representing 400+ organisations in the industry. He also sits on Advisory Boards, Councils and Committees for the Institute of Directors (IoD), BSI Greenhouse Gas Management Standards, and UK-Government backed initiatives like UK Business Climate Hub and Project Perseus. Having delivered a TEDx talk on the power of meaningful networking, he is a big believer in the power of communication and how it can be used to drive climate action.

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Sophie Tuson

Senior Associate, RPC'

Sophie Tuson leads RPC’s Environment and Climate Change practice, advising clients on a broad mix of environmental, regulatory, commercial and consumer matters, with a particular focus on environmental sustainability. She works with a wide range of clients across the tech, retail and consumer brands sectors advising on issues such as compliance with environmental regulations; greenwashing risk and liability; supply chain sustainability; and corporate sustainability reporting. With a Masters in Environmental Law and Policy, Sophie is an emerging voice in the ESG space. She is regularly quoted in the press on sustainability legal issues  including in The Times, BBC News and Bloomberg. With extensive in-house experience, including at Google, Frasers Group and Ceres Power (a green tech start-up), Sophie acts as a true extension of clients' in-house teams, supporting in-house counsel, business leaders and sustainability teams to drive progress on their organisations' sustainability strategies.

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Connor Cahalane

Partner, RPC

Connor is a partner at RPC where he specialises in addressing complex legal and regulatory challenges faced by listed and private businesses. As the head of RPC's Public Companies Practice, Connor leverages his deep legal expertise and practical experience to provide clear, actionable advice on corporate transactions and corporate governance matters. Connor’s focus also includes climate-related and sustainability disclosures, ensuring that clients meet evolving reporting requirements and navigate intricate regulatory landscapes with confidence and foresight.

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Susanne Baker

Partner, ERM

Susanne Baker is a Partner in ERM’s EMEA technology team where she leads on corporate sustainability, climate change and product stewardship. Her career has included appointments at the Environment Agency and the UK’s Department for Environment. She was a journalist at the ENDS Report, the UK’s first publication, and editor of its supply chain news. Over the last decade she worked at MakeUK and more recently at techUK, where she was associate director for climate, environment and sustainability. Susanne has worked with the tech sector on sustainability issues for over seven years and was recently elected chair of techUK’s climate council. She is a regular judge for Business Green and Edie’s sustainability leaders and clean tech awards. 

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Mark Bjornsgaard

Founder and CEO, Deep Green

No bio provided

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Devorah West

Senior Policy Advisor, Climate & Energy, Tony Blair Institute

Devorah supports leaders as they harness today’s technological revolution to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the consequences of the climate crisis.  
 
Through her work at the intersection of climate and AI, Devorah helps governments manage the impacts of climate change and leverage the opportunities of the clean-energy transition. Her work has focused on topics that include how to ensure the climate and AI revolutions become mutually reinforcing, unlocking transformative economic and environmental gains; how to leverage capital markets to drive increased finance into climate adaptation; and the policies, financing and technologies needed to prepare and respond to climate shocks. 
 
Prior to joining TBI, Devorah led the humanitarian innovation team at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and worked as a policy advisor to Gayle Smith, former administrator for USAID and CEO of the ONE Campaign. 
 

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Jack Simpson

Senior Trade Policy Adviser, WWF-UK

Jack Simpson is the Senior Trade Policy Adviser at WWF-UK, where he focuses on reducing the UK’s environmental impact through trade system reform. Originally from Newcastle, Jack previously worked in business customs and trade policy before joining WWF in London two years ago.

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Weronika Dorociak

Programme Manager, Sustainability, techUK

Weronika joined techUK as a Programme Manager for Sustainability in October 2023. Her role involves advocating for the tech sector in front of key policymakers and stakeholders. Weronika also leads the environmental and sustainability efforts within the Data Centres Group.  
Prior to joining techUK, Weronika worked in public affairs and government relations in the legal sector, focusing on innovation and ESG within financial services. She also spent 2 years working as a Caseworker at Parliament. She holds a BA in Politics & International Relations from Queen Mary University of London.  
 

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Georgia Berry

UK and European Policy Lead, Patch

Georgia is UK and European Policy Lead for Patch, the platform scaling finance for climate projects. She has worked for fifteen years in the energy and environment sector across non-profits, industry and Government. She was Head of Corporate Responsibility for Centrica; Energy and Environment Advisor to Prime Minister Theresa May; Director of Policy and Public Affairs at OVO Energy, and Co-Director of Future Countryside. She has a strong understanding of the political and commercial contexts of energy, nature and climate policy, and has seen policy through from inception to legislation. Georgia chaired the ZeroC Commission and was a commissioner on the Nature Positive Innovation Commission. She is a Board Member of PRASEG, The All Party Parliamentary Group on Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

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