Spanning sectors, industries and disciplines, DataFest brings the brightest minds in data and AI to the stage. Keep an eye out for more DataFest 2026 speakers coming soon!
Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence | Global Centre on AI Governance
Georgia Channing
AI for Science Lead
Hugging Face
Amanda Brock
CEO
OpenUK
Colin Nwachukwu Ife
Head of Risk
Geordie AI
Theo Blackwell
Chief Digital Officer for London
Mayor of London's Office
Sophie Greaves
Associate Director for Digital Infrastructure
techUK
Danny Quinn
Managing Director
DataVita
Will Millership
CEO
PRISM
Carl Strathearn
Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Researcher & Expert Advisor on Embodied AI and Humanoid Robotics
Edinburgh Napier University
Ali Shah
Managing Director for Responsible AI
Accenture
Matt Rooney
Director of Analytics
Skyscanner
Kjersti Fergusson
Head of Intelligent Automation
The Scottish Government
Brian Coane
Partner
Leith Agency
Caroline Parkinson
Director of Creative
Edinburgh Futures Institute
Dr Suzanne R. Black
Postdoctoral Researcher, CoSTAR
University of Edinburgh
Jamie Jefferson
Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder
Equator
Tom Wilkinson
Chief Data Officer
The Scottish Government
Sidrah Hassan
AI Governance and Ethics Manager
Kainos
Heather Thomson
CEO
The Data Lab
Prof. Emily Nordmann
Professor of Evidence-Informed Education and Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching
The University of Glasgow
Jamie Laycock
Head of Biology & AI Lead
The Glasgow Academy
Anna McMillan
VP of Delivery
2i // Scottish Women in Technology Board Trustee
Alex Van Sant
Senior Manager – Leadership and Culture
Accenture
Sean Harkin
Data Science & AI Lead
Lloyds Banking Group
Kate Farrell
Director of Curriculum Development and Professional Learning
Data Education for Schools
David McFarlane
Data Practice Lead, Scotland & The North
Capco
Hazel Jane
Interfaith Minister
Hannah Fry
Author, radio & TV presenter
Cassie Kozyrkov
former Chief Decision Scientist
Google
Colin Jarvis
Global Head of Forward Engineering
OpenAI
Christopher Wylie
Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower
Tim Peake
Astronaut
European Space Agency
Orlando Machado
Chief Data Officer
the LEGO Group
Caroline Criado Perez
Campaigner and author of 'Invisible Women'
Zoe Kleinman
Technology Editor
BBC News
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Space Scientist
Duncan Clark
CEO
Flourish (part of Canva)
Daniel Hulme
Chief AI Officer
WPP
Cathy O'Neil
Mathematician, data scientist and author of 'Weapons of Math Destruction'
Dr Eleanor Drage
Research Fellow
Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence.
Ross McNairn
CEO
Wordsmith.ai
Ian Mackie
CEO
Malted AI
Join our community
The Data Lab Community was created to enable data and AI professionals and enthusiasts to connect, collaborate, learn and grow. Join our 8000+ members today!