Wall of love for Government Transformation Magazine

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the Government Transformation Leaders’ Night at the historic Church House, Westminster, as a guest of Oracle, joined by over 100 public sector leaders from across the UK and beyond. It was an insightful evening of discussion and reflection, in the very room where the first Parliament once sat. The keynote from Christine Bellamy, Chief Product Officer at HM Government, was deeply thought-provoking, as was the State of Digital Leadership in Government panel featuring Honey Dacanay (Director General, Digital Policy, Government of Canada), Julian David OBE (CEO techUK), Nick Bolton (CEO Ordnance Survey), and Richard Davies (UK Country Managing Partner, Netcompany). One idea that keeps ringing true consistently: Technology isn’t a project – it’s a process. It is continuous, cultural, and connected. I first started working with government on the RM project for DWP (Oracle HRMS implementation), then on the Central Payment System, Europe’s largest Oracle Financials implementation at the time, and eventually Universal Credit. Alongside private sector clients, I’ve supported digital initiatives at MoJ, MoD, HMRC, BEIS, DfE, Shared Services and beyond, as well as worked with governments internationally. Public Sector transformation is something I’m very familiar with and have seen evolve over the years. However, the conversations last night made it clear: we’re not just delivering digital services anymore – we’re preparing for a digital generation. Enter Gen Alpha (born after 2010) a digitally native generation, who don’t typically browse the internet or use Google the way previous generations do. Their world is built on AI, automation, and immersive content, and they’re growing up in a globally connected environment. Their first point of information may well be a trusted circle of friends, influencers and AI-driven tools. As service designers and delivery leaders, we have to keep evolving, building services that are not just accessible, but truly aligned with how the next generation lives and thinks. Big changes are yet to come and public services must be prepared to meet them. Thank you to the lovely Fiona McAdoo and Oracle team for the invitation, and to everyone who made the evening such a valuable experience.

On Monday night, I had the privilege of attending the Government Transformation Magazine Leaders Night. It was fantastic to join over 100 leaders from across the public and private sectors to share insight, accelerate transformation, and reimagine the role of the modern state. The keynote from Christine Bellamy, Chief Product Officer at HM Government was both inspiring and a clear call to action – challenging us to lead with purpose, embrace change and design for lasting impact. Key themes included: The responsibility of leadership to continually challenge ourselves – questioning the status quo and driving meaningful change. The need to foster greater innovation – not just through technology, but by rethinking how we collaborate, deliver services, and empower people. A bold focus on future generations – and the importance of building services that earn and sustain their trust. A big thank you to our table – John Fitzpatrick, Andrew Pearce, Ade Bamigboye, Selina Holliday, Andy Tyack and Richard Baines- for the great conversation, insights and laughs throughout the evening!