External Stakeholder Advisory Board

Mitchell Baker

Former CEO, Mozilla

Mitchell is a pioneering web advocate who co-founded and led Mozilla for 25 years, serving as CEO and Chair while championing open-source technology and breaking early big-tech monopolies with the Firefox browser. Author of the foundational Mozilla Manifesto and the Mozilla Public License, she has spent decades structuring global communities to enhance the public benefit of the internet. Currently, Mitchell focuses on advising organizations, public speaking, and applying open-source principles to the development, security, and societal impacts of AI. Her extensive leadership includes roles with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Oxford Internet Institute, OpenMRS, and various high-level digital economy panels for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the United Nations.

Denis Battistella 

Higher Education and Research Lead, NVIDIA

Denis Battistella is a technology specialist within NVIDIA’s Higher Education and Research division, where he bridges advanced computational architecture and academic research. He collaborates with universities, data scientists, and research software engineers to integrate accelerated computing infrastructure, optimize high-performance computing workloads for GPU technology, and lower barriers to AI and machine learning applications. Denis also drives technical literacy and workforce development by leading NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) training initiatives and championing the deployment of open-source tools, containerized applications, and generative AI microservices through the NVIDIA NGC software repository to accelerate academic discovery.

Professor Rob Deaves 

Product Manager, Oxa

Professor Rob Deaves FREng is a prominent robotics engineer and systems architect with over 40 years of senior leadership experience across BAE Systems, STMicroelectronics, and Dyson, where he notably served as the technical lead for the Dyson 360 Heurist and VisNav robotic vacuums. A pioneer in autonomous systems, his early research provided the first UK industry-based demonstration of Decentralized SLAM, a foundational technology for modern mobile robotics. Currently a Product Manager at Oxa leading autonomous robotics for renewable energy, Rob extensively bridges industry and academia; he holds multiple professorships—including a decade-long teaching and research association with the University of Sheffield—and advises key national bodies, serving as vice chair of the UK Government’s DSIT Robotics Advisory Group.

Denzil Lawrence 

Boeing Global Technology – Europe and Chair of the AMRC Technical Board & Boeing R&D Lead

Denzil is a UK-based engineering leader who heads Boeing’s metals machining, digital, and non-destructive evaluation research and development programs across Europe. With over 30 years of diverse experience spanning the aerospace, defense, marine, petrochemical, and energy sectors, he has spent nearly two decades driving supply chain collaborations between industry, academia, and government to accelerate the adoption of emerging manufacturing technologies. In addition to managing a global team of research specialists to optimize Boeing's manufacturing operations and supply chain performance, Denzil has served as the Chair of the Technical Board at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) since 2024.

Laura Bennett 

Head of Entrepreneurship, Royal Academy of Engineering

Laura is Head of Entrepreneurship at the Royal Academy of Engineering. She has oversight of the Academy’s programmes to support deep tech spinouts (Enterprise Fellowships), scaleups (Shott Scale Up Accelerator), and startups (Regional Talent Engines). She also leads on the Enterprise Hub’s ongoing support for programme alumni including investor engagement. Previously, Laura co-led on an EU-funded ecosystem development project in South Yorkshire which involved co-designing and embedding accelerator programmes in the region. Laura has 12+ years’ experience of designing and delivering incubation and acceleration programmes for entrepreneurs and has advised senior policymakers on entrepreneurial ecosystem development. 

Fay Skevington 

Head of AI Alignment for Education, Department for Education (DfE)

Fay is the Head of AI Alignment for Education within the UK Government’s Department for Education (DfE), where she leads the strategic national approach to the quality, safety, and data policy of generative AI across England's educational ecosystem. With over 15 years of experience in central government policymaking and third-sector leadership, she specializes in creating safe digital environments, establishing EdTech safety standards, managing AI innovation funding, and directing the national AI Education Content Store. Fay pioneered the DfE’s delivery of the landmark global summit on AI safety in education, champions participatory research to ensure student and parent insights shape technology deployment.

Dr. Nataliya Tkachenko-Love

 Responsible AI Mobilisation Lead, Lloyds Banking Group

Nataliya is a computer scientist specializing in ethical and responsible AI deployment within finance, currently leading the Responsible AI Mobilisation programme at Lloyds Banking Group's AI Centre of Excellence. She previously built a distinguished academic and public sector career researching systemic AI risks and "Spatial Finance 2.0" through postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, The Alan Turing Institute, and DSIT. Dr. Tkachenko-Love holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Warwick, serves as an executive board member for the EPSRC-funded UK Open Multimodal AI Network, and is a visiting research fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School and Harvard Business School.

Octavia Field Reid 

Associate Director, Ada Lovelace Institute

Octavia is the Associate Director at the Ada Lovelace Institute, where she leads public participation and collaborative research to ensure data and AI serve the public good. Specializing in bridging the gap between technical AI development and public legitimacy, she has co-authored landmark, nationally representative studies with the Alan Turing Institute to evidence public experiences of AI benefits and harms and advocate for robust UK regulation. Octavia is a leading expert on participatory AI practices, working directly with commercial tech labs and public sector bodies to break down structural barriers and embed authentic public accountability, ethics, and social wellbeing into engineering and policy lifecycles.

Melissa (Liss) Gresswell 

Head of Adult Skills, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA)

Liss is the Head of Adult Skills at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), where she leads the strategic development, commissioning, and implementation of the region's devolved adult education system. Working closely with the Director of Work and Skills, she oversees the regional delivery of a £42 million annual investment program encompassing the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), Free Courses for Jobs, and Skills Bootcamps. Liss shapes funding models and delivery frameworks to align educational provision with regional economic priorities, ensuring targeted investment in digital skills, sector-based training, and pathways that support residents aged 19 and over into employment and further learning.

Leah Morris 

Executive Director, Encode: AI for Science Fellowships at Pillar VC/ARIA

Leah is the Executive Director of the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship at Pillar VC, bringing a decade of cross-sector experience spanning AI research, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. She previously served as a Senior Director at Radical Ventures, where she oversaw the firm’s responsible AI strategy and managed research partnerships. With a diverse background that includes conducting economic AI research at the University of Toronto and working in global health and security with the United Nations, Leah holds an MBA, a Master of Global Affairs, and dual Bachelor's degrees in International Development Studies and Environment, Sustainability, and Society.