Sustainability Conference 2023

Henrik has gathered his experience of leading people through change and digital technologies from many sectors including Publishing, Tour Operating, Housing and, lately, Higher Education. Having worked in a variety of leadership roles encompassing operational management and strategic delivery, he is an experienced communicator at many levels. Henrik has spent the last decade in two leading universities creating successful Service Delivery and Operations departments with a focus on strategic goals and business outcomes, underlined by a culture of empowerment and achievement. He is the vice-chair of the UCISA Sustainability Group, member of the UCISA Support Services Group, an eager contributor to UCISA projects, and enjoys voluntary work, latest for tuition charity The Access Project. Continuous learning is a core principle to Henrik, he completed a Master’s degree with distinction in Management not long ago, and he perpetually embraces opportunities to learn through a variety of platforms. He is a keen architecture buff (having recently built a house to his own design) and loves a good cup of tea!

James Smith is Chief Information Officer at Birkbeck, University of London, where he is responsible for the delivery of Library and IT services that are relied upon by Birkbeck’s staff, students, and commercial customers. The services provided support student engagement with the life-changing educational opportunities that are central to the institution’s mission, internationally recognised research, and the administration of the enterprise. Prior to his current role, James has worked on corporate system implementation projects (on both the customer and supplier side), small and large scale institutional change projects, process discovery and improvement. James has been a UCISA trustee since 2021 and is chair of UCISA-CISG.

Polly took up post in July 2022, having previously served as Chief Executive of Demos, the UK’s leading cross-party think tank, which brings citizen voice and lived experience into public policy discussions. Previous civil society roles include founding CEO of the Money & Mental Health Policy Institute and establishing the operations of the Women’s Equality Party. From 2010-2015 she was Director of Policy to the Deputy Prime Minister, based in 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, having worked as a policy advisor to the Liberal Democrats since 2004.

Polly’s recent publications include The Gravitational State, The Humble Policy Maker, Living in the Exponential Age, and The Social State: From Transactional to Relational Public Services. She is a member of the Social Value Taskforce, a trustee at Shift Foundation, and a non-executive director of Registry Trust, a not-for-profit provider of credit data.