Future Workspaces: Human leadership in a tech-excited world

Can technology ever deliver its full value without leaders who bring context, judgement and empathy?

As part of Cambridge Tech Week, we invite you to join us for the next event in our compelling Future Workspaces series - our ongoing mission to help UK employers face into the new workplace frontier.

What started as an exploration of tomorrow’s office is now a practical guide for the future of work, bringing together insights on leadership, technology and organisational change.

Taking place at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, this fringe event will bring together business leaders and experts to explore one of the most pressing questions facing organisations today: how do we lock in the leadership skills and human perspective which allow technology to deliver real value?

About the event

Technology, and in particular AI, is reshaping how organisations operate at pace. But as capabilities accelerate, so too does the need for effective leadership.

This session will focus on the role of leaders in:

• Providing context in increasingly automated environments
• Applying judgement where technology alone cannot
• Ensuring empathy remains central to decision-making.

Through a panel discussion, we will explore how organisations can balance technological innovation with human insight and what this means for the future of work and leadership.

Following the discussion, there will be an opportunity to continue the conversation over drinks and canapés.

Meet the panel

We're bringing together business and innovation leaders to explore how organisations can balance technological innovation with human insight and what this means for the future of work and leadership.

Confirmed panellists include:

Dr Ilana Wisby
Entrepreneur in Residence, Cambridge Innovation Capital

Ilana Wisby is a quantum physicist and the founding CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), which she led from 2017 to 2024, growing the team to around 130 and raising over $100m to build full-stack quantum computers. She is now an Entrepreneur in Residence at Cambridge Innovation Capital, runs ISW Advisory, and advises the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) as she readys to lead her next venture.

Jane Hutchins
Director, External Affairs & Innovation, Cambridge Science Park

Jane Hutchins brings extensive experience from one of the UK's leading innovation communities. As Director, External Affairs & Innovation at Cambridge Science Park, she works at the intersection of technology, business growth and place-based innovation, helping to support a thriving ecosystem of science and technology businesses.

Jane will bring a valuable perspective on leadership, innovation and the role that people, organisations and communities play in shaping the future of work.

Joe Lloyd
Commercial and Strategy Lead, Oxford Dynamics

Joe Lloyd is Commercial and Strategy Lead at Oxford Dynamics, an AI company developing next-generation autonomous systems. His experience spans AI strategy, technology adoption and innovation, having worked across government and AI-focused organisations on the practical challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies.

Joe will offer insight into how organisations can approach AI adoption while maintaining the context, judgement and human oversight needed to deliver real value.

Toni Harrison
Head of Growth, Partnerships and Impact, Oxford Innovation Space

Toni leads on business development and partnerships at Oxford Innovation Space, one of the UK's leading operators of innovation centres and business growth programmes. As a member of their senior management team, she supports a national network of teams and spaces that nurture entrepreneurs, start-ups and scaling businesses, helping to build the communities, partnerships and environments where innovation can thrive.

With a career spanning business support, innovation ecosystems and social impact, Toni is driven by the role of human-centred leadership in a rapidly changing world, and how organisations can combine technology, purpose and community to create places where people and ideas flourish.

Thomas Bewes
Senior Asset Manager, Howard Group

Thomas supports Howard Group’s investment and asset management activities, focusing on strategic initiatives such as leasing and redevelopment at Elizabeth and Juno Way Industrial Estates and growth planning for the residential portfolio.

He joined Howard Group in 2023 after five years at JLL, where he specialised in industrial and logistics across Hertfordshire and East Anglia. Thomas is a director of Howard Capital and Airlite Finance, two subsidiary Group companies.

Why attend?

This event will be particularly relevant for those responsible for shaping strategy, leading teams or implementing technology within their organisations.

It offers a chance to:

• Hear practical insights from leaders working at the forefront of innovation, technology and organisational change
• Reflect on your own approach to leadership in a technology-driven environment
• Connect with others attending Cambridge Tech Week.

Book your place

If you would like to attend, please register using the link below. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.