Author Profile

As the UK’s largest provider of broadband, mobile, and fixed-line services, BT sees itself as an institution and a company combined. Director of government relations Simon Godfrey sits down with Geoffrey Lyons to discuss the global telecoms giant’s role in the UK economy and why the public and private sectors ought to work more closely together

BJSS is an award-winning technology consultancy with nearly ten years experience helping the public sector deliver on a range of technology projects. Head of public sector Susheel Dodeja sits down with Geoffrey Lyons to discuss some of the firm’s success stories and the tech trends that will define 2020

For 27 years ThoughtWorks has helped organisations solve complex business problems where technology is the differentiator. But as UK digital transformation lead Luke Vinogradov explains, the company has a more holistic approach to change that goes well beyond traditional conceptions of digital. Geoffrey Lyons reports

Since his early days as a journalist, Robert Chote has been holding the government to account for its handling of public finances. Now, towards the end of his 10-year statutory term as chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, he sits down with Geoffrey Lyons to discuss his career, the OBR’s role, and November’s cancelled budget. Photography by Baldo Sciacca

“EU Exit is a big thing and it creates pressures that weren’t there before”, the civil service’s chief people officer tells Geoffrey Lyons

Now in its fifth year, the Competition and Markets Authority is more active than ever in its efforts to enforce the rules of the marketplace and protect consumers against unfair trading practices. Chief executive Dr Andrea Coscelli sits down with Geoffrey Lyons to discuss Brexit planning, the UK auditing shake-up, and learning from experience

Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, is investing big in the UK. What does this scrappy California startup turned software giant hope to achieve on this side of the pond? Geoffrey Lyons sits down with Max Roberts, Area Vice President, Enterprise Business at Salesforce UK, to find out

Lord Deben is as intrepid and combative an advocate for the environment as anyone concerned about climate change could want. Better known as John Gummer, the former environment minister and now chair of the Committee on Climate Change tells Geoffrey Lyons why the UK’s current climate trajectory is worrying, and how it will be affected by Trump and Brexit.

London Ventures, a partnership between EY and London Councils, is driving innovation across local government. They’ve teamed up with Southwark and Waltham Forest, landlords, tenants, and providers to design Transition Insurance, a promising new initiative that could lead to levels of homelessness being reduced across the country. CSW speaks to Tom Schneider from EY. 

The government’s Inclusive Economy Unit was set up less than two years ago to deliver social impact by collaborating across sectors. Tom Le Quesne, the unit’s head, tells Geoffrey Lyons about how government can support a changing business landscape that wants to achieve a social purpose as well as financial returns

Is truth scarcer than it used to be? Claire Foster-Gilbert, director of the Westminster Abbey Institute, sits down with Geoffrey Lyons to discuss the idea of truth, the Abbey’s role in politics, and the Institute’s latest lecture series

Alina Sellman, head of the Centre for Social Impact Bonds, tells Geoffrey Lyons about the outcomes-focused contracts and why critics ought to give them a chance

Geoffrey Lyons reviews two books on debt by men who had key roles following the financial crisis

Civil servants have access to an unprecedented amount of data, but how can they better use it to improve citizen outcomes? Geoffrey Lyons reports on a recent round table discussion

As an academic specialising in modern empire, Andrew Thompson knows a lot about the trials and tribulations of large organisations. He also runs one. The chief executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Council tells Geoffrey Lyons about the council’s impending transformation and the importance of understanding the past to shape the future

Geoffrey Lyons reviews Nick Spencer’s The Mighty and the Almighty: How Political Leaders do God – a collection of essays on how current and former heads of state engage with faith and religion

Geoffrey Lyons reviews Sonia Purnell’s enthralling new biography of one of Britain’s most misunderstood figures