Who we are

Our founders came together to create a business that is relentless in its desire to unlock the potential of data for our clients.

Timely, accurate, trustworthy data is the foundation for all business transformation to come. Data is a crucial asset in the fight for increased productivity and growth; without it, scaled exploitation of emerging technologies is impossible.

We are ambitious about what our clients can achieve; we believe that data should create value and empowerment. It shouldn’t feel like a burden to bear or an impossible problem to solve.

We don’t treat data as if it’s an iteration of an existing digital transformation program. Our competitors have added on data as a service line alongside design, software, cloud et al.

We are experts in all those things but use that expertise in the service of business transformation through data. For many of our clients, to truly exploit data, they need a data native partner; focussed, specialist but able to link outcomes clearly to business goals and wider context.

Pivotl is that partner.

Our ambition is to create the UK’s most talented and productive full stack data service company by accessing the best data talent from all over the world.

We are creating an environment where high performing data professionals want to work, learn and contribute.

Our own culture and way of working is built around data and our teams get to work on some of the world’s most important data projects for some of the world’s most important organisations.

Our Values

We are authentically curious

We are resilient optimists

We engineer Excellence

We Behave With Compassion

We are Commercially Ambitious

View Full Values

EVENTS and Sponsorships

Investing in the communities which we serve allows us to deliver value to our customers, which is why we’ve joined forces with Think Digital Partners.

Think Digital Partners

Think Digital Partners is a platform for exchanging ideas and sharing insight to enable digital transformation and engagement. It produces conferences and digital content for the public sector around the themes of data, digital identity and cybersecurity.

We support their Think Data for Government events through sponsorship or attendance so we get even closer to the key challenges and problems our customers face and work together to solve them.

See you at one of their events?

Leadership Team

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    JULIA GLIDDEN

    JULIA GLIDDEN

    Chair

    The former Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector for Microsoft where she oversaw a global redesign and restructuring of the Corporation’s global Public Sector go-to-market model.

    An internationally recognised expert on Digital Government, Dr. Glidden specialises in identifying and piloting emerging technologies such as Data, AI and Cloud in the GovTech space. Julia pioneered the concept of Cognitive Government and has delivered many of Europe’s leading innovation projects. She is currently serving as an expert advisor to the United Nations, the World Economic Forum and the European Commission.

    In addition to being named in Apolitical’s inaugural list of the Top 100 most influential people in digital government, Julia was recognised as one of the Top 40 GovTech Influencers in the 2019 e-Governance Global Industry Landscape Overview.

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    SACHA ROOK

    SACHA ROOK

    President

    A technology pioneer with instinctive commercial acumen, Sacha is an experienced leader in the technology services space.

    In 2017 Sacha co-founded The Panoply, which from its hubs in the UK, Bulgaria and Oslo, 600 team members deliver Design, Software, Cloud and Data services to global clients across multiple sectors including media, government, energy, financial services and logistics.

    Before this Sacha led the transformation of Methods Group from a £30 million recruitment business to a £100 million professional services company delivering technology services to the UK Government. Clients included ONS, Companies House, Home Office, BIS, DWP and Cabinet Office.

    Prior to his entrepreneurial career Sacha operated as a CTO in global logistics firms, financial services and government.

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    JESSICA FIGUERAS

    JESSICA FIGUERAS

    Non-Exec Director

    Jessica is a strategist specialising in digital trust, cybersecurity and governance, and the role of tech in civil society.

    She advises UK government on technology and policy issues relating to cybersecurity and online safety, and works with technology companies on strategy and leadership. She is a sought-after speaker and commentator, and was named one of Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in UK Tech (2022 and 2021) and a Women in IT Awards finalist (2022).

    Previously Jessica led multi-million pound research and data programmes for companies including Dods, GlobalData and Ovum. She has published extensive research on the application of emerging technologies across government, telecoms and other regulated industries, and has advised senior executives in large established tech companies as well as many VC-backed scaleups.

    Jessica is Vice Chair of the Board and a founding trustee at the UK Cyber Security Council. Between 2017-2021 she was Chair of the Board at NCT, the UK’s largest charity for parents. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and inclusivity, with a practical track record participating in and leading civil society projects, and equality and diversity having led initiatives at scale.

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    JAMES HERBERT

    JAMES HERBERT

    Chief Executive Officer

    James is an entrepreneur specialising in starting and scaling modern software and technology services businesses.

    In 2017 James co-founded The Panoply which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018. Now over 600 people strong, The Panoply delivers Design, Software, Cloud and Data services to global clients across multiple sectors including media, government, energy, financial services and logistics.

    Prior to his entrepreneurial career James played a leading role in many of the most significant data and technology initiatives in the UK Government. He worked in the Cabinet Office team that designed the G Cloud procurement framework, co-wrote the world’s first national Government Cloud Strategy and developed the data model underpinning the NCA.

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    STUART ARTHUR

    STUART ARTHUR

    Chief Technology Officer

    Stuart combines his deep technical knowledge, commercial acumen and leadership expertise to solve complex data and cloud challenges and build high performing teams.

    Stuart is an entrepreneur, strategic technology leader (CTO, CIO, or VP of Engineering),and hands-on technologist. In other words Stuart is that rarest of people – combining an unusual balance of broad and deep technical knowledge, commercial acumen and astuteness, leadership and people expertise. Stuart was recently listed in the CIO 100 list and in the top 5 CIOs in the BCS IT Awards.

    He has founded several technology product and services businesses, most recently selling his cloud and software engineering business to listed consultancy TPXimpact. Working for TPXimpact as CTO, he consolidated several technology teams into a coherent division, rapidly scaled the team to provide end-to-end technology services, steered the attainment of a Microsoft Gold partnership, and established an academy model.

    Stuart thrives in an environment where authenticity, expertise and delivery excellence pervade. As well as his technology services experience, Stuart has worked in-house as a CTO and CIO in financial services, utilities, and government, and for global data product businesses – he has lived experiences and grappled with the problems faced by our clients.

    He has a strong network across South Wales and is actively involved in means by which underserved people can access career opportunities via technology. Stuart has chaired steering groups for the Government, set up coding masterclasses, and led technology academies.

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    HONOR PADDOCK

    HONOR PADDOCK

    Chief Marketing Officer

    Honor is a strategic marketing expert, who thrives on building distinctive brands that put the customer at the heart of what they do.

    She has spent 20+ years in marketing roles in B2B, B2C and B2E in a range of businesses from global firms with multiple group brands, to start up SMEs. In that time she has worked for three technology service start ups and one technology product company and have created propositions, brands and messaging for all four.

    More recently Honor has been running her own marketing consultancy helping businesses across multiple industries define and deliver value to their customers.

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    PAUL KEARSEY

    PAUL KEARSEY

    Managing Director, Regional and Local Public Services

    Paul uses his passion for solving Public Services’ most pressing challenges through delivering meaningful, sustainable and achievable data-led transformation.

    Following a decade of leading cultural and digital transformation programmes in local and regional government, and in the past six years focusing on helping organisations become increasingly data-driven, Paul is recognised as a strategic leader in this space.

    Focusing heavily on the importance that Data and Insight plays in achieving strategic objectives, Paul works hand in hand with government, housing associations, universities and blue light services – helping the senior leaders and their teams develop, embed and deliver data strategies, investment cases and roadmaps.  

    While evolving the critical culture needed to embrace the role of data and data professionals to the benefit of all. 

    In delivery Paul and his team combine significant domain knowledge with data, insight and AI expertise.  Using our Pivotl Way, the team focuses on the delivery of  well paced,  highly impactful solutions, in a secure and easily scalable format.

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    Richard Grove

    Richard Grove

    Managing Director – Central Government

    Richard is passionate about helping organisations operationally and culturally embrace and adopt data, digital and AI skills and technologies.

    His experience has spanned high profile roles at the London 2012 Olympics and early Government Digital Service and he was Chief Digital Officer at the University of London. He’s also the non-exec director of several successful technology start-ups.

    Before joining Pivotl, he was a director at Caution Your Blast Ltd, where he worked with clients such as the Cabinet Office, IKEA and UK Foreign Office. He developed the first public-facing Large Language Model (LLM) tooling in UK public sector history, alongside briefing the UK team at the Bletchley Declaration For AI and has given evidence on AI to the UK House of Lords.

    His biggest passions are his family of two incredible children and partner, and building successful organisations where employees are proud to work.