On 16th July 2025, we gathered with some of Yorkshire’s most influential tech leaders to mark the Leeds launch of the Nash Squared / Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report 2025. This wasn’t just a celebration of 26 years of industry-leading insight; it was a chance to reflect on how national and global trends are being shaped and challenged on a local level.

With data drawn from over 2,000 digital leaders across 62 countries, the DLR is a global barometer for tech strategy, transformation, and talent. But at our Leeds event, the spotlight was on the voices shaping that strategy here in the North.

What the data tells us

David Savage, Tech Evangelist at Nash Squared, opened the event by walking us through the key findings of this year’s report, highlighting rapid growth in AI investment, mounting cybersecurity concerns, the shifting shape of hybrid work, and how digital leaders are recalibrating priorities in an uncertain economic landscape.

But while the stats were compelling, it was the panel that brought the numbers to life.

Panel: Leadership in action

Our panel featured a diverse mix of digital leaders from across public services, healthcare, financial services and academia:

Jennifer Anderson, CIO, National Wealth Fund

Jo Graham, CDIO, Pharmacy2U

Ann-Marie Orange, CIO & Global Head of R&D, ArisGlobal

Tyrrell Basson, Director of Information Technology, University of York

Each panellist shared their lived experience of leadership, what’s shifting in their own teams, and how the report’s trends are unfolding in real-time.

Tech leadership is becoming more human

One of the strongest takeaways from the panel was how human the role of a digital leader has become. It’s no longer just about tools and transformation; it’s about trust, empathy, and bringing people with you.

The panel reflected on the challenge of modernising critical public infrastructure while maintaining public trust and securing stakeholder alignment. They also discussed the broader challenge of driving innovation in a way that builds confidence, ensures ethical implementation, and delivers meaningful outcomes, particularly when introducing technologies like AI that require cultural change as much as technical capability.

The panel highlighted the growing need for cross-functional leadership in increasingly tech-driven environments. Effective digital leaders, they noted, are those who blend technical expertise with emotional intelligence, and who understand that meaningful innovation is driven by people as much as by technology.

AI, skills and the new competitive edge

There was a clear consensus that AI is no longer a future trend; it’s today’s reality. But the panel pushed beyond the hype, focusing on how businesses can practically apply AI to drive outcomes, not just headlines.

The panel discussed the importance of investing in both infrastructure and people to support the growing role of AI across industries. They also touched on the widening digital skills gap, emphasising the shared responsibility organisations have, not just to adopt new technologies, but to help build and sustain the workforce needed to support them. A recurring theme was that while AI has the power to transform tasks, it’s human talent that will ultimately determine success.

Cyber resilience is a board-level conversation

With the report showing a rise in major cyber incidents, our panel didn’t shy away from tough conversations. There was agreement that cybersecurity can no longer be siloed within IT; leaders need to create cultures of cyber awareness and resilience across every level of the business. Importantly, this isn’t just a risk issue, but a leadership one.

Leeds: A digital hub with a human heart

The event highlighted what makes Leeds and the broader Yorkshire tech ecosystem so unique, with innovation grounded in purpose. Whether delivering public services, developing life-changing drugs, or rethinking education delivery, our panel showed that digital leadership here is values-led, community-focused, and deeply collaborative.

Thank you to our brilliant panel and all who attended for making the Leeds launch such a powerful conversation. We left with a deeper understanding of what it means to lead through change and how local leadership is helping to shape global impact.

Explore the full findings in the Nash Squared / Harvey Nash Digital Leadership Report 2025.