people

UCDx’s work is guided by 5 directors, all bringing relevant experience.

Rose Luckin, Phil Booth, David Goodman, and Peter Seymour, are all non-exec directors and are not paid, working in the public interest.

John Harrison is the interim lead director, working under the board’s guidance to achieve the objectives of UCDx. He is paid – when there is money available – for doing so, and has declared an interest in PIB-d Ltd, a company which may eventually play a part in the development of UCD infrastructure. He hopes soon to be allowed to step back to a non-exec role.

Brief bios of all five follow:

John Harrison is an engineer and entrepreneur, and has worked in the linked fields of digital identity and User Control of Data for the last 20 years. He was the holder of two relevant technical patents. But he now believes that progress in the field depends not on further technology, but rather winning acceptance of coherent organisational, business, funding and governance models, together with a credible route to scale.

Rosemary Luckin is a UCL Professor and serves as: Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Commons Education Select Committee; Co-founder of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education; a member of the Office for Students’ Horizon Scanning panel; and the Director of EDUCATE – a London hub for Educational Technology StartUps. She is ‘one of the 20 most influential people in Education’ (Seldon List 2017).

Phil Booth coordinates medConfidential, which campaigns for confidentiality and consent in health and social care, seeking to ensure that every use of data within and around the NHS and care system is consensual, safe and transparent. Phil previously led NO2ID, campaigning successfully to defeat the introduction of ID cards and other ‘database state’ initiatives. His work has been recognised by awards from Privacy International and Liberty.

David Goodman is an expert in the linked areas of identity management, security, and data protection. He was, until recently, executive director of the Open Identity Exchange (OIX). Currently, he is a senior consultant for both TechVision Research and the Trust-in-Digital-Life association; and he contributes to the CyberSec4Europe H2020 project, focusing on Open Banking aspects and the essential matter of dissemination and communication.

Peter Seymour is a payments and Fintech expert, supporting innovation through better regulation and policy in the payments and telecom sectors. He served, for 14 years, as the head of government and public-sector for Vocalink, a payment-systems company subsequently purchased by Mastercard. Current UK clients include Pay.uk, LINK and HMRC. Particular interests include Open Banking and the potential of the related payment systems to save money by reducing transaction fees.