Kathryn Parsons Keynote Speaker

Kathryn Parsons MBE is the founder of Decoded, a world-leading technology education company established over a decade ago with a mission to decode the digital world.

Decoded is the go-to educator for boards and leadership teams across the Global 2000 seeking to accelerate their understanding of business-critical emerging technologies. Its academies, bootcamps, and apprenticeships comprise one of the world’s most extensive suites of AI upskilling and reskilling programs, offering qualifications in advanced analytics, data engineering, software development, generative AI, and executive-level data science.

Kathryn is also a guest contributor to The Sunday Times Business, The Financial Times and BBC reflecting on global technology developments. Her work explores themes such as the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work, education, and mental health, as well as the implications of emerging technologies for national security, productivity, and economic growth. As part of her work, Kathryn interviews the world’s most pre-eminent thinkers and leaders across technology, policy, and enterprise to bring cutting-edge insights on the impact of technology on society.

Kathryn advises boards and leadership teams around the world on how to adapt to emerging technologies, focusing on the capabilities, cultures, tools, and ways of working needed to do so. In 2024, her research into the AI deployment strategies of more than thirty global organizations was featured in The Times of London. The research revealed a striking gap between the pace of technological development in AI and its practical application within businesses, and some of the reasons why.

She co-chairs GBx Global, a non-profit community of British founders, executives, and investors in the Bay Area which last year raised over $10 billion for their enterprises and funds. Kathryn served on the board of the UK Department for Business from 2016–2020 and has been a board advisor to Number Ten Downing Street, HM Treasury, the Mayor of London, and the Royal United Services Institute. She was awarded an MBE for Services to Education by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

At this moment of profound technological change, Kathryn is on a mission to ensure that the benefits of technology reach everyone.

Named Digital Leader of the Year by the Financial Times and one of its Top 30 Female Entrepreneurs, Kathryn has been featured by The FT, BBC, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Wired, Bloomberg, CNBC, GQ, and more.