Nicola Hodson was appointed Chief Executive, IBM UK and Ireland, in January 2023, where she is responsible for the company’s business operations. Dr Hodson is an accomplished technology industry leader with a deep understanding of the challenges facing UK plc, as well as extensive experience in business and digital transformation. Dr Hodson held senior positions at Microsoft for 14 years, including as a global Vice President of Transformation for the commercial business, UK Chief Operating Officer and as head of its UK Public Sector business. Dr Hodson is Deputy President of tech UK, the trade association and has a wide breadth of experience, serving on the boards of Beazley plc, Drax Group plc, Bramble Energy Ltd and is a governor of Bradfield College. She formerly worked in the IT and business services division of Siemens, at CSC (now DXC), as a management consultant for EY and at BNFL. She was a non-executive director at energy regulator Ofgem and a board member at the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and at CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection group in the UK. Her qualifications include an MBA and a PhD in Engineering. Nicola is married with three sons and two stepsons, loves outdoor pursuits and is a keen motorbike enthusiast.