Join us for the first MD Tech Leader Talks of 2026, celebrating International Women’s Day with an inspiring all-female line-up of senior tech leaders.
As AI continues to reshape the digital and tech landscape, leaders are being asked to balance innovation with responsibility, pace with purpose, and opportunity with risk.
This Tech Leaders Lunch brings together senior women leading across digital, engineering and technology-driven organisations, with experience spanning both the public and private sectors.
The panel will explore what responsible leadership looks like in an AI era - from making ethical decisions at speed and building trust in intelligent systems, to empowering teams while remaining accountable for impact.
Taking place during International Women’s Day, the conversation will also reflect on the importance of diverse leadership in shaping technology that works for people, organisations and society.
Attendees can expect an open, thoughtful discussion grounded in real leadership experience, with practical insights to take back into their own roles.
Featuring speakers from DWP Digital, Arm, Kao Data and Zopa Bank.
📅 Date: Thursday 5th March 2026
🕒 Time: 12pm-2pm
📍 Location: Manchester (Venue TBA)
💷 Price: Manchester Digital members - Free (4 x tickets per company)
Non members - £30
Manchester Digital members, please check your emails/newsletters or speak to your Community Manager for your discount code to access free tickets.
Spaces are limited - secure your place to gain insight from these senior leaders and connect with peers.
To reserve your place, book your ticket today. This event is aimed at senior leaders and decision makers only, please email kate.wilson@manchesterdigital.com if this does not apply to you but you would like to attend. We reserve the right to cancel any orders.
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What to Expect?
- Networking Lunch: Connect with other senior leaders over a light lunch and refreshments.
- Inspiring Panel Discussion: Hear insights from leading women in tech as they share their experiences of innovation and progress.
- Q&A Session: Gain expert perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing women in tech leadership as they share their journeys and strategies for success.
Who Should Attend?
This event is for senior leaders, C-Level professionals, and decision-makers in tech and digital businesses across the North West who are eager to:
- Build connections with peers in the industry.
- Share and gain new perspectives on leadership and innovation.
- Celebrate the achievements of women in tech.
This is a unique opportunity for C-Level executives and senior leaders from the North West’s digital and tech sector to come together, share insights, and build meaningful connections.
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Speakers
Digital Director for Health and Disability
DWP Digital
Sara Bowley is the Digital Director for Health and Disability at DWP Digital, leading the transformation of health and disability services across the UK.
Before joining DWP Digital in 2024, Sara was Delivery Director at the BBC leading digital transformation and delivery of products including iPlayer and Sounds. She was also part of the team at the Government Digital Service (GDS) that launched GOV.UK.
With over 25 years’ experience working in digital across commercial, public services, media and charity sectors, Sara is an outcome focussed leader who advocates for a human centred approach to transforming digital public services. She is passionate about putting the user at the heart of the design and delivery process and building great teams empowered to deliver impact at scale.
Raised in Manchester, Sara is proud to champion the region’s tech sector and play an active role in strengthening the community. She is a committed advocate for women in tech, passionate about creating opportunities and inspiring more women to thrive.
Staff Software Engineer
Arm
Crefeda is a Staff Software Engineer and software architect at Arm, where she leads the technical direction of machine learning software components and frameworks for Arm server CPUs. Her role involves exploring new requirements, making architectural decisions, and guiding implementation with a strong focus on performance and scalability.
Previously, Crefeda was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, optimizing large-scale weather and climate models. She holds a PhD in energy-efficient machine learning, and her background spans machine learning systems, software architecture, and performance optimization.
Engineering Manager
Zopa Bank
Claire is an Engineering Manager at Zopa, working in the Payments tribe on payment journeys across all of Zopa’s products, including Biscuit, Zopa’s current account launched last year. Claire’s been at Zopa for two years, previously working at Prolific and Deliveroo, and originally got into tech through a coding bootcamp over a decade ago. Outside of work, she enjoys crafts of any sort, but especially making her own clothes.
Director of Marketing
Kao Data
Lizzy McDowell is the Director of Marketing at Kao Data. Kao Data leads the industry, pioneering the development and operation of UK data centres engineered for AI and advanced computing.
Their first data centre outside of London is set to open in Reddish, Stockport in 2027.
Lizzy is a proud champion of women in tech, and co-created Kao Data’s Critical Careers initiative, which highlights the amazing women within the data centre industry. This initiative launched a coffee table book featuring interviews with women in the data centre industry, as well as the Critical Careers podcast.
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At Manchester Digital, we believe in creating an inclusive and diverse community where everyone feels welcome and valued. We are committed to ensuring that all our event attendees have a safe, enjoyable experience that meets their needs.
We invite all attendees to contact us if they have any dietary requirements, accessibility needs, or neurodiversity requirements, or if they require accommodations to respect their cultural or religious needs during their visit. We believe that by working together, we can create an environment that is welcoming to all and allows everyone to fully participate in our events.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to hear from you and to work with you to ensure that our events are accessible and inclusive for everyone.
Please flag any special dietary or accessibility requirements to info@manchesterdigital.com as soon as possible.
You can download our Code of Conduct here.
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Bring a Tin
We're encouraging all event attendees to bring a tin of food to donate to Mustard Tree, a Manchester charity supporting people facing poverty and homelessness. It’s a small act that could make a big difference. Donations can also be made on the day.
Let’s make doing good part of what we do—together, and let’s make kindness part of the culture.
Read more about Bring a Tin
