The Wales Technology Awards esteemed panel of judges for our tenth anniversary are visionary leaders and experts. They each bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the judging process to allow the Awards to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements in the Welsh tech industry. Below, you can learn more about the panel and their diverse backgrounds, industry insights, and dedication to fostering technological advancement in Wales and beyond.

Jacqui Murray is the Director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult for South Wales​. Her background is in the Welsh steel industry, environmental regulation, UK battery and advanced materials innovation. Jacqui's role is to ensure Wales has exceptional links to the entire HVMC network, provide leadership to Welsh manufacturing at a strategic level and through a digital factory hub inspire a greater adoption of digital and automation tools increase productivity.  

She continues as chair of the £65m SmartNanoNI Advisory Group and previously held the positions of Chief Operating Officer of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and Deputy Director of the £611m million Faraday Battery Challenge, where she helped lead government investment to develop batteries that are cost-effective, high-quality, durable, safe, low-weight and recyclable. She is a member of the UK Government Battery Taskforce. Jacqui continues to advocate for diversity and inclusion in engineering and the positive impact that manufacturing brings to our communities and the UK.

Professor Tom Crick MBE is Professor of Digital Policy​ at Swansea University and Chief Scientific Adviser​ at the UK Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He brings with him a wealth of experience as an interdisciplinary computer scientist across AI, data science and cyber security. His interests sit at the research-policy-practice interface, identifying and addressing domain problems with broad digital, data-driven and computational themes, and especially focusing on the impact on citizens, culture and the economy.

Tom has led the major science and technology curriculum reforms in Wales over the past 10 years, and has recently driven the development of Swansea University's civic mission strategy. He was an inaugural Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales from 2018-2022, as well as a member of the expert panel for the Welsh Government's 2019 Review of Digital Innovation for the Economy and the Future of Work in Wales. Alongside his academic work, Tom has held senior advisory roles with Nesta, Ofcom, and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, as well as non-executive roles in the utilities, engineering/manufacturing, and health sectors.

Tom is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and the Academy of Social Sciences, as well as a Chartered Fellow of the BCS and IET. He was appointed MBE in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to computer science.