Government appoints new tech tsar

The UK has a new technology tsar in the form of Airbus UK managing director, Iain Gilmour Gray.

Today's announcement will make Gray responsible for advising all government departments on technology-related policies and the development of a joined-up delivery strategy as chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

The TSB is part of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), formed as part of the government reorganisation that cam with the appointment of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister at the end of June.

The TSB was established on 1 July and has a remit to promote and support research, development and application of technology to benefit UK business and foster economic growth.

The DIUS brings together functions from the former Department of Trade and Industry, including responsibilities for science and innovation, with further and higher education and skills, previously part of the Department for Education and Skills.

A 25-year veteran enterprise technology expert, Miya Knights applies her deep understanding of technology gained through her journalism career to both her role as a consultant and as director at Retail Technology Magazine, which she helped shape over the past 17 years. Miya was educated at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree in English.

Her role as a journalist has seen her write for many of the leading technology publishers in the UK such as ITPro, TechWeekEurope, CIO UK, Computer Weekly, and also a number of national newspapers including The Times, Independent, and Financial Times.