Our leadership team

UKCloud was established in 2012 to align with the UK government’s ICT and digital strategies and to deliver a portfolio of assured, agile, highly-automated cloud services that offer improved performance and better value for money, and hence make a real difference to the delivery of IT services in the public sector.

Focused exclusively on the UK Public Sector and structured around assurance, process compliance and service delivery, UKCloud has an experienced team with the capability and capacity to grow the business well beyond its current scale. Our Board of Directors are all experienced and successful business people and entrepreneurs. As a team they are focused on shaping our strategy and operations going forward to ensure continued success and growth.

Jeffrey Thomas,
Chairman

Jeffrey has over 25 years of senior management experience in IT, property, entertainment and logistics in the UK, Europe and USA and has been involved with UKCloud since its inception. Prior to UKCloud, Jeff founded Ark Data Centres, a leading provider of secure, available, agile, sustainable data centres, where he is now the Non-Exec Chairman.

Jeremy Sanders,
Chief Strategy Officer

Jeremy has developed entrepreneurial businesses over the last 25 years and has extensive commercial and executive experience in growth markets with start-ups, business development, strategy and risk and cultural change. Jeremy has a keen interest in connecting commercial and social capacities into the current digital revolution. He is a director of Hadston Limited (a developer of innovative digital communities and infrastructure), Corsham Institute (a UK HE centre for digital society learning, research, development and enterprise) and Hartham Park Community Energy Limited (a community energy enterprise). Jeremy was formally a director of Spruce Homes PLC (real estate), founder and Chairman of koh-san and ARC recording studios, director of Gourlay Limited (travel and leisure) and a partner at Principal Consulting.

Simon Hansford,
Chief Executive Officer

Simon is the CEO of UKCloud. As co-founder, Simon specified the strategy, design and build of the UKCloud platform. As CEO he now oversees the entire business, its operation and continual development. Prior to UKCloud he held numerous leadership and board positions within the hosting industry including co-founding one of the UK’s leading Managed Service Providers. Previously, Simon has held a number of senior technical, product and marketing roles at Novell & Dell Computer Corporation. Simon is also a father of four, keen cyclist and triathlete.

William Ginn,
Chief Financial Officer

William has over 20 years’ experience in senior finance roles within the telecoms and technology sector, most recently in portfolio companies for some of the top VC/PE houses to include Cambridge Broadband Networks , Manx Telecom and Solution1. William’s earlier career was spent mostly in various roles within the Cable and Wireless Group, as CFO of their US operation and as head of finance of the UK Wholesale Business, which grew organically from £450m to £1bn on his watch, and which remains the fastest growing business in C&W’s 130 year history.

Sharon Brittan,
Non-Executive
Director

During a career spanning more than 25 years Sharon has completed multiple real estate development projects and now advises on investment and asset management. Her achievements included co-founder and CEO of Britannia Row Business Centre, an award-winning property offering flexible workspace solutions; CEO of One Alfred Place, a private members business club in the West End of London which offers stylish, flexible work and meeting facilities where entrepreneurs and professionals combine to form a unique community; and CEO and Investment Director for a family office managing a portfolio of property, lifestyle and technology investments. First and foremost Sharon is the proud mother of four children. She is also passionate in her support for initiatives that give children the best possible start in life.

James Austin,
Non-Executive
Director

James is a non-executive director. James works at the Business Growth Fund and is responsible for the origination and execution of investments in Wales and South West England, with a focus on Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and Dorset. After qualifying as a chartered accountant in Glasgow, James specialised in corporate finance transactions surrounding privately owned companies, typically in the SME space. He has worked in the South and South West of England for more than 10 years including as a Director in the RBS Structured Finance Southern team and latterly as an Investment Director in LDC, the Lloyds Banking Group owned private equity house. He has experience of a broad range of sectors and transaction types but always with a bias towards growth companies and with a particular interest in businesses that have the ability to scale rapidly and the qualities of the management teams that are required to support them. James enjoys golf, rugby and most sports but is usually diverted by three small children and two large dogs.