Civo, the cloud provider engineered for data sovereignty and advanced AI workloads, today announced the speaker lineup for Civo Navigate London 2025. The lineup includes Kelsey Hightower, one of cloud computing’s most influential voices, Dr Ben Spencer MP, Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, and The Rt Hon Lord Maude, former Cabinet Office Minister and long-standing advocate for reform in public sector technology and procurement. Civo Navigate London takes place on Tuesday 30th September at Convene, 155 Bishopsgate. It will explore the critical intersections of cloud, AI, and digital sovereignty, with a flagship panel focused on the future of sovereign cloud and UK digital policy.

These critical conversations come at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, as businesses and governments reassess how and where digital systems are built. Now in its third year, Civo Navigate London is expected to welcome over 800 senior leaders from political, technology, academic and industry circles, creating a rare forum for dialogue between policymakers and the builders of tomorrow’s digital infrastructure.

The latest addition to the Civo Navigate agenda, the digital sovereignty panel, will open with introductory remarks by The Rt Hon Lord Maude, former Cabinet Office Minister and one of the UK’s most experienced reformers of public sector technology. As Cabinet Office Minister, Lord Maude spearheaded the creation of the Government Digital Service (GDS) in 2011, the team behind the gov.uk platform and a pioneer in public sector digital transformation. A long-standing advocate for transparency, competition and smarter digital delivery in government, Lord Maude brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in how policy can unlock more open and resilient infrastructure.

Joining the sovereignty panel is Dr Ben Spencer MP. As shadow Minister for DSIT, Spencer plays a key role in shaping the UK's future approach to AI, cloud computing and digital resilience. At Civo Navigate London, he will lead a flagship discussion on digital sovereignty, exploring how the UK can build secure, open and future-proof infrastructure while responding to geopolitical pressures and rapid technological change. The panel will also feature:

  • Johan David Michels, Researcher, Cloud Legal Project, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London
  • Greg Noone, Editor, Tech Monitor

Among the day’s highlights is a keynote from Kelsey Hightower, one of the most recognisable and respected figures in the global cloud community. Known for his work advancing open-source technologies and simplifying cloud adoption, Hightower’s keynote will explore the convergence of cloud-native infrastructure and AI and what it means for developers, businesses and policy-makers.

Kelsey Hightower’s return to the stage marks one of his few public speaking engagements since stepping back from Google Cloud, making this a rare chance to hear directly from a figure who has helped shape the modern cloud-native movement.

Civo CEO Mark Boost will also take to the stage as a keynote speaker to share his vision for the future of cloud, highlighting how organisations can build more open, sovereign and resilient digital infrastructure.

Set against the backdrop of rapidly changing AI regulation and growing concerns over infrastructure sovereignty, Civo Navigate London has become a key gathering for those shaping the future of digital systems. The event will feature keynotes, expert panels, technical workshops and networking sessions, with a focus on enabling open innovation while addressing real-world policy and security challenges.

Mark Boost, CEO of Civo said: “We’re at a critical moment where cloud and AI decisions have become entangled with geopolitical strategy. With rising tariffs and protectionist policies, businesses are rightly more concerned than ever about where their data lives, who controls their infrastructure, and how resilient their digital operations really are.

Civo Navigate is about bringing together the people who are building the next generation of cloud-native tools with those shaping policy and regulation. It’s time we had honest conversations about sovereignty and the future of digital infrastructure and there’s no better place to do that than here.”

Find out more about the event here.