Will Cavendish

Dr Will Cavendish joined Arup in February 2018. He is both Arup's Global Head of Digital Services, and Leader of Arup’s global network of Advanced Digital Engineering Groups. In these roles he is responsible for leading Arup’s work to support clients to take advantage of the major transformation in their world that is being brought about by digital and other advanced technologies. While at Arup, he has worked at senior level with clients around the world, and in sectors as varied as property, cities, aviation, rail, highways, energy, and technology. Previously he was Applied Strategy Lead at DeepMind, responsible for understanding the groundbreaking developments taking place in Artificial Intelligence, and working with key partners to apply them for public good in areas such as health and energy. Before that he was a senior civil servant, including roles as Director General for Innovation, Growth and Technology at the Department of Health; Director General, International Energy and Climate Change at DECC, and head of the Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit, working directly to then-PM David Cameron. As a result, he has wide-ranging experience of achieving change in areas such as digital, health, education, energy and climate change, cybersecurity, growth and innovation. When in government, he also led the creation of the \ network of What Works Centres, set up to provide proper evidence on effective uses of public money, and pioneered the use of transparency and crowdsourcing in policy making. Will has also served as a World Bank economist; has lectured at Oxford University and Imperial College; has a doctorate in economics; and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath by the Queen in 2015.