Sarah Milton-Hunt is the CEO and Founder of Data Smart, a specialist advisory and consultancy business helping organisations respond to the accelerating impact of AI, data and automation on strategy, operating models and competitive advantage.

A board-level digital, data and technology leader, Sarah operates at the intersection of enterprise transformation, critical infrastructure, and AI-enabled business reinvention. She is recognised for helping boards and executive teams translate complex technology landscapes into clear strategic choices, scalable operating models and measurable business outcomes.

Through Data Smart, Sarah works with organisations to move beyond technology adoption and towards genuine competitive advantage. Her focus is on helping leaders understand how data, AI and agentic systems can reshape operating models, accelerate decision-making, improve resilience and unlock new sources of value. She brings a distinctive combination of commercial acumen, regulatory understanding, delivery credibility and human-centred leadership.

Before founding Data Smart, Sarah held senior executive technology roles across National Grid, NTT DATA, P&O Ferries, HP and BAA. Most recently, she served as Chief Information and Digital Officer for National Grid Ventures, where she led digital, data and technology strategy across the UK and US. Her work supported growth, new market entry and the expansion of a £10bn+ international infrastructure portfolio, including AI-enabled capabilities for market participation.

Prior to this, Sarah was Chief Information and Digital Officer for National Grid Electricity Transmission and Strategic Infrastructure, leading enterprise-wide digital, data and technology transformation in support of the UK’s Net Zero agenda. She established a business-embedded digital and data operating model, developed enterprise data strategy and directed the digital component of the RIIO-T3 regulatory submission, securing unprecedented confidence in digital investment and enabling the foundations required for major national infrastructure expansion.

Sarah has also directed major transformation, cloud, cyber and resilience programmes across EMEA and Latin America for NTT DATA, and served as CIO of P&O Ferries, where she defined and delivered the transformation architecture, technology operating model and digital capabilities required to support growth, commercial improvement and business change.

Across more than 20 years, Sarah has built a reputation for turning digital ambition into enterprise value. She has led large-scale transformation in complex, regulated and asset-intensive environments; built high-performing multi-disciplinary teams; secured significant investment; and helped organisations develop the strategic, operational and leadership capability required to compete in fast-changing markets.

Selected Leadership Impact

• Founded Data Smart to help organisations respond to the accelerating impact of AI, data and automation on strategy, operating models and competitive advantage.
• Led digital, data and technology strategy for critical national infrastructure and global energy markets across the UK and US.
• Enabled expansion of a £10bn+ international infrastructure portfolio and entry into competitive markets.
• Directed AI-enabled and agentic platform development to accelerate market competition.
• Secured unprecedented regulatory confidence for IT, Digital and Data investment, including a major uplift in regulatory investment.
• Helped enable delivery of a £30bn national infrastructure programme through digital strategy, data capability and operating model transformation.
• Established enterprise digital and data operating models adopted as scalable standards across complex infrastructure environments.
• Led major transformation, cloud, cyber and resilience programmes across EMEA and Latin America.
• Contributed to significant company valuation uplift through digital transformation, operating model redesign and commercial performance improvement.
• Built and led high-performing, multi-disciplinary technology teams across regulated, international and business-critical environments.

Areas of Expertise

Board advisory and executive strategy
Digital, data and AI strategy; technology-enabled business model reinvention; board and ExCo advisory; strategic investment cases; regulatory and stakeholder influence.

Data, AI and agentic systems
AI-enabled operating models; enterprise data strategy; agentic digital ecosystems; predictive analytics; intelligent decision-support; AI readiness and adoption.

Transformation and operating models
Enterprise transformation; digital operating model design; product-led delivery; cyber and resilience programmes; cloud and enterprise platforms; large-scale programme delivery.

Sectors
Energy and utilities; critical national infrastructure; regulated businesses; transport and logistics; enterprise technology; finance; FMCG; media and digital industries.

Leadership Signature

Sarah combines strategic clarity with delivery discipline. She is valued by boards, founders and executive teams for making complex technology decisions commercially relevant, operationally deliverable and aligned to long-term value creation. Her leadership style is pragmatic, ambitious and human-centred, helping organisations build the confidence, capability and momentum needed to thrive in an AI-shaped future.

 Anoop is a recognized thought leader and public speaker in Data & AI with over 24 years of experience across Europe and Africa, currently serving as VP and Head of Data & AI at Thoughtworks. He brings a strong track record from senior Data & AI leadership roles at Cognizant and LTM, with deep expertise in data monetization, AI at scale, and outcome-based delivery using integrated data products and agentic AI. Anoop has led complex, multi-million dollar AI business case executions at enterprise scale — translating investments into structured roadmaps with clear value realization milestones across revenue uplift, cost optimization, and process redesign. He has driven AI-led operating model transformations in large enterprises, reimagining organizational structures and ways of working around AI-first principles. A trusted C-suite and board-level advisor, Anoop helps enterprise leaders design AI strategies, build compelling business cases, and navigate large-scale transformation with confidence. He is a frequent industry speaker, bringing a sharp practitioner's perspective on delivering real, measurable business impact through Data and AI.