Tech Innovation in Homecare Conference 2026

Dr Jane Townson OBE

Chief Executive, Homecare Association

Jane Townson is CEO of the Homecare Association. She has extensive experience in the social care, health, housing and technology sectors. Chair of the Board of Kraydel; formerly CEO Somerset Care Group; and Chairman YourLife (JV with McCarthy & Stone). Jane’s first career was in international leadership roles in research and development in ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta, where she was Global Head of Bioscience Research. She then established her own business providing consultancy and training on the link between lifestyle factors and public health, working with private individuals and public sector organisations.

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Associate Professor Rebecca Bilton

Program and Research Director, Aged care Research and Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA)

Bec works and lives on Kaurna country in Adelaide, South Australia. She is the Program and Research Director of ARIIA, an aged care support organisation that delivers national capability building and knowledge mobilisation programs to increase aged workforce capability to implement best practice, innovate and embed technology. Her career, experiences and achievements have been underpinned by her role as a boundary spanner – to ensure knowledge is shared between research, best practice and service delivery to achieve practical solutions-focused outcomes for vulnerable Australians.

Professor Richard Harding

Business Development Manager, Science and Technology Facilities Council

Richard is a seasoned R&D and innovation leader with over 20 years’ experience translating emerging technologies into real-world impact. He has a strong track record of developing technology strategies, launching new programmes, building cross-organisational partnerships, and driving complex initiatives from concept through to delivery.

With experience spanning healthcare, digital innovation, AI, emerging technologies and high-performance computing, Richard is skilled at connecting business and societal needs with technological opportunity. He is recognised as a strategic thinker, programme leader, partnership builder and innovation enabler, with a particular expertise in technology adoption and scale-up.

Richard has held a range of national and international advisory and academic roles, including work with the UK Government’s Quantum Technologies programme, the UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing, the DHSC, and the NIHR Innovation Observatory. He is also a Visiting Professor and Chair of Digital Health, Social Work and Sport at the University of Lincoln.

He holds an MSc in Assistive Technology from Coventry University and brings a distinctive ability to work across disciplines, organisations and technology domains—acting as a bridge between emerging technology, organisational strategy and the people and communities those technologies are intended to serve.

Daniel Casson

Managing Director, Casson Consulting

Daniel is an independent consultant specialising in transformation and innovation in social care. He advises care providers, public bodies and technology companies on applying practical innovation. His experience spans digital strategy, AI adoption, data security and implementation.

Daniel is experienced in leading thought leadership forums in social care over many years. His focus is on how AI & technology can drive value for all the people in the coproduction circle and for the health and care system. His special interest is in how technological innovation can level the playing field for people who require care & support.

Daniel's work focuses on prevention, integrated care and community‑based models. He has authored national reports, co‑chaired policy work and founded Care England’s Digital SIG. He directs the Care Perspective Series (sponsored by the Access Group), is on the DHSC’s Digital Social Care Advisory Group and co‑leads the AI in Social Care Alliance (a collaboration of care providers, people who draw on care & support, care workers and tech companies).

Daniel is a governor of the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Lee Gilbert

Chief Marketing Officer, Nourish Care

Lee is Chief Marketing Officer at Nourish Care, a digital long-term care planning platform that puts the person at the centre. She has spent the past five years working in healthcare technology across the UK and North America. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, Lee has built and grown innovative businesses, particularly in areas where needs have been underserved. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, health, social care and education, driven by curiosity, a desire to challenge the status quo and a commitment to measurable social impact. Her focus is simple: better commissioning, better systems and a louder voice for the person receiving care.

Jennifer Pearl

Expert by Experience, CQC

If you have the right support, anything is possible. Jennifer believes in using the lived experience of disability in shaping services. When everything comes together, she can literally fly a microlight or race at Silverstone.

Jennifer serves on the National Co-Production Advisory Group (NCAG) of Think Local Act Personal,  where at national and local level, the group co-produces services. She works as an Expert by Experience for the Care Quality Commission and is a Trustee for Inclusion Barnet, a deaf and disabled people’s organisation. 

Jennifer is also a Project Advisor for Kent University’s research on the cost-benefit of domiciliary care and is on the project group for the AI in Care Alliance with Oxford University Ethics.

Jennifer loves using tech which supports her to be as independent as possible.

Ben Pumphrey

Legal Director, Anthony Collins Solicitors

As head of data governance, Ben specialises in data protection law, privacy and cybersecurity. With over a decade of experience as a solicitor, Ben advises public and private sector clients on a broad range of data governance and privacy-related issues, including data breach responses, cyber risk and compliance with both UK and international privacy laws.

Ben’s practice has encompassed advising a range of organisations on their data protection obligations, from global corporates to third-sector and charitable organisations. Ben has particular expertise in healthcare and local government. He regularly advises health and social care providers and NHS Trusts on their data governance programmes, privacy and AI risk assessments and cross-border data transfer issues. His work also includes responding to freedom of information requests, and he has supported clients in embedding robust data terms into commercial agreements.

Ben provides insights on digital health and the impact of AI on healthcare data and having been a trustee for a third-sector organisation, he has a deep understanding of the not-for-profit sector. He’s passionate about using his expertise to deliver socially impactful outcomes and help clients navigate the evolving legal landscape around data and technology.

Carly Rochester

Co-Founder & Director, My Employment Ltd (ME Passport)

James Sinclair

Chief Operating Officer and Evaluation Lead, Care City

James is COO and Evaluation Lead at Care City, an independent social enterprise on a mission to create radically better health and social care. Care City designs, tests and scales innovations that help people live the lives they want, delivering local impact with national significance.

Since joining in 2022, James has led several large-scale impact, process and economic evaluations of technology-enabled care programmes. He has also led major transformation programmes, including remote monitoring in domiciliary care, enhanced roles in social care, and business case development for large-scale care technology procurement.

Prior to Care City, James led clinical research delivery across a large community and mental health trust. 

Barry Sweetbaum MBE

Founder & Managing Director, SweetTree Home Care Services

Barry brings decades of leadership experience spanning both the NHS and the private healthcare sector. A former COO and Board member of Barchester Healthcare, he founded SweetTree Home Care Services in 2002; now a twice-rated 'Outstanding' domiciliary care provider known for its high-quality, specialist support.

Barry's commitment to tech-enabled care has driven the development of two key innovations: SOMA, an outcome monitoring and attainment tool that brings transparency to individual progress reporting, and SweetTree Connect, a falls prevention and environmental monitoring system designed to enhance both safety and independence.

This dedication to quality and innovation has earned SweetTree multiple industry accolades, including the Best Use of Technology in Care award at the 2025 Neurological & Complex Care Awards.

Katie Thorn

Director of Innovation, Digital Care Hub

Katie is the Director of Innovation for the Digital Care Hub. She has played a significant role in advocating for and implementing digital solutions in social care and is the co-convener of the AI in Care Alliance.

Her work focuses on ensuring that digital innovations in social care are used ethically and effectively.

Her background includes working in nursing homes as both a carer and in operations. For the past decade she has worked on national digitisation programmes focussed on front line adult social care in the UK and interoperability between the NHS and social care.

Katie is a member of the UK Caldicott Guardian Council and sits on several academic advisory boards focussing on adult social care digitisation.

Katie has been recognised for her work supporting care providers by receiving The Woman in Tech award at the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care (WAGS) awards (2022) and the NHS England Award in the Public Service Category of the National Cyber Awards (2023).

Tim Wilson

Managing Director, Assist Care Group

Tim Wilson joined the domiciliary care sector in 2009, taking his franchise independent in 2015. As the Managing Director of Assist Care Group, he has successfully overseen the growth and expansion of the company across Surrey and West Sussex, with an ethos centred on quality and customer satisfaction and partnership working with the Local Authority.

Before joining the healthcare sector, Tim accrued invaluable experience working in the technology sector, including roles at two of the world's top five tech firms, where he leveraged his expertise as a technology consultant. Tim is committed to integrating technology into Social Care to enhance operational efficiency and transparency.