James Stewart (He / him)

James Stewart is a Partner and the Chief Technology Officer at Public Digital, helping global organisations thrive in the Internet-era by advising on all aspects of digital change, from strategy to delivery. Drawing on 25 years of experience in leading technology teams and developing and operating digital services, James focuses on enabling wholesale digital transformation across the public and private sectors.

A recognised leader in Digital Public Infrastructure, in recent years James’ work has focused on work with global institutions driving and funding digital change. He works with global funders to develop strategies that equip governments to achieve development outcomes digitally and has worked with the World Bank, IMF, and the Gates Foundation, as well as various UN agencies and regional development banks.

Prior to joining Public Digital, James was a co-founder of the groundbreaking UK Government Digital Service (GDS), where they played a key role in the creation of GOV.UK, the single website for the UK government. GOV.UK has been widely celebrated, winning multiple design awards and saving billions of pounds for taxpayers. During this foundational period, James led the government’s cloud, hosting, and networking policy, and contributed to the formation of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The work led by the GDS team was described by O'Reilly Radar as "the default for how government should approach their online efforts in the 21st century."

James is passionate about embedding essential internet-era practices, such as agile delivery, user-centric design, and open source development, in organisations of all sizes and shapes. He frequently share their insights and expertise as a public speaker and holds positions as a non-executive director.