Government Appoints Lesley Cowley as Chair of Building Digital UK Agency
The Government (DSIT) has this morning announced that they’ve appointed Lesley Cowley OBE to be the new Chair of their broadband and mobile centric Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency. The development comes after former Chair, Simon Blagden, resigned from his position back in July 2024 (here) and was replaced by Hazel Hobbs (Interim Chair).
The announcement follows shortly after the publication of the government’s latest 2025 Spending Review, which among other things revealed that £1.9bn of funding had been committed to fixed broadband and mobile projects (from existing budgets) over the next few years. But it also confirmed a delay to the gigabit broadband roll-out target from 2030 to 2032.
The new BDUK Chair, as appointed today by the Technology Secretary (Peter Kyle), will thus need to oversee the delivery side of the Government’s ambitions for digital infrastructure – many of which were inherited from the previous government and remain largely unchanged.
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Lesley’s previous executive career culminated in her role as CEO of UK internet domain registry Nominet, where for over a decade she led various changes. She was later appointed OBE in recognition of her services to the internet and digital economy.
In her subsequent career, Lesley was the first Chair of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Chair of Companies House and Lead Non-Executive Director and then first ever Chair of The National Archives. Her current roles include Chair of ACL Ltd and a Non-Executive Director of Public Digital Ltd., both private companies. She was the Institute of Directors UK NED of the Year Winner, 2019.
Chair of BDUK, Lesley Cowley OBE, said:
“It is a privilege to join Building Digital UK at such a pivotal moment in its journey. The challenge of ensuring every corner of the UK benefits from fast, reliable digital infrastructure is one I am deeply passionate about.
BDUK is a critical enabler of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, helping to grow the economy while ensuring communities are not left behind in the digital age. Working alongside the talented team at BDUK, we will continue to deliver on our mission of creating a more connected, inclusive, and digitally empowered nation.”
Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:
“Lesley’s commitment to making a positive difference to public facing services, together with her track record in leading digital transformation and delivering innovative solutions, make her an outstanding choice for Chair of Building Digital UK.
She will be instrumental in helping us deliver on our growth mission, by continuing to drive forward our ambitious plans for better connectivity across the every part of UK, making communities and businesses better off.”
Lesley will take up the post on 1st July 2025, taking over from Hazel Hobbs who has served as interim Chair since August 2024.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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“Government’s ambitions for digital infrastructure”……..Looking at how the past 25 years have gone within the broadband sector, I think its fair to say its all smoke and mirrors and they don’t have any ambition!
The postponement means that the completion of the project will not now happen until at least two years after the next general election is due to take place in late summer 2029.
In the event that the project’s objectives are not completed within the timescales of the project, then the failings can reasonably be defended on the basis that the uncompleted tasks are planned to be completed in the last two years vs the previous few months under the former schedule, which would be harder to defend. Labour might still win the next election, in which it would be liable to honour the objectives upon election, but it also allows the government some flexibility on the funding without providing evidence of failing to deliver commitments.