Specialist Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Chatbots
Digital Transformation
Digital Disruption
Coding
Rewiring Businesses
Digital Education
Cyber Security
Data Privacy
Women in Technology
Entrepreneurship
Motivational Speaking
Permission to Learn
How to embrace lifelong learning
Giving ourselves Permission to Learn
Kathryn Parsons
Kathryn Parsons is founder and CEO of Decoded, a technology education company founded with a mission to put the skills of the future in everyone’s hands. Decoded’s bootcamps and apprenticeship programs have upskilled and reskilled over half a million people into roles such as software development, data engineering and product management. Decoded’s leadership training is the go-to for boards and policymakers worldwide with clients spanning Unilever, US Congress, UK Government, Chanel, Aviva, Citi, Mastercard, HSBC and beyond.
The future of work is changing. Over fifty percent of the roles which exist today will be automated by artificial intelligence and at a speed that few governments, businesses or individuals are prepared for. The ones who will succeed will be those who can most rapidly and confidently adapt to new ways of working.
Kathryn believes that anyone can embrace the skillsets of the future, if they are given the permission to learn. It is a belief inspired by her own personal lifelong learning journey which took her from studying the languages of the past to the languages of technology.
In her spare time, Kathryn is a guest contributor to The Sunday Times Business where, from her home in San Francisco, she has reported on the demise of FTX, the acquisition of Twitter, the launch of ChatGPT, the impact of generative AI on education and on the AI deployment strategies of large organisations. Kathryn has also reported on the AI Security Summit for the Financial Times and produced a BBC Radio 4 series decoding the technology superpowers of China and Russia.
In 2014, Kathryn campaigned successfully for coding to be included as a mandatory subject on the UK National Curriculum, making it one of the first countries in the world to do so. As a result, millions of children have now been introduced to computational thinking in the classroom.
In recognition, Kathryn received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for Services to Education.
Kathryn has sat on the boards of the UK government Department for Business and business advisory boards for the London Mayor and Number 10 Downing Street.
She has won many awards for her contributions to entrepreneurship and technology including being named Veuve Clicquot’s New Generation Award, FT’s Top 30 Women in Tech and Global Positive Impact Entrepreneur of the Year.
She is a popular keynote speaker on the topics of lifelong learning, workplace culture and artificial intelligence and has inspired ten of thousands of people to overcome their fears and embrace the digital world.
Testimonials
“Parsons is considered internationally as one of the most influential people in technology today”
“A woman on a mission to teach us all to code”
“Decoded’s evangelical, and reassuringly ethical, vision has gained traction among the bosses of many of the hardest-nosed businesses…Decoded has trained thousands of people ranging from start-ups to the c-suite of multinational firms.”
“Helping businesses bridge the divide between digitally literate programmers and those who do not understand technology — often a company’s leadership — is a big part of Decoded’s mission”
Kathryn was a great success and her energy and passion was so refreshing. I hope to work with Kathryn and Riva Media again in the future.
