Digital Heroes - Neil Williams
I recently had the pleasure of heading to the big smoke to interview the lovely Neil Williams to bring back our Digital Heroes series. He's just left GDS after 7 years and will soon be starting his new role as Chief Digital Officer at Croydon Council. We sat down for a coffee (in the very swanky GDS offices in Aldgate East) and had a chat about all the cool things he's worked on in the past 7 years, and all the good stuff to come in Croydon. \r
I recently had the pleasure of heading to the big smoke to interview the lovely Neil Williams and bring back our Digital Heroes series.
Neil has just left GDS after seven years and will soon be starting his new role as Chief Digital Officer at Croydon Council. We sat down for a coffee (in the very swanky GDS offices in Aldgate East) and chatted about all the exciting things he’s worked on over the past seven years—and what’s to come in Croydon.
1. What’s your name and where are you from?
My name is Neil Williams and I’m a farmer’s son from Devon who somehow ended up in digital. My family are all in Tiverton, but I now live in Crystal Palace, a.k.a. #thecronx.
2. What do you do for a living?
Until recently, I was Head of GOV.UK, but I’ll soon be starting as Chief Digital Officer at Croydon Council.
3. Favourite band or artist?
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are my favourite band. In terms of artists, I love Benga from the Cronx—one of the forefathers of dubstep. Diary of an Afro Warrior would be one of my Desert Island Discs.
I’m a big fan of the local Croydon music scene, and a lot of my favourite artists are from there.
4. Creature of habit or maverick thinker?
I’d say I’ve got a bit of a split personality. I’m definitely a creature of habit at home—very domestic, love a routine, which I guess comes with parenting.
At work, though, I’m more of a maverick thinker. I like to shake things up and do things differently—I get bored otherwise. I enjoy taking on new challenges, which probably explains the change in role. It’s time to disrupt something else.
5. Biscuits—dunk or leave unsullied?
I think I’m a dunker. What is the point of a biscuit if not to dunk it?! Unless it’s a fancy cookie that won’t fit in a mug.
Your average packaged biscuit is surely made for dunking.
(Bonus: Neil’s favourite biscuit is a fruit shortcake.)
6. It’s an interesting time for democracy. Where do you see digital democracy going in the next few years?
During my time in the civil service, we did a lot of work around digital democracy—it felt like an exciting new frontier.
There’s huge potential for it in local government—co-creating services with the people they affect, with digital tools playing a big role. One of the reasons I’m excited about moving from central to local government is being closer to users. GOV.UK has massive reach, but it can feel quite distant from the people using it.
I think we might see e-voting at some point, but we’re not there yet—the risks are still too great.
7. What inspired your move after seven years at GDS?
I saw the Croydon role advertised and was immediately excited. I’d thought about leaving for a while, but new projects at GOV.UK kept pulling me back in.
When this role came up, it just felt perfect—too good to pass up. It’s my local area, and I really care about it. Croydon is going to see a lot of change and regeneration in the coming years, and I want to be part of that.
It’s also a broader role—covering smart cities and the growing tech sector in Croydon. After focusing on one thing for seven years, it’ll be great to take on a wider set of challenges.
8. What was your highlight at GDS?
It has to be the initial launch of GOV.UK.
It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my career—working at breakneck speed to shut down multiple government department websites and replace them with one centralised platform.
We learned so much, so quickly—about agile, user needs, and service design—and it had a huge cultural impact. People expected it to fail, and proving them wrong was incredibly exciting.
Walking into Number 10 and telling them we were shutting their website down and replacing it with something simpler and more user-friendly—that was a real moment.
9. What’s the coolest thing about GOV.UK?
The unwavering focus on simplicity—across design, content, and functionality.
We resisted pressure to make it more complex or “rich-media-heavy,” and that simplicity has stood the test of time. It’s even been copied internationally.
There’s also some step-by-step navigation work in the pipeline that’s going to be game-changing. It will bring services together into clear, streamlined processes—especially important in sensitive situations, like reporting a death, where users are particularly vulnerable.
10. When was the “golden era” of GDS for you?
The official answer is that it’s all been great—but honestly, the most exciting time was the early start-up phase.
We were scrambling to build a functioning office, borrowing furniture, just focused on getting things done. There were only 14 of us, all working intensely towards a shared goal.
There was this incredible energy—constant collaboration, iteration, momentum. Nothing has quite matched that feeling since.
11. What will you take from GDS into your new role?
A relentless focus on user needs—and the true spirit of agile.
That means owning your process, constantly iterating, and not just applying a rigid methodology for the sake of it.
12. What are you most looking forward to at Croydon Council?
Being closer to users—and helping strengthen the local tech ecosystem.
13. What do you hope to achieve in the next five years?
That’s a dangerous question!
There’s a lot to do in improving and joining up digital services, so I hope that’s where the most visible impact will be.
But beyond that, Croydon itself is going to transform. I want to help make it a smart, thriving place to live, learn, and grow a business.
14. Any shout-outs?
Tom Loosemore—for taking a chance on me before GDS even existed.
Pete Herlihy—for teaching me the ropes of agile.
And everyone who’s been part of the GOV.UK team—for helping reshape how government serves people online.
Big thanks to Neil for taking the time to chat. We’re excited to follow the impact he’ll have in Croydon and wish him the very best in his new role.