He joined the Foreign Office at 22 and spent the next two decades in some of the world’s most difficult postings — negotiating with Iran, representing the Joint Intelligence Committee in Washington, and serving on the personal staff of two Prime Ministers and two Foreign Secretaries. In 2010 he became British Ambassador to Israel, the first Jewish diplomat to hold the post, where he spent five years building the UK-Israel relationship, including the UK-Israel Tech Hub and the BIRAX programme of scientific collaboration.

In 2015 he moved from diplomacy into government technology, first as the UK Government’s Director of Cyber Security, then becoming the government’s first Director General for Digital and Media Policy. In 2019 he was made the first Chief Executive of NHSX, leading one of the largest digital transformation programmes in the world. His team built the NHS Datastore, which allowed the pandemic to be managed with real-time data, helped build the NHS Contact Tracing app, and delivered the NHS Covid Pass. He negotiated a deal with Microsoft that saved the NHS £600m, and ran a delivery portfolio of £1.2bn a year.

In 2022 he became Chief Executive of the Zoological Society of London, running London Zoo, Whipsnade Zoo and ZSL’s conservation work worldwide — 800 staff, 1,000 volunteers, and a £90m turnover. He steered a Private Member’s Bill through Parliament to extend the Zoo’s lease, and set in motion a long-term regeneration of the site. He left ZSL in 2025.

He was also a non-executive director board member of the Royal Air Force from 2021 to 2025, advising in particular on the RAF’s digital transformation strategy.

It’s a career that has covered diplomacy, national security, technology, health and conservation, and one that has come with its share of pressure as well as its share of wins. That combination of scale, scrutiny and hard-won experience is what Matthew now brings to his advisory work, writing and speaking.