Hany Shoukry appointed DfE Director General of Digital and Infrastructure

The former Sky executive will work across digital, data, AI and infrastructure within England’s education and care system

Hany Shoukry is joining the Department for Education after spending 17 years at Sky

Hany Shoukry has been appointed Director General of Digital and Infrastructure at the UK Department for Education, moving into government after 17 years at Sky.

The role gives Shoukry a senior position overseeing areas central to the department’s technology agenda. In announcing his appointment on LinkedIn, he identified digital systems, data, artificial intelligence and infrastructure as priorities, while emphasizing that their use should remain connected to people and public purpose.

Shoukry will work with colleagues across the DfE and partners throughout the education and care system. The department has not supplied a start date or a detailed breakdown of his responsibilities.

“Digital, data, AI and infrastructure are among the strongest enablers we can provide to that engine when they remain firmly anchored in people and purpose,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

Shoukry moves from large-scale technology operations

Shoukry brings more than 25 years of experience in technology, product development and organizational transformation.

At Sky, he most recently served as Group Director of Strategic Transformation, overseeing AI transformation, operating model redesign and workforce strategy across a technology organization of more than 5,000 employees.

His remit included senior sponsorship of a generative AI program that established governance and delivery standards while targeting a 25 percent productivity increase. He also worked on technology operating models spanning the UK, Germany, Italy and Comcast.

Before that, Shoukry was Group Director of Service Management, with responsibility for services supporting more than 23 million customers across Europe. He says his work reduced major incidents by more than 50 percent and generated more than £100 million in annual impact through AI, automation and analytics.

Earlier positions at Sky included Director of Strategy, Delivery and Performance and Director of Programs. His work covered technology portfolios worth more than £500 million annually, as well as the development of Sky Mobile, Sky Broadband and digital systems used by tens of thousands of employees.

AI leadership combines with coaching research

Alongside his technology career, Shoukry holds a PhD in Coaching Psychology and works as an executive coach and speaker. He received the 2026 Coaching for Social Good Award from the Institute of Coaching at Harvard Medical School.

He describes this research and coaching background as part of his approach to managing change, particularly how organizations make decisions and sustain transformation.

That combination will now be applied within the DfE, where the appointment spans both the technology behind public services and the systems used across education and care.

Shoukry thanked DfE Permanent Secretary Susan Acland-Hood and those involved in the appointment process. “I begin this new chapter with humility, curiosity and a deep sense of responsibility,” he wrote.