Lara Sampson

Lara is a digital transformation and product management expert, supporting institutions that provide essential products and services.

She works alongside large-scale, complex organisations, helping them to implement long-term programmes of change and transformation. Lara is skilled at setting up structures and processes to support effective delivery, with expertise spanning digital transformation, product management, leadership coaching and strategy.

Clients Lara has supported include the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Home Office, the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC), Arts Council, Unicef UK and NHS England.

Lara has led the Public Digital team supporting the Farming and Countryside Programme (DEFRA) for over two years, advising and coaching senior leadership on cultural transformation. She has been instrumental in helping to embed outcome-based, iterative ways of working, looking at how services are designed, delivered and run for farming subsidies.

In Public Digital’s engagement with the Premier League, Lara’s particular expertise in bringing together digital operational delivery and policy enabled her to steer the Premier League and its clubs on developing and designing operationally viable policies during the Covid-19 pandemic, including enabling the safe return of fans to grounds.

Prior to joining Public Digital, Lara led the product development of Universal Credit, taking it from its inception in 2013 through to 6 million customers in 2021, including withstanding a 500% increase in demand during the early stages of the pandemic. Lara was also part of the senior leadership in the Department for Work and Pensions, where she created the first department-wide business and digital strategies and established the department’s Customer Insight function.

Before becoming a civil servant, Lara worked in the private sector on digital strategy and delivery for clients such as TXU Energy and TV Licensing.