About me
Ashley Knight
Digital Investigations, Intelligence & Technology Strategy Leader
I have spent my career working at the intersection of harm, technology and hope.
For more than 25 years, I have worked across policing, intelligence, cybercrime, digital forensics, data management and public safety technology. My career has taken me from frontline policing and sensitive covert intelligence investigations to international technology strategy, product development and child protection initiatives.
Much of what I do is driven by a simple belief: that the right combination of people, process and technology can reduce harm, protect vulnerable people and help organisations respond more effectively to the challenges they face.
My story
Where I come from
Starting out
I began my career as a Graduate IT Specialist at IBM, building a technical foundation that would later prove invaluable. In 2004, I joined policing — drawn by a desire to do work that made a tangible difference to people's lives. What followed was a career I could not have planned.
The work that changed me
My time investigating online child sexual exploitation and abuse is something I will always carry with me. There are things you cannot unsee. But that experience also gave me purpose — a clarity about why this work matters and a commitment to doing it well. It is the reason I have continued to focus on child protection throughout my career, regardless of the role I have held.
Intelligence and serious crime
Before moving into child exploitation investigations, I spent three years working in covert intelligence on serious and organised crime — operating within a STRAP and Developed Vetting environment. That work required precision, discretion and the ability to hold complexity under pressure. It shaped how I think about risk, information and decision-making.
Building capability
I have always been drawn to the question of how organisations get better. As a Cisco Networking Academy instructor and coordinator, I designed and delivered a national cyber training programme for UK policing — recruiting and managing 12 instructors across forces. Later, I developed a DAMA-aligned data management framework within Police Scotland to improve investigative efficiency and service delivery.
Into technology
Moving into the technology sector allowed me to apply everything I had learned operationally to the challenge of building better tools for investigators. At SAS Software and now at Magnet Forensics, I have worked with global teams to shape products, develop markets and support law enforcement organisations in improving their digital investigation capability — particularly around online child exploitation.
Beyond work
Life outside the office
I am married and live in Lanark — a small, rural town tucked between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is exactly the kind of place we love: quiet, grounded, and a world away from the pace of work. My husband and I got married in Ravello, Italy in September 2025, celebrating with 60 of our closest family and friends. It was everything we could have hoped for.
We have 14-year-old twins, Oliver and Lily. Being a mum is, without question, the greatest achievement of my life — not just carrying two babies at once, but raising two young adults who have deep-rooted values and are genuinely kind, caring human beings. Family is everything to me, and the time I spend with them is what keeps everything else in perspective.
What drives me
Values
Purpose over position
The work has always mattered more than the title. Every role I have held has been chosen because of the difference it could make — to investigators, to organisations, to the people they protect.
Operational honesty
I have spent enough time on the frontline to know that technology only works when it fits the reality of how people actually work. I bring that honesty to every conversation about strategy, product and change.
Commitment to child protection
Online child sexual exploitation and abuse is a global crisis. My commitment to improving investigation, prevention and safeguarding outcomes in this area is not a professional interest — it is personal.
Inclusion and development
I have spent years supporting women in policing and technology through board roles, voluntary programmes and mentoring. Creating space for people to grow — particularly those who might not otherwise get it — matters to me.
Want to know more?
Read the full detail of my career history, or get in touch directly.