Michael Murray is Head of Regulatory Strategy working within the Regulatory Futures Directorate. He leads on policy development related to the ICO Children’s code (formally known as the Age appropriate design code) and on engagement with Internet Society Services, regulators and civil society organisations  in the UK and internationally. Michael also leads the development of guidance to support online services to conform with the code.

Michael began his career with the Department of Revenue Collections in Canada as a Case Work Officer in 1993 before deciding that the world held too many places of interest to be stuck behind a desk in this 20s. He taught English as a Second Language at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics for 3 years before moving to Japan to teach English in Tokyo. Michael moved to the UK in 2002, working initially as a Grants Officer for the Big Lottery Fund.

Michael held a Senior Management role at AdviceUK from 2005-2009 as their London Regional Manage. AdviceUk is the UK’s largest network of independent advice giving charities. During his time at AdviceUK Michael lead the development of the business case and project initiation for the AdvicePro casework management system, which currently assists more than 7,000 users in over 500 agencies throughout the UK, including local authorities, charities, and student unions.

After leaving AdviceUK, Michael was the London Development Manager for the Heritage Lottery Fund for 6.5 years, supporting the development of large capital projects at the Uk’s major museums, parks and historic sites. 

Prior to joining the ICO, Michael was Deputy Chief Executive at National Churches Trust for 4.5 years, leading the charities operations, including their grants programmes. Michael also led the develop new web-based services supporting churches to engage in tourism and contract maintenance support. The ExploreChurches website features information on over 4,000 of the UK’s most historic places of worship, allowing tourists to learn about and plan visits to these buildings. Michael led the development of ExploreChurches, including enhancements that enable tourists to book tickets for church related experiences. He also developed the Trust’s MaintenanceBooker service to connect churches with high quality and accredited maintenance and repair contractors.

Michael has an MA in International Relations from the University of Toronto and an MSc in Sustainable Heritage from UCL.